[PA1749]

A couple of days ago I applied blue wonder Armadillo to the exterior of my slide to try and protect the finish without having to send my gun away or possibly void the warranty with an aftermarket permanet application of some sort.

Armadillo is a real PITA to work with. The directions suggest that you apply it with a wet cloth, let dry, and then buff it. These directions suck.
Wet cloth + wax uhhh.... water and was repel each other.....

Here's what works...a much better job in a fraction of the time.

I don't know a lot about gun smitting but I do know a little about hot waxing a pair of skis.
Armadillo is basically two types of wax and two types of oil plus silicone.

1. Forget the wet cloth.
2. Remove the block of wax (Armadillo) from the container
3. Scrub the entire outside of the slide with it, cake it on good
4. Place the slide with the caked on Armadillo in your toaster oven.
5. Heat it until the Armadillo begins to melt but before it begins to drip off
at this point the Armadillo is mostly clear and it will get into every corner, crack and crevase.
6. Let it dry.
7. Use a dry cloth to buff it up.

This whole process takes less than 5 minutes

I tested mine under the faucet and the water beaded up and ran off just like it should.

Thought this might help anyone who wants to try and use the stuff.

 

[xdfreak]

Thanks for the tip; I have been following the directions and could never tell if I was getting it right or enough on; I'll try this next time!

One other suggestion is to heat your cloth up in the microwave and then apply it; better than wetting the cloth!

 

[pilar]

good tip; i've been doing the same minus the oven part but i'll be sure to try it out.

 

[Son of Norway]

Just bought a toaster oven, makes crappy toast...maybe this will redeem it.

 

[chrome]

A couple of days ago I applied blue wonder Armadillo to the exterior of my slide to try and protect the finish without having to send my gun away or possibly void the warranty with an aftermarket permanet application of some sort.

Armadillo is a real PITA to work with. The directions suggest that you apply it with a wet cloth, let dry, and then buff it. These directions suck.
Wet cloth + wax uhhh.... water and was repel each other.....

Here's what works...a much better job in a fraction of the time.

I don't know a lot about gun smitting but I do know a little about hot waxing a pair of skis.
Armadillo is basically two types of wax and two types of oil plus silicone.

1. Forget the wet cloth.
2. Remove the block of wax (Armadillo) from the container
3. Scrub the entire outside of the slide with it, cake it on good
4. Place the slide with the caked on Armadillo in your toaster oven.
5. Heat it until the Armadillo begins to melt but before it begins to drip off
at this point the Armadillo is mostly clear and it will get into every corner, crack and crevase.
6. Let it dry.
7. Use a dry cloth to buff it up.

This whole process takes less than 5 minutes

I tested mine under the faucet and the water beaded up and ran off just like it should.

Thought this might help anyone who wants to try and use the stuff.

This is the way I get a good shine on my boots, I WONDER if this would work?

1.) cake it on like recommended above
2.) let it sit for recommended time
3.) take a lighter, flame the slide (do not actually touch the slide of course, but allow the heat from the lighter to melt the wax on the slide just enough so it will buff out well)

What do you think? For those of us who do not have toaster ovens

 

[Ben97XJ]

I have used the lighter trick to melt the wax that was stuck in the letters so it wouldn't appear white.

 

[chrome]

I have used the lighter trick to melt the wax that was stuck in the letters so it wouldn't appear white.

Good to hear, i guess there goes my custom crayola job.

 

[icwtumn]

Another Armadillo trick that I have found works - shave a few shreds of armadillo off the main block and place them in a small container (I use a plastic film canister, you know, the ones that 35mm film come in) . Lower the bottom part of the film canister, with the Armadillo shavings inside, into a bowl of HOT water for about a minute. The Armadillo wax melts into a pliable paste that is easily smeared onto the gun surfaces.

I have found that this is much easier than following the instructions provided, and any unused wax just stays in the film canister until the next application. Very little, if any, waste.

If you don't have a toaster oven, this might be an alternative for you.

 

[msidner]

How hot should the water be? Faucet turned all the way to hot, or heated near boiling in the microwave? Just curious what works to melt it down. Been thinking of applying it hot for awhile, just didn't want to over do it.

Matthew

 

[Ryno]

I usually just heat up my slide with a hair dryer and use the warm-damp cloth like the directions say. Works perfect for me. That stuff is a gift from God.

 

[lymongood]

Just did mine over the weekend, put the slide on my woodstove for a minute until it was warm but could still be held in my hands.

Same thing as above, the warm slide helped melt all the armadillo grease, then buff off when cool.

Obviously, this won't help all of you in the warmer parts of the states :lol:

 

[icwtumn]

How hot should the water be?

Heating the slide is a great idea, too. That would make application even easier.

I ususally use the hottest water I can get out of the tap, then warm it a little more in the microwave. It doesn't need to be boiling, but it won't matter as long as the Armadillo melts inside the canister. The hotter the water, the faster it will melt. Using only hot water (vs. boiling) will allow you to make more of a paste, rather than melting the Armadillo into a liquid.

Just experiment with it and see what works best for you.

 

[msidner]

Good stuff, worked like a champ! Thanks for the tip!

Matthew