Alumihyde and bluing

[300ECHO]

Hi I have rifle that got a nice scratch on the action and smoothed it out with scotchbrite(mistake?)leaving a bare area of .5x2inch,since then i have some primer on it but its only a matter of time before solvent etc takes it off and moisture gets to the bare metal. So my main question is, to protect it better should i try to reblue it with permablue creme/liquid with alumihyde over it? or should i just degrease the action and use alumihyde over the bare metal? what I'm looking for is rust/scratch protection without going the airbrush route(gunkote etc).

[Coyboy]

Is your intent to alumihyde the whole gun regardless of the scratch?

To fix the bare metal area, I would use some 44/40? cream, the stuff Brownells sells. apply multiple coats, between coats use 000 steel wool to help blend it in.

If you want to paint the whole gun with alumihyde don't bother fixin the spot. You are going to have to bead blast or rough up the gun metal with sandpaper so the Paint will adhere well to the metal. If you paint on the smooth metal it will chip flake and scratch relativly easy.

Years ago I did a gun with alumihyde. I made a spray box and ran an elec. heater in the box to keep the gun metal at 120 degrees. Worked well with multiple coats and was quite tough, but careful with some cleaning solevents.

[Black Diamond 408]

If your thinking about going the Alumhyde, then i would go with Duracoat...you will be way more happy in the long run. Solvents dont touch the stuff once its cured. Get a cheap disposable air brush from Harbor Freight. If your going to put some time into the rifle, why not do it right the first time.

[300ECHO]

Thanks for the replies guys, I've seen people duracoat bolts does it scrap off with some use? Can it be used inside of the receiver bolt raceways lug recesses etc etc basicly coat all blued metal to atempt to make it weather proof?

[Black Diamond 408]

300Echo

If your going to coat the entire action inside and bolt, depending on how much clearance you have to work with the dura coat works well. It will rub off some, as does all coatings.
You should be fine with factory actions. Custom actions i cant coat all parts.

On tight fit actions i use CeraCoat, from the dura coat website, its a thinner material and even more durable, it has ceramic mixed in with the paint. It is not a two part epoxy mix, when you order it they mix it at the factory, Air is the catalyist. You store the bottle in the fridge and its good for 6 months from purchase date. It stinks real bad and cures rather fast.

Dave