Alumahyde for barreled actions.

grfox92

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Has anyone used alumahyde for painting a barrel or action or both?

Epoxy based and resistant to solvents it seems like a great cheap alternative to cerekote. Yet I've never seen anyone use it on barrels or rifles?

I can paint pretty good out of a rattle can and thinking if using it for a RA I have.

Any feedback?

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TxLite

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Following. I purchased a can or two when they were on sale a few months back for $18 shipped and planned to do it in the off-season to my 7prc build for the same reasons you stated.


Edit to add- also curious if you need to remove the barrel before coating, or if you can coat it as an assembly using dental floss or something to keep the separation between the shank and the action?
 
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Wapiti1

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It's a good coating. Follow the instructions to the letter. I've used it quite a bit on AR lowers and fiberglass stocks.

Not as scratch resistant as cerakote, but much better than standard spray paint.

Jeremy
 
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Following. I purchased a can or two when they were on sale a few months back for $18 shipped and planned to do it in the off-season to my 7prc build for the same reasons you stated.


Edit to add- also curious if you need to remove the barrel before coating, or if you can coat it as an assembly using dental floss or something to keep the separation between the shank and the action?
I just used painters tape over the action but having the barrel off would be easier. I wouldn’t take it off just to paint though.
 

TxLite

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I just used painters tape over the action but having the barrel off would be easier. I wouldn’t take it off just to paint though.
I was going to paint the action as well. The barrel is carbon so I’d tape off the carbon portion of the barrel and just hit the SS sections. Just thinking if I ever want to remove the barrel down the road without damaging the paint on the action I might want to separate them to paint
 
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I was going to paint the action as well. The barrel is carbon so I’d tape off the carbon portion of the barrel and just hit the SS sections. Just thinking if I ever want to remove the barrel down the road without damaging the paint on the action I might want to separate them to paint
Oh got ya. Does this action have an available internal action wrench? Might solve the problem for you when you decide to remove it. Just a thought?
 

TxLite

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Oh got ya. Does this action have an available internal action wrench? Might solve the problem for you when you decide to remove it. Just a thought?
Yeah it’s a Tikka. I put the barrel on so it’s not a big deal to pull it off. Just something else I’d need to do. Also not sure if it would mess with any of my existing loads if the torque value is the same
 

Trogon

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I have used it on a tikka. So far Im happy with it. I really like the "parkerizing grey" color. Its comes out as a matte grey with a faint greenish hue.

Keys are:
- shake it for as long as it say to (like 10 min or something crazy like that)
-apply on a warm day with no wind (or inside version of that)
-I lightly scrubbed every surface with a clean 3M dish pad (brillo)
-clean with brake cleaner
-light (light!) coats. wait 10-15 between coats then repeat until you get the coverage you like
-dont touch for 2 weeks

So far its holding up. I went really detailed on masking off the action. You want to get real clean and rough right at the edges of the tape or the paint will flake when you pull it off.

The nice thing is if you take off a barrel and the paint chips, you can just sand down and touch it up.
 

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grfox92

grfox92

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That looks really good they do a terrible job portraying the colors on the website. It's nice to see what they actually look like on a gun. I might just do that gray. I wonder how it would match with a FDE stock.

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Wapiti1

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Park Grey has a slight green tint to it. It's a really good match to manganese phos parkerizing. Dark Park Grey is what you want, IMO. It has no green tint.

Jeremy
 

Trogon

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That looks really good they do a terrible job portraying the colors on the website. It's nice to see what they actually look like on a gun. I might just do that gray. I wonder how it would match with a FDE stock.

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Totally agree, its really tough to tell the color. I think both would work with FDE. If you want more color match than contrast I would try the matte earth brown. Its ligher than what is shown on the cap. The cost is in the shipping, so I would suggest buying a couple different colors that you think you might like and test them out. Can always find something else to paint with the color you dont use.
 
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I used it on an 870 barrel a lot of years ago. Ended up selling the gun after using it in multiple classes and hunting trips. The damn thing still looked like the day I sprayed it.

I remember scrubbing and stripping really well, blasting it with a heat gun between coats and I left that guy hanging out in the hot summer sun for two days.
 
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Not the best pics, but I love the stuff for what it is. Agree with the tips already listed. A hot, dry environment is best and yes, don’t touch it for two weeks. It’s worth the wait!

c6d68aba039854c610695f68a2f4b299.jpg

2a2d97866cfab74c6fe91396308c7cb5.jpg



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grfox92

grfox92

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I will post back when I get mine done. Thanks fellas. If anyone has pics of theirs, post them up.

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Choupique

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One season in to my alumahyde job on a stainless rifle. A few scratches down to the metal, all from hitting the barrel on other metal stuff. Overall still extremely satisfied with it. I took the rifle apart, rubbed the whole thing with a scotchbrite pad, then squirted it with brake cleaner and wiped that off, masked off the bottom of the action, and warmed it up with a heat gun while the paint can sat out in the hot sun.

Shake the ever living hell out of it. Wayyyyy more than normal rattle can. WAYYYYYYYY more. Also get the clean out tip for it. Follow the directions. I did dark park Grey and it came out looking way cooler than I expected it to.
 
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grfox92

grfox92

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One season in to my alumahyde job on a stainless rifle. A few scratches down to the metal, all from hitting the barrel on other metal stuff. Overall still extremely satisfied with it. I took the rifle apart, rubbed the whole thing with a scotchbrite pad, then squirted it with brake cleaner and wiped that off, masked off the bottom of the action, and warmed it up with a heat gun while the paint can sat out in the hot sun.

Shake the ever living hell out of it. Wayyyyy more than normal rattle can. WAYYYYYYYY more. Also get the clean out tip for it. Follow the directions. I did dark park Grey and it came out looking way cooler than I expected it to.
Post a picture.

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