Refinishing a slide with KG Gun-Kote

With a little time you can have your gun looking like new again.

This week I spent an evening refinishing the slide on my Springfield XD Subcompact .40 S&W.  I’ve never done this before but following the directions on the products I was happy with the results.  Read on for a step by step description of what I did and pictures of the process.

Click on each photo to view a larger version.

Here is what I used.  Flat Black KG Gun-Kote (2401 F) and the pre-coating product called K-Phos.  The K-Phos is supposed to coat the part after blasting so it doesn’t start to oxidize and helps the finish coat bond to the part.

Start by stripping the slide of all parts such as sights.  Degrease the slide and tape off all areas that are not going to be refinished.  I used blue painters tape.  Use plenty of tape so blast media doesn’t go through the tape and damage parts of the slide you don’t want to touch.  The manufacturer recommends aluminum oxide for blast media.  I used this stuff from tractor supply.  It was $8 for a 50lb. bag and I got the finest grit they had.

Media Blasting:

After blasting:

Next I sprayed the part with K-Phos.  We used a paint sprayer for this part.

After the K-Phos dried for about 15 minutes the slide was heated up to 125 degrees F with a heat gun.  The manufacturer recommends this to prevent runs.  After that we sprayed the part with Gun Kote.  The manufacturer recommends using an air brush and spraying the part from 8-10 inches away so you’re hitting it with a cloud of fine spray.  Optimal thickness is .0004”.

Spraying the Gun Kote:

Once all surfaces were coated the tape was carefully removed and it was ready for the oven.

Bake in the oven at 325 degrees F for one hour.  Time starts when the part reaches 325 degrees.  We put it in for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  If you bake it hotter or longer the surface becomes harder and more durable but can discolor.

After baking and cooling it’s finished.

♦

And the final product.