Cheap Alternative to Anodizing?

[SuiciDal Sn Y p ER]

Seeing as the prices to get some parts anodized are pretty high i was just curious if anyone tried any alternatives to anodizing that are a lot quicker and easy to do at home. Spraypaint didnt work too well when i last attempted to make 2 gold pt extreme pistols but what if i were to use a primer first then spraypaint the desired color? So far it has worked pretty well with a bmx bike i spraypainted.

Are there any other cheap ways to customize your marker's color and has anyone attempted using spraypaint and been successful?

Snyper

P.S. I don't consider powdercoating as a cheap alternative (plus i don't like sending my markers far away for long periods of time)

[BigEvil]

No matter how much priming you do, any sort of paint will chip off fairly easily. I have seen some aluminum painted with automotive paint that came out ok, but still tended to chip and scratch very easily. (Especially around the corners)

In order to keep any type of paint on aluminum, you would need to put on several coats, which would be pretty thick and may give you tolerance issues.

I know you arent intersted in powder coating, but I had a few pieces done pretty cheap (a few years ago) at a local shop in Newark NJ. Basically I preped everything myself and he included my parts in with another run he was doing. So I saved money on set up costs.

There are also some very good DIY powder coating kits available. The downside is that you need a dedicated electric oven for it.

Check out http://www.eastwoodco.com/ and look under the "Hotcoat" section. I am thinking of buying this myself. I have seen a bunch of car parts done with this very system that came out great, and all done at home by DIY'ers.

[SuiciDal Sn Y p ER]

$700 for the delux kit and $100 for the original kit.. then i need an electric oven and an air compressor... ouch

bigevil, if it tends to chip easily and the paint job starts to look horrible is there a substance that i can use to completely strip the paint off yet leave the original anodizing and aluminum intact? If so, would it be safe to repeat this process over and over a few times a year?

[frop]

Check this place out:Caswell

[50 cal]

You can spray it and bake it with Brownells Teflon Moly coat. You have to heat the part to about 100* in the oven, spray on the coat with an airbrush and bake it on at 300* for 30 min.
The coating is tough as nails. I've done a few AR15 rifles with it.

I bought a cheap airbrush at a hobby shop for $29, it comes with 2 cans of compressed air.

You can get different colors. I mostly have camo type colors used for firearms. The build up is negligable.

I have a personal AR15 I did in OD green. It has taken some real abuse and the coat looks new.

Go to www.brownells.com and look around.

[SuiciDal Sn Y p ER]

[zaqwert6]

http://www.lauerweaponry.com/

That's the shiznit right there....look no further.

$50

[BigEvil]

http://www.lauerweaponry.com/

That's the shiznit right there....look no further.

$50

Will DuraCoat adhere to hard coat anodizing and Parkerizing?
DuraCoat loves hard coat anodizing and Parkerizing as a base. Both processes leave a good rooting surface for DuraCoat.


Nice

[BigEvil]

bigevil, if it tends to chip easily and the paint job starts to look horrible is there a substance that i can use to completely strip the paint off yet leave the original anodizing and aluminum intact? If so, would it be safe to repeat this process over and over a few times a year?

Laquer thinner will take off just about any form of spary on paint. It fairly cheap, and you can use a $2 roasting pan to soak the parts in.

It does get a little messy. I soak the parts I strip paint off of over night and then scrub them in a slop sink. Paint comes right off. Primer is a little tougher and needs a little more scrubbing, but comes off also.

[zaqwert6]

Will DuraCoat adhere to hard coat anodizing and Parkerizing?
DuraCoat loves hard coat anodizing and Parkerizing as a base. Both processes leave a good rooting surface for DuraCoat.


Nice

Oh yeah, that stuff is awesome. Like powder coating on steriods. Looks very nice and is very east to use. Also doesn't build up very much at all.

[warbeak2099]

I don't know about you, but I'm sticking with p/cing. Ken at KP Customs does great work for cheap and has a pretty decent turnaround time. I've never seen any complaints about his service and his jobs look really nice. I'm getting a gloss black to blue fade for $50 (6pcs = $30, Fade = $5, Stripping = $15). He's also drilling my ule body for eyes for $40, woot.

[TheTramp]

I've got an A5 I like to mess around with on rec days or at scenarios. I am giving very serious thought to putting this finish on it:

http://www.lauerweaponry.com/duracoatcolors.cfm?colortype=pattern&Category=240

[Skoad]

Someone's gotta be the guinea pig

[zaqwert6]

Someone's gotta be the guinea pig

Oh, I've already used it and I was turned on to it by another baller who has also. It works just like it looks.

[peewee]

I contacted them about pricing if they do it. Id be sending in a classic body.