I have one of the newer Ruger 10/22's that has the crappy paint from the factory on the reciever. Well, at least it did have the crappy paint, I went to do some cleaning on it, used some Wally World gun scrubber, and the paint started coming off so I just went ahead and stripped the reciever down. I figuered even a can of Krylon would work as good as what they had on there.

I really would like a finish that is at least somewhat durable to put back on. I have heard about the duracoat/durabake products, but really don't know too much about them. I also thought about having it anodized, but don't know where or how much that would run. I thought I remembered seeing some kind of blackening agent for sale for aluminum at one time or another, but reallly can't remember anything about it. What kind of options do I have?

Head over to rimfirecentral.com and do a search for more info than you could hope for.

I've got a thread running in the 10/22 action forum over there, its getting lots more hits than this one. I was just curious what some professional gun finishers might think...

Anodizing is the best coating you can put on aluminum in general. But it can be expensive. I use to charge $150 per piece or quoted the job special. The reason is it's labor and time intensive. One piece or a bunch will take an eight hour day from start to finish.
Baking lacquer would be the way to go. Plenty of good stuff from brownells and other places as well.
The Aluminum black you remember is not good at all Krylon would be better. It near just wipes off.

The 10/22 may be a cast aluminum and some of it doesn't anodize well. The place that I use has a $60 minimum and that will normally do a bucket full of parts. It is usually one day turn around.
How about powder coating?
Butch

Ceramic , Teflon , Vapor Deposit , Plasma spray , Urethane , Powder coat , Lacquer , Enamel ?.

Any or all can be done .

http://www.performancecoatings.com/index2.html


http://www.crestcoating.com/teflontypes.html

I haven't a clue as to where your located , so you will need to search your area for shops who preform

these services .

The February issue of Sport Aviation has an article on anodyzing aluminum. Warns that in some circumstances this reduces ability of the part to withstand stress. Probably not to worry about a Ruger .22 auto receiver, but, for example, one might think twice about anodizing a fancy European dural drilling frame.

I would just paint it with good spray paint. I have painted several rifles over the years [stocks and scopes too].

If it starts to look bad, then strip and repaint.

Checkout USAnodizing in Virginia. They are on the web. They have Type II and Type III anodizing as well as teflon finishes, fast turnaround and reasonable.

From what I am seeing, it sounds like the best option for me is going to be one of the bake-on finishes, like gun-kote or dura-bake. A little pricey for a rattle can, but sounds like it will work the way I need it. Thanks guys for the input.

You can always go by your local auto repair shop and get them to bead-blast it for 5-10 bucks. You'll get a uniform finish that will provide a better mechanical grip for whatever coating you apply afterward.

I haven't tried this yet (and knowing my time availability probably won't) but some in here might find this article on anodizing aluminum interesting......DIY anodizing

Don't forget about Cerakote. It is a ceramic bake on finish that is reported to hold up a lot better than non ceramic finishes.

While it might not make a difference in a 10/22, the parts that contact the receiver can cause the aluminum to corrode. Lot of people upgrade to a stainelss bolt ot other parts. The problem is that aluminum becomes "sacrificial" when in contact with stainless. Lots of info via a google search.

That was a very interesting link on the DIY anodizing. I would never have figured it to be a process that could be done at home. Tempting to try it, but I just would not have enough use to justify setting it up.

One of the best finishes that you can apply yourself is Alumi HideII(can't remember the spelling) it is very durable if it is left to cure for a week. I have used it to refinish several AR 15's and a few Enfields. Finish looks great. You can get it from Brownells.

Steve E.........

Glass bead the paint off and just leave it that way. Buy you a stainless barrel and you have a cool looking white rifle.