Brownells Aluma-Hyde 2 Epoxy Based Firearms Finish Aerosol Can Matte Black

Just letting others know, you'll probably read a lot of reviews about how the texture is bad or the paint is sprayed inconsistently. Just know that most of the issues mentioned in those bad reviews are entirely user-error. Watch the Brownell's youtube guides, prep properly, shake the can WAY more than you think. You can't just go town in 5 minutes like with regular rattlecans, do it right. It works great, and is a lot tougher than standard spray paint. For the color, do some freaking research, don't just look at the name or cap. Also I would recommend dissasembling whatever you are going to paint, don't just hit the whole piece. It won't turn out as well as if you took the few extra minutes to prep properly.

It’s a great product through and through. However it is not easy to use. Please consider watching some of the brownells prep and application videos. To do this right it’s a lot of meticulous work and honestly takes practice. Color accuracy is on par with Magpul od green. Paint is thick and requires constant shaking. Thickness and texture depends on spray technique and your level of patience. You have options of curing let it sit or bake it. Don’t be upset with yourself if you mess up along the way. Even if you sprayed it thick and cured it right if your surface prep wasn’t the best it will scratch. However if prep, sprayed and cured correctly it’s significantly sturdier and more scratch resistant than regular spray paint, but it is not cerakote so take it easy cowboy. Enjoy the process have fun.

I paint stuff all the time. Guns, cars, patio furniture. I have Big expensive air setups, little cheap air brush kits, have used duracoat, cerakote, krylon, Rust-Oleum in cans. But I was looking to get a can of something "better" for a cheap gun frame. Idk about the durability or quality of this paint because the can and nozzle don't work. Followed all directions on can exactly. Here's what happens. Can starts off spraying with some sputtering for a few seconds then it sprays a nice beautiful mist, then the mist randomly starts getting thicker and sputters out again ruining my frame. Well it ruined what I was trying to do, the frame is soaking in a stripper right now. The can was shaken for no less than 5 min. Can was warm when applying as per directions. It's just worthless. If I wanted a short cut a can of krylon would have done me better. Update: I have a lot of junk laying around and decided to try this on some stuff that I don't care about. What I noticed throughout the process is that using 220 micro grit paper to prep the surface is essential for the strongest bond. Normally with duracoat or kylon I use a 400 and it's perfect for a strong bond. With this stuff it is not. That being said, krylon is still stronger in my opinion. I oven cured the brownells for 2 hours at about 180-200 degrees on each surface prepped with different grits. Let all sit for 2 days then scratch tested them. On all of them the scratches were tearing of flakes of paint. I do not have this issue with kryon. The other big issue was the lack of consistency with the spray. As it went on really uneven and had these splatters and splotches. I still have that issue but in the process of oven curing, it smoothed out a little bit. Still not as good as cheaper options. So i still conclude that your should just use krylon. Do all your normal prep; sand, degrease by cleaning then low temp in oven to draw out more oil then hit with brake cleaner, paint with matte krylon (dries really fast between coats), oven cure for a few hours or air cure for a few days, finish with fast drying krylon matte clear coat. I promise you will have a better result than this over priced stuff.

I got this paint today and went to work on my Canik slide. It did awesome. I did 2 coats and in the oven each time at 220 for 20 minutes and I am very happy with the results. Coyote is a great color. Highly recommend this paint.

The paint and color are spot on to MagPul FDE, but as others have mentioned, the spray nozzle leaves a lot to be desired. You would think that a $25 can of spray paint would come with a much higher quality spray nozzle. If you're looking for a smooth finish without drips...put another spray nozzle on the can.

I have a lot of experience using Duracoat, a similar resin paint for firearms. The biggest thing I learned using that is PREP, PREP, PREP. If there is ANY grease, the coating will not set properly. Plus depending on surface, I usually scuff it with 200 grip sand paper, then degrease again. I used this this Alumahyde for an AR setup to coat the Scope, caps, handguard, and muzzle device. I followed the same strict prep work I did for Duracoat. This was just much easier, as duracoat requires proper mixing with hardener, and an airgun setup. I didn't feel like getting all that out and set up for a small job, so decided to try this. I applied 2 coats of Alumahyde, with a hair-dryer heating for 5 minutes between coats to help it set up a little more before second coat. There is a smidge of orange peel in places, but I believe those spots are my fault, and would require close inspection to see. It has set for 24 hours now, and is easily handled. It surprised me how tacky the finish still is, but it does not take any fingerprints or the like. The directions say it takes 10 to 14 days to fully cure, so I will be patient and let these parts sit for the allotted time before I re-assemble the firearm. Duracaot is the same price, but requires a LOT more setup and cleaning of special equipment. Duracoat does come in Aerosol cans now, but that is literally TWICE the cost, and is only good for a few hours after cracking the internal hardener. This takes longer to cure, but for small jobs, if there's no rush, I would use this again. Lastly, I think this is only good for single color jobs. With the different curing requirements (2 coats in under 30 minutes, then 10 days or oven baking before any more coats), I think it would be too difficult to do multi-color camo jobs.