Gun-Kote..Safe for blades?

J

J.Ziegler

Joined
Jun 11, 2003
Messages
120
Hi... I have been approached to do some blades for a Tactical police organization and would like to finish the blades either black or matte grey.
A few years ago I did up a dozen tantos for local police and military and at that time a friend had access to a bead blaster which did a great job but alas that is no longer available.
My question is, will gun-kote as available from brownell's work and is it a quality product?
The directions say the item should be at 100 degrees when sprayed and then bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.
I am worried that the bake time will affect the tempering of the blade. I do not know much on the subject as I have always sent my blades to Allied Heat Treating in Toronto and left that end of the process in their hands.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jim Ziegler
 
I found some info in the archives in response to a previous question.
This stuff looks nice at first but I'm not convinced it stays that way after use. I may have to invest in a bead blaster for the look I like.
J.Z.
 
If you like a really smooth finish and have an air-sprayer to put it on thin enough I know people who have used it on knives and tomahawks and then baked it in a regular kitchen oven (stinks to high heaven but not forever :D )

We had some tomahawks finished with it and it worked beautifully.

Suzanne Settle
Owner
Bear Mountain Tomahawks
www.bmtomahawks.com
 
Jim if you are using 440C or ATS the tempering temperature is 400F so any baking below that will not affect the metal. Chris Reeves uses the Gun Kote in a newer formulation using ceramic filler instead of the teflon on his knives.

I will be using it soon with the ceramic filler as well. My heat treater has been consulted and has given me a green light re heat treat changes.
 
you can buy an inexpensive sand blaster, it holds a quart of sand. buy fine emery sand, or quartz sand. but make sure its very fine. not the silica you use for car bodies. you can et it at art supply shops. even michaels crafts carries it. this will give you a matt finish. you may even wish to experiment with dyes at that point.
 
You can get a bead blaster and booth from Harbor Frieght for about 70$. I paid 69.something for mine and all you need are the beads and an air compressior.

I've used the Gun Kote and it is pretty tough, but like any coating it can be scraped off.
 
have you thought about parkerizing, it's a nice tactical color, and is pretty damn durable, and you don't heat the part over 200 degrees.
it's recommended that you blast the part first though, so you still have that problem
 
http://www.shooterssolutions.com/higdenchargr.html

that's where i got mine, I looked around a lot and they seemed to be the best kit. the website and the instructions are a bit odd, they are specific, but a bit too specific and a little overzealous, but the end result is good. basically you clean and degrease the part, you are supposed to media blast it for best results, then mix up your parkerizing acid with water, heat it up, put the part in and wait for it to stop bubbling, then you neutralize it, and oil it, and your good to go, it holds up well, and resists rust and corosion well, you still have to oil and take care of it, but i have neglected mine pretty badly and it still holds up.
on the chemical side, it supposedly converts surface metal to some sort of salt and deposits it back on the surface, too complicated for me,
i got the manganese formula and it turned out pretty black, i had a pic around here, but i can't find it anymore
anyhow, do some research on parkerizing and you'll find more than you need
good luck
 
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