# Anodizing Single Six Grip frame



## Gabby (Sep 14, 2012)

Have any of you here ever used any kind of repair on aluminum to replace the black anodize they came with?
I've just acquired a Single Six, some ignorant person stripped the blacking from the grip frame. It's kind of nice looking but ruins the value of an Old model 3 screw gun.
I don't know if any fix would be acceptable, to return it to original.
Thanks,
Gabby


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

I know nothing about the subject from a collector's point of view, but I do know something about metal finishing.
Brownells sells something called (I think) Aluminum Black, which is used as a touch-up for black aluminum gun parts. I don't think that it's very tough, but it's not terribly expensive.
There are also heat-polymerized paint products, which toughen nicely in a household oven, and catalyzed paint that cold-polymerizes. These are in the medium-to-high price range.
And, if there's an industrial area somewhere near you, most full-service metal-plating houses do anodizing in color, including black. For a single part, this may be quite expensive.

I wonder whether Ruger might provide this service. It's worth asking.


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## Gabby (Sep 14, 2012)

Thanks Steve I may give Ruger a shout and see what they have to say.
I have a couple of emails sent to local anodizer / plating shops one responded
with a price that could buy a pretty good cheap gun, I'm waiting to see what the other 
company has to say I'm hoping they are lots cheaper. LOL :smt015 
Gabby AKA Rikoshay 
I just discovered I had signed up back in 2012 as Gabby and forgotten about it, so I've asked the administrator what to do. LOL Probably got lost when one of my PC's crashed and burned. :smt076


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## Gabby (Sep 14, 2012)

My other name of Rickoshay is a thing of the past, so y'all are stuck with Ol' Gabby LOL.

Back on topic, I found a similar thread on the Ruger forum and it seems the grip frames were clear anodized then powder coated after Ruger learned that the color flash wasn't holding up well and was wearing through quickly.
It seems they were using powder coating a lot earlier than I was led to believe possible.
Comments?
Gabby


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Well, then something like Cerakote, DuraCoat, or Brownells Gun-Kote might be the way to go.
Cerakote: Cerakote Coatings
DuraCoat: http://www.duracoat-firearm-finishes.com/
Brownells Gun-Kote: http://www.brownells.com/search/index.htm?k=gun-kote&ksubmit=y


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## Spike12 (Dec 10, 2008)

Yes, the black finish on the grip frames is far from perfect. My OM is chipped off more than worn off. Aluminum can be a real bitch to get paint or anything else to stick to it. 

On the Ruger forum I've seen pictures of OM grip frames that have been polished (not bad) and even anodized to look brass like (That turned out much better than you'd think). The powder coated, usually the NM guns, doesn't look as good to me as the OM's simple flat black. 

If it was me? I think I'd try striping it down, use a proper primer (zinc chromate) then a flat or satin QUALITY spray paint. You might be surprised how good it will look. If you care for your gun paint might be an easy answer. 

I mean, face it, it's never going to look 100% correct or original again.

I doubt Ruger still has the ability to redo it - they've moved on to powder coating. Besides, they don't do it anymore and they don't usually do retro methods. Restorations ain't their thing.


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## Gabby (Sep 14, 2012)

Unless I can come up with a cheap quote for anodizing, I'm really looking at this product.
Take a look and lets hear what you think or better yet KNOW.
It's a bit pricy but the product will do more than one rifle or handgun.
Gabby
John Norrell Arms - FAQ's


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Do you really need a molybdenum disulfide coating on a grip frame?
Maybe one of the other heat-set or cold-polymerizing paints would do just as well, at a lower cost.
DuraCoat, for instance, has gotten a lot of good press. (Truth: I've never used it.)


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## Gabby (Sep 14, 2012)

Checked quite a few reviews of the different coatings and the cheaper ones didn't hold up well, which is why I kept looking and the Norrell product is supposed to withstand abuse better than the rest.
Which is why I asked for comments from people who have used it. S/S has me on a tight rein and I don't have a lot to spend
experimenting. I'd rather spend once and get the results I need first time. If I go for cheap I've heard of pretty good results using engine Very Hi Temp paint, and a buddy of mine has some I can have. He even has the Birchwood Casey anodize touch up.
Gabby


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

The extent of my direct experience is limited to using a black, two-part epoxy paint (_i.e._, cold polymerizing via catalyst) on the backstrap area of my Star PD's frame, where my hand had worn through the original coating and exposed the aluminum.
It was easy to apply, but wouldn't smoothly meld with the existing (similar) coating.
Worse, in about a year, it, too, began to wear through.


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## Gabby (Sep 14, 2012)

When I was restoring my High Standard Double Nine, I had heard of using Appliance Epoxy. 
And tried some from Rustoleum, and it cured out with a high gloss and it seems to be pretty hard.
But I don't want high gloss on the Single Six, and the appliance epoxy goes on pretty thick.
One thing I learned was NOT to handle it too soon, by doing that very thing and I screwed 
up a perfect coating by doing so. I haven't gotten around to stripping it off and reapplying 
it yet. Maybe I'll just remove it and polish up the aluminum so it matches my Ruger. LOL
Gabby


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## Gabby (Sep 14, 2012)

Neither of the 2 companies wanted to do the job and the one that would do it would have charged almost $300 to do it and that's not counting shipping both ways. So unless I can come across one someone has salvaged from another gun, I'll probably find a way to black it myself or leave it polished.
Gabby


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