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View Full Version : Suppressor Refinishing Project-- Results Documentation



alamo5000
10 April 2018, 20:03
I figured I would start a thread to document my little pet project and later on if other people want to add their projects too that will be fine.

I've had my first Recce 5 for a while now and basically put the finish has started to wear off. When I was brand new into the suppressor world I had my Silencer Shop oven mitt and while the can was still cooking hot I tried to make sure it was still snug. Whatever finish they used is very durable --when it's cool-- but when the can is hot like that it seems to soften up quite a bit.

Another thing I did is I set my SBR on my mule seat and the vibrations of the buggy also kind of wore some of the finish off. Other than that it had a nice ring around it just from shooting the thing. I pretty much baby my stuff but it starting to get a little rust on there just overwhelmed my OCD. :P

After that and quite a bit of normal wear and tear--I decided to try to repaint it.

Normally I really SUCK at painting things so this time I intentionally took my time and I think it turned out ok. I had a really low humidity day and it was about 75 degrees out so I got an old metal coat hangar and rigged it up where the suppressor would hang straight up and down, mount side down.

Then I washed the suppressor really good with soap and water and dried it off with some paper towels making sure I didn't touch it with my bare fingers. After that I hung it up with my pre made hanger, then sprayed it down with non chlorinated disk brake cleaner. I use that non chlorinated disk brake cleaner to deep clean my guns and it works great. It will strip off all the old build up and whatever--and oils--all while not harming the metals or polymers used for guns.

Once that was dry I really just took my time and paid attention to how far the can was away from my target and did a bunch of quick spurts evenly all around the can length wise. I gave it about 15 or 20 minutes to dry and gave it another light coat, then repeated it 2 or 3 more times, with a light coat each time. The final time I let it cure for around one and half hours or more (per the instructions on the paint).

Here is the stuff I used. I chose this one because it says the temperature rating is a lot higher. Also it says it stops rust. This was the highest temp rating I could find. They had some grill paint that was 1,200 degrees rated but they didn't have the color I wanted so I kind of default chose this one. It was really a toss up between the two so I figured higher heat tolerance might be better so I just picked one.

5190

Pretty much I followed the directions to the tee. That includes after it air dried for 1-2 hours to heat cure it. I am currently baking it in the oven while it's still on it's hanger.

The directions say to bake at 250 degrees for 30 minutes, then let it cool. Then 400 degrees for 30 minutes and let it cool, then do another bake for 30 minutes and let it cool.

Supposedly according to the directions this process leads to maximum durability. I will let you know how that turns out. [:D]

Once I get done doing all the baking and curing process I will put up a photo of the finished product and will periodically post up any updates whether they be good or bad.

I have been wanting to do this for a while now but I figured I would document the process in case anyone else wanted to try it too. More than anything I will keep tabs on how well this product works for a purpose it's not really intended for.

All comments are welcome good or bad. Pics of the can probably coming tomorrow as I have another bake to go. It will be around 11pm by the time the whole process is done. [BD]

alamo5000
10 April 2018, 21:37
5193

From one of the three 30 minute baking sessions.


5192

The end result. For now. Sorry about the greasy rag. It's not a glamor shot just yet.

The top one is my work. Mod 3 Recce 5. The bottom one is a brand new Mod 4 Recce 5 that has never been fired before. I will try to take it out in the daylight and see what it really looks like tomorrow.

Admittedly when I was spraying it and even when it air dried it was kind of a charcoal color. It wasn't shiny black, but to me that didn't really matter if it was more matte. That said after I finally pulled it from the oven and it cooled down enough to handle it, it had what seemed like a fine powdery substance on it. I basically wiped it all down with my rag that had some gun oil on it and called it a night.

I will take it out tomorrow and see if the colors are different, but overall they seem pretty darn close.

Next step is to shoot it more and see how it holds up over time. Once that oil cooks off of there I will get a better idea of the shade of black, but like I said, this isn't a big deal to me.

Jerry R
11 April 2018, 06:31
Nicely done Sir. I have one in need also. Thanks for posting this.

Former11B
11 April 2018, 08:16
I like the worn in look!! I’ve got some I’ve spray painted that are worn in nicely. If I was going to do a permanent job I would use the same paint though

Slippers
11 April 2018, 08:36
That turned out pretty well. I'm curious how it will hold up long term, but I also don't mind the dirty/used look on cans.

alamo5000
11 April 2018, 08:53
Nicely done Sir. I have one in need also. Thanks for posting this.

I took it outside this morning for a glance and except for some extremely minor that you would really have to strain to see the new finish looks about as good as the factory job.

So far the only thing I would have done differently is after I washed it I would get all the water from the inside of the can out.

As I baked it the little bit of water on the inside ran down and left a hard water crust on the inside of the mount and along the lip. It scraped right off so no biggie.


I like the worn in look!! I’ve got some I’ve spray painted that are worn in nicely. If I was going to do a permanent job I would use the same paint though

I am glad someone agrees with the paint choice. I was up in the air about it so I just picked one.

On the worn look the difference is my OCD is pretty bad sometimes. LOL!!


That turned out pretty well. I'm curious how it will hold up long term, but I also don't mind the dirty/used look on cans.

I plan to do some testing soon enough. That's the only step left now. But for now I am very pleased with it. Following instructions and taking my time helped :)


Honestly as for the worn look I don't mind it so much. I've been curious about how to refinish it for a while so this is just a test really.

The parts of the can that wore off from friction though I didn't really like but oh well.

If this works for a while I might repaint my cans like once a year or something depending on how much wear it takes.

All in all though my job is almost as good as the factory and it's almost exactly the same color too.

FortTom
11 April 2018, 11:17
Alamo, I don't own any cans but I'd like to try your method on some other parts. I have a question for you though, you said 250 for 30 min, let cool, then do 400 for 30 min, and let cool do another bake, but you don't mention a temp for your third bake? Can you fill me in on that? Thanks.

FT

alamo5000
11 April 2018, 11:21
Alamo, I don't own any cans but I'd like to try your method on some other parts. I have a question for you though, you said 250 for 30 min, let cool, then do 400 for 30 min, and let cool do another bake, but you don't mention a temp for your third bake? Can you fill me in on that? Thanks.

FT

The directions on the paint says 3rd bake is 600 degrees. My oven only goes up to 550 so that's what I worked with.

I don't think it will be that big of a difference to be honest.

The paint if I recall says something about maximum durability. It even says if you are painting parts on a car to just run the car for a few minutes so I don't think it's precision based.

alamo5000
11 April 2018, 11:23
Also if it's a part that won't be really heated up in regular use I don't think all those bakes are needed. The paint can pretty much says it's optional.

FortTom
11 April 2018, 11:58
Also if it's a part that won't be really heated up in regular use I don't think all those bakes are needed. The paint can pretty much says it's optional.

Thanks. Sounds like a winner. I've had some really shoddy results from other "High Temperature" paints on bike parts and car engines with paint from a can. Looks and sounds like Rust-Oleum got it right.

FT

gatordev
11 April 2018, 12:13
I'd have to check if it's the same type of paint, but a few years ago, I wore off the phosphate finish on a portion of a barrel (vice slipped) and sprayed one (1) application of black Rustolem Grill Paint. Several years later and more than 3,000 rounds later (a decent bit of that on a select-fire lower), the paint is still good to go. I was surprised it held up as long as it did, but it has worked well.

Joelski
11 April 2018, 12:29
Curious what that heat exposure does to the temper. The range for heat treating ranges from 350 upwards of 1,300 degrees (albeit times are longer), so this cooking can plausibly alter things.

SINNER
11 April 2018, 12:37
He wasn’t even close to the temps that can sees under use.

I am curious to how well this paint holds up also. Other than the exhaust manifolds on diesels I’ve never seen the temps a suppressor reaches under use. 2 30 rounds mags and a Silencerco Omega buried a 750* infrared thermometer.

alamo5000
11 April 2018, 12:59
3x30 round mag dumps and you're above 1500 degrees. Especially on a 10.5" barrel.

In a little bit I am going to start out kind of slow and maybe shoot 40 or 60 rounds of sustained fire and see how it goes. Later on I will get out the SBR and shoot that too.

Way back when the GA guys said sure the cans can be run hard, but after 3 mags it starts to diminish the suppressor life. I have kept to that ever since. Suppressors (at least mine) can safely operate from room temp to 1,500 degrees without really hurting anything.

Like I was saying earlier... I am going to put this paint through a range of tests to see what if anything happens and how it holds up. I will report back as I learn anything good or bad. I am sure the testing will be a longer term deal. In a few weeks and after I put more rounds downrange I will have a lot better idea how it fares.

alamo5000
11 April 2018, 13:43
First test... 60 rounds of sustained fire over maybe 3 minutes... so far nothing.

Stone
11 April 2018, 16:43
Hook two 40 rounders together and let her buck!![:D]

Joelski
11 April 2018, 17:58
Probably not an issue for a can.

alamo5000
11 April 2018, 18:00
Hook to 40 rounders together and let her buck!![:D]

Mag dumps are coming. Don't worry! [BD] I will test it out completely and see just how far I can make it go, of course without screwing up my suppressor...If I get pretty far into it and some of it cooks off I will just repaint the thing. I have half a can of that stuff still just sitting there. [:D]

alamo5000
28 August 2018, 13:18
Update:

So far nothing to report. Can looks good still. I haven't tried to bake the finish off but so far so good.

alamo5000
8 April 2019, 13:51
It's been a long time since I did this project but I am giving another update. It's been an insane past year between weather and brain surgery and other 'life' things I haven't been shooting as much...but that said the finish on this can looks almost just like it did the day after I refinished it.

Just a little while ago I had some free time and some ammo to burn so I did some more mag dumps again. I am not normally a mag dumper but I did it in the name of science. [BD] It's basically been a year of intermittent use and no problems. As noted I did some mag dumps when I did this refinish and I am guessing between 500 and 1000 rounds through that can other than that (I've been playing with 300 BLK a lot instead). I also have more than one 5.56 can. I am talking 500 to 1000 additional rounds through that one suppressor, most through a 10.5 and probably 1/3 through a 16" AR.

I have not gone out and done a 'see how much it can withstand test' because I just don't want to do all that to my suppressor or waste that much ammo.

After a number of 60 round mag dumps on a 16" gun and on a 10.5" one it's still looking good. I've probably done that test at least 4 or 5 times where I just see how fast I can get on the trigger. I have not done a 90 round dump to really get the heat up but it's looking awesome still. Those little dimpled ridges near the mount end of the can have worn through again (like the original finish did) from putting it on and off, but that's wear from my hand not just shooting.

All in all it's worth a shot if you are looking to refinish a suppressor. The only other 'final' tip I would possibly offer is even after cooking the stuff onto the can leave the can out for a while where it can 'cure' even more and resist the urge to handle it for a while after it's done. Basically the more cure time the better, even after baking it.

It doesn't seem 'as' abrasion resistant as the original coating but the difference is marginal at best. That said I haven't tried torquing the can down with an oven mitt while it's hot either. I just put the can on there right the first time and avoid hot handling and no issues have came up.

mustangfreek
8 April 2019, 14:13
Brain surgery?

Holy smokes...hope all is good now Alamo.

Us, backyard gear heads use that stuff on our headers etc, for a good cheap paint job.. It works well if you do your part.


And....pics or it didn’t happen....lol

alamo5000
8 April 2019, 14:46
Brain surgery?

Holy smokes...hope all is good now Alamo.

Us, backyard gear heads use that stuff on our headers etc, for a good cheap paint job.. It works well if you do your part.


And....pics or it didn’t happen....lol

It wasn't my surgery. My dad had a tumor the size of or a little bigger than a golf ball removed from inside of his skull. I was the only one able to take off to help out so it's been a crazy year... as of the end of January he's been cleared to drive and do all his normal stuff so I am trying my part to get back into the swing of things.

It was kind of amazing. My mom was an utter wreck the whole time leading up to the event and she couldn't take him to round trip 3 to 4 hour drives 2 or 3 times a week, but after he had his surgery they sent him back home within two days. He's doing great.

mustangfreek
8 April 2019, 19:04
Oh wow..

That’s a lot to deal with, good to hear all is ok.

alamo5000
1 May 2019, 12:07
Oh wow..

That’s a lot to deal with, good to hear all is ok.

Yeah man. It's been a pain in the ass. I'm just now starting to dig out. Working my ass off trying to get back in the game.

In the end though everyone is still intact so that's more important than anything.

Sorry for the slow response. Been busy +1.