Why rattle can paint instead of Duracoat, et al.?

[davidjinks]

It’s cheap, easy, and effective.

I can send out a rifle for cerakote and it’s gonna cost north of 300-500 dollars, shipping, insurance, assembly, disassembly etc.

OR

I can spend $40, get a whole mess of colors, and throw some paint down while breaking up the outline of the rifle.

I noticed most who paint their ARs use low priced rattle can to do it. Some will try Cerakoting, which is the hardest of the firearms coatings to apply, IIRC.

Why don't more people try something like Duracoat, KG Guncoat, or one of Brownells spray-on finishes for firearms? It provides a nicer finish than rattle can and is easier to apply than Cerakote, IIRC. I think there is a rattle can option to apply Duracoat.

Note: I have no affiliation with any of the above companies or products.

[markm]

It’s cheap, easy, and effective.

Yep. If you're painting for show, you don't need a durable finish. And if you're painting for use, why beat up an expensive finish? I'm sure I posted this earlier, but when the black wears through the paint, the camo works even better... at least in the desert here.

[davidjinks]

Yep! Break up the outline, get it out into the wild, break up the fresh paint. Make everything even better.

Yep. If you're painting for show, you don't need a durable finish. And if you're painting for use, why beat up an expensive finish? I'm sure I posted this earlier, but when the black wears through the paint, the camo works even better... at least in the desert here.

[CPM]

Because it looks cooler and it’s significantly cheaper. And cerakote wears anyway, not matter what they tell you. Be a man, spray paint it.

[markm]

Because it looks cooler and it’s significantly cheaper.

That's it. A professionally done, flawless finish is gay as hell to me.

[ViniVidivici]

Indeed, we're talking about tools, not jewelry.

[markm]

I have some buddies who obsess on finish color perfection and that kind of stuff. I don't like my gun to look like a circus creation, but I'm not sweating some flaws here and there.

[SteyrAUG]

Indeed, we're talking about tools, not jewelry.

Might seem counter intuitive but the only time I really care about "uber finishes" is my carry gun and that's just because a daily carry is gonna take a lot of holster wear (especially kydex), rain, sweat and elements. So it's about maintenance and not having to do a weekly clean on my carry gun.

With rifles, with the exception of anything collectible, it's a little different. In most cases "spray jobs" are going over a quality factory finish from the start and most of the time it's done for environmental camo or just to keep your scratch and dent carbine from looking quite so scratch and dent. Now I don't personally jump out of planes with my guns, I don't hunt the Taliban and won't be going on a sniper crawl any time soon so most of my Colts are just well maintained. Even my range guns don't get banged around enough to justify spray on maintenance.

But one day, time and money permitting, I'd love to create a winter carbine just "because." I'd have no problem running it in the summer because unless something "really, really bad" happened, I'm not gonna be crawling through the snow looking for trouble anyway. And honestly, the camo finish on my carbine will probably be the last thing to skyline me to the enemy if it all went to shit. I'm 100% certain that if I had to defend the local perimeter from roving bands of FSA types, just as I was setting up on them, my wife would ping my cell phone asking me to pick up bananas from the store.

Any real deal fighters are gonna pick up my red dot emitter, scan my FRS radio or make my well laundered BDU stuff shine with their IR illuminators. And that is why I'm not gonna go hunting trouble and will just see if I can create a "no fly zone" for a half mile in each direction.

[Uncas47]

Well worn scorched earth black will have to do it for me, goes good with my faded denim camo.

[ViniVidivici]

Well worn scorched earth black will have to do it for me, goes good with my faded denim camo.

Chuck Norris approved!

Yeah Steyr, I hear ya on finish for something often carried. It is important. I'm pretty happy with the DLC finish on the AIM slide on this Glock frame I carry daily. It's finally wearing at the corners, but has shown zero corrosion at any point.