Finishing the 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser with Aluma-Hyde 2

Finishing the 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser with Aluma-Hyde 2

This was my first attempt at refinishing (rebluing) with Aluma-Hyde 2

What I liked about Aluma-Hyde 2 over Duracoat was the fact I did not need to bake it. All I had to do was let it cure for 14 days.

The problem with that was my lack of patience. It is my fault the first attempt failed, but I learned something from it as well.

I sanded the barrel and action with 320 sand paper. I thought about getting some 120 grit aluminum oxide for the sand blaster, but I did not want to wait, and I did not want to restock my blasting cabinet and it seemed sanding it with 320 sand paper would do it.

So I sanded everything well, wiped it down good with acetone, and sprayed it with 3 or 4 coats, waiting 15 minutes between each coat.

All is good so far.

But then I though I could move on, assuming I would be careful with the finish. WRONG.

I wound up with quit a few nicks and chips.

So I thought “No big deal, I’ll just redo it”. The Brownell video said there are two times you can recoat Aluma-Hyde 2, within an hour or after 14 days when it was fully cured. So I waited the 14 days and sanded again. Then I wiped it down with acetone. Did I know acetone would melt what was left? Obviously not. By the time I discovered what was happening it was to late. Acetone had softened and was removing what was left, so the idea of leveling out the chips and simply repainting was shot.

I completely stripped the Aluma-Hyde 2. Between sanding and acetone I removed it all.

Now I repainted the barrel and action.

THIS TIME I WAITED THE 14 DAYS.