Airbrushin'

Alright, so I'm trying this whole airbrush thing for DuraCoat.

Yes, there are single-use sprayers for applying paint, but they are fairly expensive ($6/can) for minimal use - I'm seeing numbers in the 8-12 minute range. Since I'm new to airbrushing, I expect I'll need more than ten minutes of time to figure out what I'm doing. Not to mention that I'm planning to do more than one gun - my 870 will get a coat, probably after I coat a beater single-shot 16ga for practice, and possibly a decent single-shot 20ga.

I did some quick research on airbrushes and ended up with a pretty basic model - a "single-action, external-mix" Badger 350. Online these run about $45-50, with a coupon at the local Michael's Crafts it was $35. I spent another $25 to get the air line to connect to my existing shop compressor, and then $30 at Lowe's for a desiccant and secondary regulator.

Another run through the craft store netted me a roll of heavy paper and a bottle of India Ink, which is suggested as a good analog for practicing with an airbrush - and far cheaper than DuraCoat or other suitable paints.

I'll be connecting everything together this afternoon and doing some practice, and hopefully ordering some DuraCoat in the next couple weeks. I'll post pictures as things progress!

Deal Alert

Via DealNews: Kidde Smoke/CO alarm for $30 at Home Depot.

I'll admit to not being in love with this style of alarm because it needs to be plugged in. CO alarms can be placed anywhere on a wall and function correctly; smoke alarms need to be in the upper third of a wall (but NOT right on the wall-ceiling corner - that 6-8" either side of the corner is dead space) and very few of us have outlets that high on the wall.

That said - this is a good price for the alarm, and if you have a higher outlet (laundry room, basement, garage, whatever) it's a good idea.

Also, both types of detectors should be replaced every 5-7 years. If you don't remember when you got them, replace them. (I replaced every detector in the house the day after we bought it, and added several.) When you put up the new ones, put the date on the back with a Sharpie.

York Arms, DuraCoat

Jay ups the ante and channels his inner Rooster. You'll note the caliber is "556Poodle", which I personally find pretty inappropriate. Rooster had a Colt Peacemaker in .45LC and a Winchester saddle-ring in .44-40, according to the IMFDB. The appropriate upper for this rifle is obviously something starting with .4, so a .450Bushmaster would be a pretty fair choice. (I'd go with .45-70, but that's a rimmed cartridge and will get into feed issues.)

Since he put up the pron, I'll let the cat out of the bag here ... I also have a custom lower coming for MrsZ. She knows about it ... sort of. Not all the details, though. And those won't be posted here 'til she knows them. Seeing the picture Jay posted of his in-process lower makes me VERY excited about the work Wally is doing. I'm pretty jealous. ;-)

And as for DuraCoat ... I did some research and found that the I don't need a special compressor - the one I have for the shop is just fine, with a dryer and good regulator in line. Knowing that, I picked up an airbrush (Badger 350) and some india ink and paper to practice with. I'll be ordering DuraCoat in a bit and will try to take pics of the process. (Side note: Michael's Crafts puts a 40% off one item coupon in their ads. Well, they also put it online - and accept it digitally. I showed them the coupon on my tablet, they scanned it, and boom, 40% off. Well worth it; took the airbrush down to $35.)

QOTD: Sean D. Sorrentino

Sean posted this gem over in comments at Jigsaw's.

Killing an attacker is not "escalation."


A-freakin'-men.

What's the golden rule that we all learned way back in grade school? "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Well, SumDood is doing unto others with a knife/bat/gun/whatever...  Karma's a bitch.

Duracoat?

Anyone out there in blogland done any work with DuraCoat before? My 870 is showing its age (7 years?) and abuse (every kind of game and weather imaginable) and I'm planning to do the barrels and receiver. Not sure on colors (or maybe even a pattern?) but I'm looking for any advice. Techniques. Quantities. Equipment. Etc.