Review: DuraCoat Shake N Spray

DuraCoat is a hard polymer paint using a base and hardener (like epoxy) designed for painting firearms, including moving parts, barrels, etc. It dries to the touch after 20 minutes, can be used after curing to eight hours, but takes several weeks to fully cure to super hardness. It comes in dozens of colors & patterns, retains some flexibility so isn’t fragile, and is somewhat self-lubricating. By all accounts, it’s probably the hardest, most durable coating that can be had outside some factory finishes, and maybe better than some of those.

If you ever watch the Nutnfancy YouTube channel, you know he’s crazy about DuraCoat and has multiple videos on the subject. That’s where I first learned of the product.

DuraCoat is normally applied with an airbrush and requires an air compressor, which I don’t have and didn’t want to purchase for the few projects I might have for the paint – a few rifle stocks (not the guns, though), some magazines, and a few odds and ends. Probably a lot of others felt the same way, which is why the manufacture, Lauer Custom Weaponry, came up with the “Shake N Spray” kits.

The Good. I’m going to spend more time in the bad portion of this review, but DuraCoat is actually mostly pretty good. Most any color or pattern you’d want is available. The kit is relatively cheap and you don’t need an air compressor. The hardness and durability of DuraCoat is outstanding.

You can really dress up a beat-up weapon, stock, whatever. If you do use it on the action, barrel, etc., it acts as a rust inhibitor. For a nice .303 Enfield or M1 Garand? Probably not, but for modern carbines and “black guns,” absolutely. I will continue to purchase, use, and recommend this product.

The Bad. First, it’s difficult to determine what the colors actually are by looking at the photos on vendor websites. In the photos below, I have the samples from the website and the examples of items I’ve painted. The East German Green and TangoDown Flat Dark Earth look fairly close in the online samples of ARs, but the green is a shade darker while the flat dark earth is a shade or so lighter (compare the piece from a stock above and the magazine below – big difference).

Second, even though I followed the instructions to avoid having a shiny finish (even used more of the base to give a flatter appearance), my East German Green project came out shiny. I like the color, it’s actually almost exactly what I want, but it should be flat and not shiny. Others have noticed this (and here). I’ll have to get some clear matte to fix that as shiny defeats the purpose. A solution online said to use something to stir up the bottom in addition to shaking the bottle for the recommended time, which I’ll try next time.

Third and last, a lot of the advertisements claim you can coat two weapons with the kit (some say 2-4). Pistols, maybe, but my dark earth kit gave me three good coats on sever AR magazines, while the green one coated one rifle stock and foregrip – and that was it. Probably the spray applicator included with the kit isn’t’ as fine as an airbrush and uses more of the mixture.

From the Survival Blogosphere

Modern Survival Online has a guest post on 10 must haves for the BoB – I agree and carry all 10 myself. Survival Cache has a related post on 3 items every BoB needs (I agree with the list, but don’t have a net – yet). Finally, Nutnfancy has a useful list of gear he carries.

SHTF Blog has a post on using solar power to run propane refrigerators. This is a good idea, and offers an alternative method to using electric via batteries. On a side note, you could also use small fires in a controlled method to run these refrigerators. Some very early refrigerators used fire, or so my grandpa told me.

TEOTWAWKI Blog has a post on making lye soap, with links and several videos. Especially useful is the process for manufacturing lye rather than buying it. As the post notes, soap is one of those things we take for granted but is critical in maintaining hygiene. My grandmother used to make lye soap from time to time – be careful, it can be caustic!

Last year I had a post on selecting a night vision device that focused on image intensification rather than thermal imaging due to the high cost of thermal devices. The Firearm Blog today had a post on the FLIR Scout PS24, which at about $2,000 is about a third less expensive than comparable devices. I’m saving up for this – excellent for bugging out or defending the retreat.

Acorns as Survival Food

A lot of prepping involves food storage and learning how to hunt, but especially gardening and small-scale farming. I grew up in a rural area and am familiar with both hunting and farming, but am interested in other food sources often overlooked. Acorns seem to fall in that category and if you have a lot of oak tress they could be a game changer in hard times.

Acorns are a great source of calories and were a staple of American Indians, but they contain tannic acid and must be processed – could cause kidney damage otherwise.

Some survivalists or prepper are aware of this, for those of you that weren’t; now you are. I haven’t harvested or processed acorns but plan to this year and will document some of it. I suggest you do some research to see what kind of oaks are in your area and how much they will need to be processed before eating (a good resource for California). If/when TEOTWAWKI arrives, acorns could be like manna from Heaven for some and make the difference between life and starvation.