doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Whats the best way to apply Case Color Lacquer ?

I wanted to ask what is the best way to apply Case Color Lacquer to a newly case colored receiver.is it better to apply with a brush,a pad,a sponge what.And do you have to apply more than one coat.thanks.

IF the gun is still apart, spray it with an airbrush. If the gun has been reassembled, use Tru Oil and a finger tip.

On a gun that's apart, I preheat the frame/parts with a hairdryer so the tac time is reduced. I thin my lacquer 1:1 with lacquer thinner. I brush sparingly several coats. I like the Minwax Claer lacquer it seems to be immune to more lubes than Behlens. Behlens softens under G96.

I recently applied Galazan's Case Color Lacquer to a 28-ga. Parker Repro. This product is thin enough right out of the jar. I applied it (just one coat) with a 1/4" artist's brush. It resulted in a nice even smooth finish and dried within a couple of minutes. I might add that it adds a bit of an amber colored hue to the metal.

If you've got some nice but not very deep engraving you have to be careful with the thickness. See my recent post on my newly redone rook rifle. The lacquer is just a little too thick and really takes away from the engravers art. Easily remedied though.

Hello Pawnbroker,

From my archives (without permission from the authors) :

Posted by Ted Schefelbein (Member # 237) on November 16, 2003, 10:51 AM:

I think most of the old American companys put some kind of laquer on the case colors. Brownells sells a version called baking laquer that I used on a recase colored Charlin to protect the work Mr. Turnbull did. The problem with baking lacquer is getting it off, (not that I cared, I wanted a tough coating) but, carb cleaner (the soak kind, available at NAPA and other automotive parts stores) will take it off, and won't damage the colors. I've heard guys here say a coat of tru-oil is a nice, simple way to protect colors thats very easy to remove. Haven't tried that myself, but, it seems plausable. If you have the ability to dismantle a sidelock yourself, a coat of any version of spray can clear laquer would be better than nothing, a coat of baking laquer would be better than spray can stuff, (do you own a spray gun and a compressor?) and some tru-oil would likely be easiest. If you laid it on thin, the spray can version might not leach past the pins to gum up the works, but, I don't consider that to be the "right" way to do the job. The best adhesion would come with dismantling the gun, and proper de-greasing as well. A final thought, is that any coating is going to add a layer of sheen that purists will find objectionable-but, like I always say, purists didn't cut the check for the gun. This will likely only be a problem when you go to sell the gun, and wouldn't be a problem with many buyers. My old Darne has beautiful colors, which I did a baking laquer job on, but the years have removed some of the coating and colors from the high spots/edges on the gun. The effects of time can only be held off for so long...
Best,
Ted

Posted by Oscar Gaddy (Member # 38) on November 16, 2003, 12:58 PM:

For some time, I have been using a clear-coat aerosol spray-on lacquer made and sold by Behlens. It is a true cellulose lacquer that you can spray on and have a very uiform coat without bubbles and running with just a little care in application. When you need to redo it, it can easily be removed by merely soaking the parts in acetone. I have been very pleasedd with it's performance and I use it on all Damascus barrels that I refinish and on some guns that I color caseharden if the owner wants a protective coating.

Whatever you use, I recommend that you completely strip the internal parts and degrease carefully before applying the protective coating. You will then need to lubricate the appropriate parts and places when you reassemble.

Oscar Gaddy

Thank you, JayCee. I was just getting ready to mention the way Oscar used to do it.

FWIW I consider using lacquer on case coloring about at the level of linseed oil on stocks.
If you visit your local RC model hobby shop you will likely find a couple different poly sprays that are labeled as "fuel proof". That is the stuff you might want to consider using. It is just about bullet proof too and laughs at simple body oils and salts. And sprays are easy to use on assembled action too if you make sure to clean (I use acetone) the surfaces that you want to protect. And protect the case is just what the fuel proof stuff does. The oldest coating of this that I have is from 8-10 years ago and the gun is my fave pigeon and wobble trap gun. Shoot it more than anything else in the safe. It shows no discernable wear on the coating and it is not a thick coat.
The stuff is a bit pricey compared to lacquer, but you get what you pay for.

WtS