i have an Eastwood gun, those are priceless. i use a toaster oven that was given to us YEARS ago for a wedding shower gift...wife doesn't like it cause it doesn't match any of the kitchens we've had in our houses. So,..i put it to good baking use in the shop

A gas grill works well also.

 

Question about powder coating: I did what Ken did and painted mine flat black. It looks great, much better than stock imo, but the flat black paint does scuff up quite a bit, especially as mreed notes with mid controls. The paint doesn't come off, but when you rub against it, it changes color slightly and looks, well, scuffed up. Is that scuffing inherent to flat black finishes? If I powder coat something flat black will it do the same thing or does it hold a more consistent color than flat black paint?

 

Looks good ! its the simple things in life hahaha

 

i'm now having the same problem. noticed it today.
i think i'll go with several more layers of paint and maybe rub it all of and start with some primer.
if all else fails i'll go for powder coating. but i wonder if i can ever get that matte black look with it.

 

This probably won't be helpful for most but if anyone is familiar with Duracoat it is much harder and more durable than regular paint. Duracoat is a two part epoxy-type firearms finish that is mixed with a hardener and sprayed on with an airbrush. I had some tactical flat black left over from a gun project and figured I'd use it up re-finishing my highway pegs (which were chrome and bought used on ebay). They came out looking like new and the stuff wears like iron. I have to say I have not noticed any of the scuffing problems I have with the derby cover, though the pegs aren't subject to the same type of rubbing as the cover, so who knows. Time will tell.

Two drawbacks to Duracoat: 1) It ain't cheap. A 4 oz. bottle if you have your own airbrush to apply it is $16.95. But 4 oz. will actually go a long way. They also have a complete shake-and-spray kit with an aerosol sprayer, paint, degreaser, etc for $29.95.
And 2) Duracoat requires about a week to fully cure to maximum hardness. You can handle it after an hour or so and after 24 hours it's as tough as regular paint and you can reassemble, whatever. But you need to give it at least a week to achieve full durability.

I used it because I had a small amount that was going to end up going to waste if I didn't do something with it. But it does appear that the flat black Duracoat is much better at resisting the scuffing you get with regular paint. So in that regard the extra expense and time might be worth it.

Hence, my original question regarding powder coating - will the flat black powder coat resist the scuffing problem you get with flat black paint?

 

Powder coat is harder than paint so it will do a much better job at resisting scuffing.

 

Factory wrinkle black derby cover here: $30.

That sucks if they charge $120 for duty, or international espionage tax, or whatever the hell they're charging it for.

Between time and materials, many of the ideas put forth are no longer cost effective for me.

 

apart from the cost, if i can not justify something in my head than i find another way.
i paid $18k for an iron. that was ok (2x the u.s price)
but this not!

and the joy of doing it is worth more than 30 bucks. and you've got to jack up the bike anyhow ; )

 

Ken- Love the bike lift! :-P