Durability of coatings

[Trick Pony]

Anyone have experience with Duracote, Cerakote, Hydro-dipping, etc?
My wife wants zebra on her AR so I am trying to decide which route is best.

[Moose242]

I used duracoat on my PTR 91 and it has held up to mild abuse. Not like I have trekked through the desert with it or anything but I am satisfied. Also, remember the cure time of epoxy based paint is a couple of weeks (at least for duracoat) if you do not use an oven.

[bigshoe]

I Duracoated my SPS tactical barrel and action. I've beat the shit out of it and had no issues. The trick is in the prep work, and how clean it is. Be careful with it for the first few weeks cause the stuff stays kind of soft for awhile, but after that its hard as a rock.

[YALE]

Some of the coatings (like Duracoat & Alumahyde) seem to do well over a parkerized coating first. You can't park anything stainless, though. Ch-ch-check it out:

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1955790

[dee]

Cerakote is the way to go if you can find someone that does it.

[GAP]

The duracoating i've done has turned out really well. I've not abused it a lot, but under normal use, it's shown no wear. But like DOHCTR said, it takes awhile before it really fully cures. Be gentle for a week or two, because it will still be soft and scratch prone.

[futant]

huh i must try duracoating
ive been using bake on black spray ceramic 'engine paint' basically.
works fine for normal usage...like anything paint though it can be scratched.

i prep well, then bake once at 300 for 30 min, then cool
then 500+ for 30 min then cool

no smoke later when shooting or anything, pretty durable and thick (2-3) coats normally
pita though to bake, smells up house something nasty. VENTILATE!!!!

[LANTIRN]

Krylon. Holds up fairly well, is cheap, and when it does flake off it is easy to touch up. Also easy to strip and repaint with a new scheme. Also, once it gets a little banged up it has that used and worn look to it.

[dee]

Header coating works pretty well also, if you have an oven big enough.