The tools and materials needed to prep a firearm for a spray on finish may include things like acetone to degrease the parts and a sandblaster to remove any old worn coating before starting to apply a new one. The sandblaster also creates a rougher surface to allow the spray on finish to adhere better. As we are talking about hazardous materials like chemicals and fine particulate, it is important to list personal protective equipment in the required items list as well. Making sure you are not breathing in the medium used to sandblast is very important to your immediate health. Also making sure the acetone doesn’t get on your bare skin is important, so chemical resistant gloves are ideal. Finally, masking tape and a bunch of different sized rubber plugs may be a good idea to prevent overspray from building up on and in parts that should not have the coating applied. If the spray on coating needs to be cured in an oven it is important you use high temp plugs made of silicone rubber.
All of the items I found were listed for sale on Amazon.com and this made finding a range of options easy to acquire. Most of the acetone listed labeled for cleaning off nail polish but work for the purposes of cleaning off grease and oil on gun parts. These acetone options range from $20 to $40 depending on the brand and how much you are buying. I would use any of these acetone options myself. When looking for sandblasters you will have a number of options ranging from $55 to $265 depending on if it is used in a blasting cabinet or used as an open air device. The options I chose for this are reasonably priced, but you could spend a few thousand dollars for a larger cabinet allowing multiple Users at the same time. This also did not include the price of the compressor needed to begin blasting. For cost reasons I would use the open-air option with good PPE. Both options will still require the use of a respirator to avoid inhaling particulate. Even if the blasting cabinet has a ventilation option fine particulate can still escape and be inhaled. With regard to the use of barrel plugs and masking tape it is important to make sure they are heat resistant. Some spray on finishes requires they be cured in an oven of sorts and a rubber plug that melts during this process does you no good and may present a fire hazard. The high temp options I was able to find range from $28 to $35 and come in a range of sizes. I would use any of the options listed because they include the same stuff and the cost is about the same. Finally, I went looking for personal protection kits that included things like mask, eye protection and gloves to ensure the health and safety of the individual doing the work. This can range anywhere from $14 to $30 depending on the kit and its contents. I may not purchase the kits I listed but rather spend more money on better quality equipment because my health is very important to me.
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