Industrial paint-job - your thoughts

[grossmandesign]

Hey all, I'm new here, and yeah I know there are plenty of threads already active that address custom painting the slide, but I never get my questions answered when I piggy-back threads and this is a little specific.

I work in the paint department of a plant that builds industrial fuel storage and transport tanks and trucks, and I was wondering if it would be wise to have my slide painted by the pros in the shop. I'm a lowly sandblaster and know nothing of the different types of paint so my first question is, would there be any reason that the type of paint they use on these vessels would not be what I want for my slide? I'm also wondering if after a coat of primer and a coat of paint, well, would the slight increase in surface area negatively affect the performance of my XD9 service model? To make sure the paint takes to the surface, everything gets scuffed with scotch-brite or sanded before being painted, should I be hesitant in doing this? If it scratches it could look a lot worse than a scratch on the plain black slide straight from the factory, am I right?

And since I just had the idea today, and I'm not 100% on going through with it, my last question is - what colors do you think would look good? I've got the all black frame/slide (I wanted the OD frame but I wasn't in a position to be choosy).

Thank you all for your feedback and input - I'll be sure to post pics if anything happens!

[ironmike1378]

I personally would recommend using a paint designed for guns... There are some very good ones out there and color selection. And I would not suggest scuffing the slide up.

Just my .02

[1lowlife]

Originally Posted by ironmike1378

I personally would recommend using a paint designed for guns... There are some very good ones out there and color selection. And I would not suggest scuffing the slide up.

Just my .02

I agree with ironmike.

Firearm finishes, painted (baked) and plated are very thin.
Most 'paints' are fairly thick and are not meant for tight slide to frame tolerances, for example powder coating.
I mean I have some loose frames to slides, AKA Sigs, but I wouldn't use just anything to refinish or 'paint' a frame or slide of any of my pistols.
Flaking specks of paint can easily jam up the internals of a firearm and render it useless..
I don't even like the bake on paints.
Any firearm of mine that get refinished is PLATED in hard chrome, nickel boron, or nickel teflon.
No bake-on Duracoat (or whatever) finishes for me..

If the OP wants to go for it, then by all means give it a shot and let us know how it worked out.

[grossmandesign]

Thanks guys. The more I think about it anyhow, the more I start to think that all black is a classic, and after all, what with the shakiness that the gun market is going to be enduring over the coming years, I might not want to mess with what could become a reasonable collector value.