How to: Removing Duracoat from Anodized Scope
 

I recently purchased a good scope at a great price: A Leupold Mk4 6.5-20x50 Illuminated Tactical-Milling Reticle. However, the scope was Duracoated in a custom tan paint job.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_n...0pso8/8310.jpg

Duracoat states that their paint can only be removed through sand-blasting. The paint cures in to a latex like finish, which is relatively wear resistant, and forms very good adhesion to the underlying finish. I was trying to scratch off the duracoat with a pen and it was very scratch resistant.

However, I've heard zip-strip does a good job of removing duracoat.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_n...remium-gal.jpg

The stuff comes in a gel type format. IIRC it's a Methyl Ethyl Ketone with gel to prevent evaporation.

To remove you will need:

1.) A paintbrush, or a lot of Q-tips.
2.) 0000 Superfine Steel Wool.
3.) Zip-Strip.
4.) Painters masking tape.

I used the masking tape to cover up the plastic eye-box and to protect the lenses.

Apply the zip-strip to the paint. As soon as I applied the zip-strip, the paint almost immediately bubbled up:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_n...0/DSC_0203.JPG

Then, remove the bubbled up paint with the 0000 steel wool. The steel wool is fine enough to avoid scratching the anodizing on the scope.

Reapply the zip-strip as necessary and remove the bubbled up paint with steel wool. I also used a mechanical pencil to scratch hard to reach areas like the knurled target knobs.

Final Result:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_n...0/DSC_0206.JPG

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I was a little uncomfortable at first with putting chemicals all over a high-end scope, and was also worried about damaging the anodizing. However, the Zip-Strip does a very good job of removing the paint without damaging the finish.

Hope this helps anyone who's thinking about removing duracoat.

Beautiful result. It looks like a lot of work went into the process.

Good to know...will have to give this a try sometime.