Has anybody tried powder coating a rifle? Just wondering about durability, weather resistance etc? Racers powder coat dirt track car frames and it seems to hold up well to the abuse.

I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole! I had a set of Ruger rings powder coated and the stuff is so thick I couldn't get the scope in them. It also isn't very durable.

chuck

Well I guess we need to tell the US Military about that. One of our powder coat suppliers does M-16 receivers by the truckload. They use a light texture flat black powder and man it looks good.
There are many types of powder coat and various formulations for each. An epoxy type powder properly applied and cured is just about bullet proof.
If the powder coater would have mask the inside of the rings you would have had a very tough set of rings. Depending on the type of powder used and the static charge used on the line, it can get very thick and tends to be thicker on any sharp edge as is the tendacy with any electorstatic process whether it be paint of powder. Temperature and humidity also play a role in the outcome of the final product. A good powder coater can control these elements and can do wonders with the stuff
Just My .02
Droptine

[ 03-05-2003, 22:44: Message edited by: Droptine ]

I would just worry about what the heat might do to heat treated steel.

The heat required to flow and cure powder coat is only around 225 to 350 deg F and it doesn't stay at that temp for more than a few minutes. That kind of heat shouldn't have any adverse affects on steel that has been properly heat treated and tempered.
I do multiple tempering cycles on carbon steel knife blades at 375 to 450 deg and it will not warp a knife blade, and they have substantially less mass or structural support than any part of a rifle.
The heat factor wouldn't bother me, but then again I am not a Gunsmith.
Droptine

I've been powder coating a lot of aluminum small parts for over a year, trigger guards, floor plates, small handgun frames. The good thing is you can do matte black, gloss black, stainless steel, and cast aluminum colors. In fact you can do candy apple and metal flake! So far it's working out pretty good and it's durable. I have not tried a complete barreled action.

One of the NRA Summer Schools will be teaching "powder coating for firearms" this year. I believe it is Murray State in Oklahoma.

I would like to find out if it does effect it. I know a very top notch powder coating shop and would love to do something trick but was not sure about the temp. I know they bake out the metal befor coating it and that is pretty hot I think in the 450 range but not sure. I will have to call them and get more info.