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Post by Mark Terry on Sept 27, 2009 20:05:39 GMT -5
I'm not a fan of aluminum gripframes but do have a few that need refurbishing. What sort of techniques / methods have forum members used, heard of, or seen?
I saw a EAA Bounty Hunter this weekend that I was convinced it had a steel gripframe (based solely on appearance). A magnet tells me it's aluminum or an alloy. The finish is different from the Ruger finish. Anyone have knowledge of this type finish?
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Post by Gary @ R&G on Sept 28, 2009 20:41:29 GMT -5
I use KG guncote on them. Bead blast, spray and bake.  |
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Post by Markbo on Sept 29, 2009 11:12:36 GMT -5
Anodizing?
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Post by Mark Terry on Sept 29, 2009 16:47:02 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure the Bounty Hunter isn't anodized. It looks like blued steel. I don't know if it's polished and anodized, I suppose it's possible, but I've never seen anything like it in a non-magnetic grip frame. I'll browse Brownell's tonight and look at the Guncotes. Unless I'm mistaken, Mr. Taffin wrote about touring the German plant where the Bounty Hunters are made so he may be able to lend some insight. Thanks for the ideas. |
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Post by Markbo on Sept 30, 2009 13:06:03 GMT -5
Well if it is aluminum, it can't be blued. Rust bluing won't work on aluminum. If it's stainless it also cannot be blued. So it's either carbon steel that is blued (I couldn't explain the non-magnetic property) or anodized aluminum. Just my guess.
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Post by Mark Terry on Sept 30, 2009 16:59:41 GMT -5
I'll try to post a picture or two. Whatever was done to them is a very nice finish and looks like blued steel and, in my opinion, looks much better than the other aluminum finishes.
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Post by J Miller on Oct 1, 2009 10:57:27 GMT -5
Mark,
I believe, though I'm not positive, that the Bounty Hunters use a brass back strap / trigger guard that is plated. I have read about this but I have no idea where.
Joe
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caryc
.375 Atomic
Posts: 1,055
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Post by caryc on Oct 1, 2009 11:34:55 GMT -5
Anodizing can have a finish like chrome if the part is highly polished before anodizing. I would say your frame is anodized.
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Post by Mark Terry on Oct 1, 2009 16:10:18 GMT -5
Mark, I believe, though I'm not positive, that the Bounty Hunters use a brass back strap / trigger guard that is plated. I have read about this but I have no idea where. Joe That never crossed my mind. Brass would be non-magnetic and I'm sure you could plate it. I don't know what would plate it with give it the look of blued steel but I suppose it's possible. Crafty Germans.... I'll pull the grips off to see if there are any signs of brass. It strikes me as ironic that a brass gripframe would be plated when generally brass gripframes are desireable and in some cases more desireable than blued steel. Cary - you may be right, too. I've not seen anodizing as smooth as this grip frame but I can't say it's not. I'll let you know what I find. Thanks, |
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carl
.327 Meteor
Posts: 546 
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Post by carl on Oct 2, 2009 5:51:18 GMT -5
I would think the weight of the gun would indicate brass or aluminum...........
Carl
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Post by madcratebuilder on Oct 21, 2009 16:09:09 GMT -5
Could it have been black chrome? Caswell plating has a lot of different products suitable for gun finishing. I have a electroless nickle kit for C&B frames and trigger guards. There are Duracoat colors that are very close to blued steel.
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Post by Mark Terry on Oct 21, 2009 19:11:54 GMT -5
Wouldn't it be nice if the sorry rascal that started this thread would follow up and let everyone know what he found?
The Bounty Hunter grip frames are brass with some sort of finish that is hard for me to distinguish from nice, deeply blued steel. I'll post some pics when I can.
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Post by Mark Terry on Nov 3, 2009 23:13:29 GMT -5
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Post by J Miller on Nov 6, 2009 11:48:00 GMT -5
That looks really nice Mark. I wonder just how thick the coating is. I've purchased two "refinished" Ruger XR3 grip frames where the paint was so thick the gun would not function when they were bolted on. One was eventually stripped bare of finish, the other might be usable with a little careful sanding in the hammer and trigger areas.
Joe
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Post by Mark Terry on Nov 6, 2009 12:42:57 GMT -5
I was concerned about the thickness of the coating too. The stuff just sprays out in a pretty coarse spray and seems pretty viscous. If one had an air brush, I think you can buy the Gun Kote in a liquid form that could be diluted to improve the sprayability and control the thickness better. As it is, it does flow pretty well and I'd probably have had better results if I'd adhered more closely to the 80F application temperature.
By the way, I dropped the trigger guard as I was taking it out of the oven and cracked the coating (300F is HOT to bare skin). Even at temperature, it's fairly brittle. I'm not sure how durable it will be.
It's still a heck of a lot better than it was and is acceptable on a gun that's never going to be a show piece.
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