I'm considering putting a stainless barrel on a chrome-moly action and am considering getting the whole package coated with some kind of teflon or other kind of finish. How would this workout? Other than teflon, what other options are there? Who are some of the names that do these coatings?
Thanks for any advice,

Brownells sells salts for hot bluing stainless. It dose not work with all SS materials, but it does with many barrels. I know it works well on PAC-NOR barrels, and probably Lilja, since they use the same steel. It is a tempermental solution and is not as forgiving as CM salts in regards to temp. The finish is good. Being objective, it has a slightly brown tint, and is not as tough as cm bluing. We dip the barreled actions in both cm and ss salts to get the best results. It dosent work on Winchester SS bolts.

Take a look at the KG Industries GunKote. It can be applied to both the chrome moly receiver and to the stainless barrel for a uniform appearance. I had a Savage 112 that had a chrome moly receiver and a stainless fluted barrel coated in a satin black about 3 years ago and it has proven to be very durable.

I have a customer who had Gunkote applied by a smith. The redo the second time was done by Gunkote and so the third. It kept flaking off any sharp edges. Their suggestion was to round all those sharp corners so it will stick. I think there are better products, if not their value is far less than perfect.

Brownells Aluma-Hyde II #083-002-012 sticks to my Hart bead-blasted barrels and Rem 700 blued receivers very well. It is an aerosol epoxy-ester air-dry paint.

I have KG gunkote on several firearms and have had it on several others over the years. In my experience, adhesion is fantastic when the product is properly applied. The mistake most often made is failure to get a mechanical etch using blasted silica grit. Bead blasting will not give sufficient etch. You've got to use silica blasting media, about 110-120 grit I believe.

Jordan

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'll do some more research into gunkote.
Does anyone know about Robar? Found this link while doing some research of my own.
http://www.robarguns.com
They seem to offer a number of different coatings but it's not exactly clear to me what they are recommending for my purpose. I'll contact them directly but if anyone has first hand experience with these people please speak up!

I'd pass on bluing SS. The bluing is extremely thin and wears fairly fast. Its impossible to touch up unlike bluing on CM steel. For that reason I would have it coated. Robar's finishes are probably the best but pricey.

KG Gun-Kote if done properly does not flake off if prepped and cured properly. It can be touched up and rebaked with a heat lamp if need be.

Another finish which is popular with the Alaskan boys is a good ole' rattle can of Rust Oleum. Preparation is everything of course, its easy to touch up too. Try it if you want a budget matte finish.

MtnHtr

[ 11-20-2003, 10:08: Message edited by: MtnHtr ]

Stu, check with John Ricks, I believe he used a Robar finish on some stainless rifles with good success. The Gunkote people themselves suggested remedies that I feel were ridiculous if it was just to get their product to adhere.