First build done!

[parksm7]

true, i reckon its not worth coating then.

[BarrelNuts]

true, i reckon its not worth coating then.

I have thought about ordering the black factory bolt head/baffle; however since it would be a purely cosmetic thing and I plan on this being a working rifle (target and hunting) I'm not so worried about spending the extra money for it; can get 2lbs of powder or a box of bullets or whatever instead... rather spend the time pulling the trigger on it than looking at it; although I will say I find her to be a looker nonetheless!

[foxx]

Great job, NUts.

Quick suggestion for airbrushing Duracoat: Harbor freight sells a $10 airbrush kit that includes several disposable paint jars. Actually, the whole thing is disposable, but if you just run water thru it when done it will work fine many times over. When I first tried Duracoat and GunKote I was using a "quality" hobby airbrush from Badger. It kept clogging and caused endless grief. Then someone here recommended this El CHeapo kit for gun work and I figured, "What the heck, I'll try it." It's amazing! Simple and effective. Lays down a perfect amount of paint/material and, because you are airbrushing it on, you use about 80% less then those other canned spray kits and it doesn't laydown a thick coat. I could not believe how well it worked. You could never draw or make fine lines with it, but for spraying parts, its ideal. Seriously. I would highly recommend it even for "pros".

Here's a link: http://www.harborfreight.com/quick-change-airbrush-kit-93506.html

[limige]

Now you have to bake durakote right?

[scooterf79]

I maybe mistaken, but I dont think duracoat is bake on. Cerakote is, well one of em is. They make an air dry cerakote too.
Scooter

[BarrelNuts]

Duracoat is an air dry/two part epoxy and hardener type finish. The rattle can variant you actually have to activate by breaking an internal container which releases the hardener. While it worked well, I would think being able to control the flow/pattern better with an air brush would have been much better... Also once you activate the rattle can version you have to use it within about 24 hours... YMMV but despite a longer claim on the can that was my experience. The only other drawback is the time to full cure is about 3 weeks...after hanging overnight parts were not tacky but like with most two part epoxies the time to complete hardness/full use takes a while. Other than that it's a great product.

[limige]

Three weeks would be tough to wait.

[BarrelNuts]

It's useable however they say to only "lightly use"... Which to me says don't risk it. Good/bad is I am waiting on my glass to ship so no big deal since I'm not going to the range with it anyways.

[Brent]

4350 is good and so is H4831SC. Hodgdon 4831 and 4350 are not temp sensitive if that is of interest to you. Personally I had best results with 4831 in a 260 with 140 vlds. 2810 fps. Shoots .25 to .3 groups consistently.

Nice work btw. I have been using cerakote on many rifle and pistol projects. With cerakote it is a heat cure and air brush application. I have thought about rattle can duracote projects like stocks though. Great products out there for DIY guys. Again, nice work.

[BarrelNuts]

Yeah, I'm actually looking at investing in the equipment needed and starting to do Cerakote as a side venture... although till you get a bead blaster, a solvent tank, a good airbrush set up, and an oven large enough to do multiple firearms at once you've got quite an investment up front. Between the two, I can see cerakote as being a better choice, however there isn't anyone local to me that does it and I couldn't see sending it off and waiting plus paying the extra cost vs. the duracoat for my first project. Next build (already in planning) will be a chassis system build and I will either be cerakoting myself or sending it off to be done.

[BarrelNuts]

Well Praise the lord and pass the ammunition; scope and rings will arrive on the 4th! So... this time next Saturday I'll know what we really have here; got 50 rounds of ammo loaded all ready to go; 129gr ABLRs on top of IMR4350, lapua brass and CCI primers; set up from starting load to max book load in .5gr increments. I must say I'm happier than a puppy with two... well; you get the point.

[BarrelNuts]

Have to love UPS... package arrived a day early so maybe tomorrow will be a "sick" day... I can finally now say that we are 100% DONE done... glass mounted and ready to send rounds down range. I think she turned out to be a beauty.

Final specs: Model 10 top bolt release action, 26" Shilen stainless select match varmint contour in .260, NSS recoil lug and nut, EGW 20 MOA rail, factory DBM and bottom metal, swapped out plastic trigger guard for metal one, Bell & Carlson M40 varmint/tactical, vortex viper PST 6-24x50 MOA/MOA riding in vortex precision matched rings, el-cheapo blackhawk bipod.
http://i1380.photobucket.com/albums/ah181/mpstover1/IMG_0440_zps1gr8ognu.jpg

http://i1380.photobucket.com/albums/ah181/mpstover1/IMG_0442_zpsz7ek2nvv.jpg

http://i1380.photobucket.com/albums/ah181/mpstover1/IMG_0441_zpsw8fvww5x.jpg

[scooterf79]

Looks really sharp! Nice build...cant wait to see range results!
Scooter