Duracoat for DIY PVD/Ceramic Feel

[RWI27]

Just about to start on building my blacked out PAM and was wondering has anyone ever used Duracoat (made for firearms) on a watch to achieve a PVD/Ceramic feel? I know people swear by the item, it is extremely durable (it is being sprayed on AR15's after all) and is very simple to apply. The durability and feel after it cures is what has me interested, the fact that the AR15 magazine in the video is barely scratched (AR15 metal magazines get scratched very easily) is promising as I doubt our watches will see anything close.

Heres a video showing durability and I posted up a picture of a Remington 870 that was shot with the stuff. Really believe this could be a nice alternative for sprayed SS or custom "PVD/Ceramic" feel watches.

So has anyone ever done this and have pics?

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu3rAc-nCUU"]DuraCoat Durability Check by Nutnfancy - YouTube[/ame]

 

[razorblade]

Interesting idea, wonder if anyone have toyed with this.

 

[Gerry Jarcia]

I've always loved the ceracoat myself. It's about the same durability but comes in some more colors. People do it for flashlights and firearms quite often on some other forums. Love the look, especially the white, it reminds me of a stromtrooper.

 

[RWI27]

Have you ever applied it yourself? Im thinking of going the aerosol route (obviously due to cost) though if air-brushing creates a significant difference I wouldn't mind investing in a small kit, possibly offering the service.

 

[pilworx]

i would assume this stuff would make for quite a thick coating and might make it difficult to reassemble a watch case after coated.

 

[RWI27]

i would assume this stuff would make for quite a thick coating and might make it difficult to reassemble a watch case after coated.

It goes on as light or heavy as you please, firearms have tolerances also and some people completely coat their weapons in this. Obviously you wouldn't want it on a part that see's heavy use, though for the case, crown guard assembly, case back, and buckle assembly I believe it should be fine.

 

[pilworx]

true pvd coatings are on the order of microns thick, if you break apart a small pam crown guard and "spray" the parts with some type of hardening spray coating, good luck getting the pin back in the hole. maybe I'm not understanding something properly about this wizardry you speak of.

 

[RWI27]

true pvd coatings are on the order of microns thick, if you break apart a small pam crown guard and "spray" the parts with some type of hardening spray coating, good luck getting the pin back in the hole. maybe I'm not understanding something properly about this wizardry you speak of.

Duracoat can be put on from .25-1.5 mils of thickness. Just for a comparison, .25 mils = 6.35 microns. Using a press to get the pin back in would be no issue due to the strength of the coating. Also you have to take in consideration that Chinese manufacturers, as great as they can be, do not have the same quality control as Panerai does down to microns. There should be room for error in our reps, then again we're talking about microns.

DuraCoat is a hard polymer that’s self-lubricating to certain extent; extremely hard, oil, solvent, and wear resistant. It resists 100 inch pounds of direct impact and 80 inch pounds of reverse impact. Its pencil hardness runs H to 2H. DuraCoat has passed a 300 hr. salt spray test, which far exceeds military requirements for firearms finishes. Major manufacturers such as DSA utilize DuraCoat finishes on their rifles. DuraCoat has proven to hold up extremely well under field conditions. Even on parts such as FAL bolts, which are subject to significant abrasion as the bolt cycles, DuraCoat has held up well and proven to be extremely durable. DuraCoat will dry to the touch in 20 min and can be used after curing 6 - 8 hrs. However it will continue to cure for 4 to 6 weeks after application. DuraCoat is not a flash cure application which will become brittle after curing resulting in chipping and flaking. DuraCoat cures slowly so it remains flexible after it cures which contributes to its excellent abrasion and wear resistance. We like to say DuraCoat doesn't wear out, it wears in. DuraCoat can be applied over just about any surface including, metal, plastic, or wood as long as the surface is properly prepared

 

[boostin20]

In theory it should work fine. I want to try this on a $39 special one day.

 

[iggypop]

In theory it should work fine. I want to try this on a $39 special one day.

I was just thinking that

 

[infiniG]

i would imagine using an airbrush would provide a more uniform thickness of the coating as opposed to a spraycan which can cause localized buildup...6 microns thickness seems awefully small and i would bet that if i sprayed something and ran a micrometer across it before and after i would probobally be looking at something in the range of several thousandths of an inch but i could be wrong. If it were me i would mask any mating surfaces along with threads...the buildup of plating/coating on threads can cause an "oh sh1t" moment after getting ready to put stuff back together.