painting handguards - Rustoleum - Alumahyde

[FALbert]

I'm talking the Rustoleum paint for BBQ grills.

What do you guys think about using this stuff, as an alternative to truck bedliner sprays, to refinish plactic handguards? I've used it in the past on scope mounts and other metal parts with much success. It provides a really hard finish after you bake it for a few hours. It has a nice subdued finish to it, yet won't have as rough of a texture as truck bedliner spray, and it comes close in color to the finish on most of the preban FALs. I suspect the only drawback is that it will not fill in scratches as nicely as the bedliner stuff.

Whta would you guys recommend for filling in the little scratches prior to using the Rustoleum?

[ September 09, 2001: Message edited by: gary.jeter ]

[Dan at VOW]

Albert, you can use automotive spot putty to fill in the little gouges and dents. you will have to prime the areas afterward though, as it will bleed through, or create lighter colored areas. Another alternative is to use the bedliner spray, then sand it and then spray with your final color. The bedliner spray will fill the dings, scratches and such, and can be sanded down. HTH,Dan

[gunnut1]

Just finished working on the bang up hand guard from my M444. I took some 220 grit sandpaper and sand the heck out of them then used some 320 grit to get rid of the scratches left behind by the 220. I then used some plastic polish and polished them. Look pretty cool. You can see the fibers in the glass and that gives it a really neat look. Only problem is they are slick. I don't know if I would do this to just any hand guard but the one on my M444 were banged up pretty good so I figured I didn't have any thing to lose!
Might give the Rustoleum a shot. How hot do you have to bake then and will it soften the glass? I have some Brownells bake on also. I might give that a try also. It is gloss though. What do you guys think?

[FALbert]

I would lower the temperature, perhaps somewhere around 150-200 degrees and leave it the oven longer. IIRC, the last time I used it on metal I baked the parts at 250 degrees for 2 hours.

[Joonyer Doopety]

A couple of years back on these very forums, there was a similar thread on using Rustoleum. I believe that people had a multitude of problems with it.
I refinshed an AR15 buttstock using Brownells Alumahide. It's a slow curing epoxy base and takes about a week to fully cure. It came out nice-the second time; I used too much at first (impatient), and the paint appeared "cracked."
The Alumahide matches the original color and finish of the FAL, so now instead of that "fuzzy," matt looking color and finish of an AR buttstock, it has the sort of look like a FAL buttstock.
For what it's worth, good luck.

[Mike A]

The Brownell's Alumi-Hyde works really well, but you do have to let it cure fully!

Another paint for plastic/'glass stocks that works really well is the camo paint from Krylon. It adheres extremely well and has a nice finish to it.

Ensure that you prep your surfaces very well and do a final wipe with either acetone or MEK prior to paint to get rid of all surface contamination. This will guarantee a smooth, orange-peel/fish-eye free coat.

I've used both with excellent results. Just do multiple THIN coats as opposed to one or two heavy coats. This is one place where patience pays in spades!

Cheers,
Mike

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