Feel like showing off (1911 content)

[gsd]

A little while ago I picked up a Crusader Compact (Officers' size) 1911 in .45 ACP. After a few hiccups, it shot beautifully, and became my carry firearm. It's a little chunky, but that is to be expected out of an actual metal firearm.

After one catastrophic screw up (on my part entirely), I replaced the frame with a RIA from Armscor. I feel the need to note, they treated me extremely well, both on the phone and in the final transaction amount.

Only downside was, now I had two VERY different colors between the frame and slide.

So what is an entrepreneurial redneck like myself going to do about that?

Start with this...(don't mind that Russian...thing...)



Add some DuraCoat DIY style,



This by the way is super simple, and not very time consuming at all. I spent maybe an hour, including downtime between flash times and cleaning. (Just be sure to have adequate ventilation, I still have a headache from a heavy dose of the fumes.)

And after about 6 hours, it is time to CAREFULLY reassemble. ( the instructions say wait 24 hours, but who reads those?)

And the final product...



All in all, a relatively good use of $50, as I even had enough to do a few other things as well. The kit I got from LCW said you should be able to do 2 firearms. I did the 1911, an AR lower, and an AK mag, and still wound up with some left over.

[barmandr]

After much discussion with a few well known smiths about the durability of Duracoat vs. Ceracote, I'm very interested in how well this finish holds up.  Please post pics periodically so we can see how it holds up.  Looks pretty darned good for now though.

[Ghost]

Looks good!  Course, it's a 1911, so it's easier for it to look good.   

Ghost

[gsd]

I have been carrying this for a couple weeks, and have also run about 300 rounds through it since the coating process.

Seems to have held up quite well, the black smudged line along the slide in the first picture is where it has actually been rubbing the dye off of the leather inside my KingTuk.





The only small bit of flaking I had was at the top of the ejection port, which was most likely applicator error (my fault, perhaps poor prep).