Update: My duracoated LCP, three years after
In the summer of 2012, I picked up my first Ruger LCP (I have three now, the first step is admitting you have a problem) and, afraid of the prospects for rust due to how I carry, got it coated. Now on the three-year anniversary, I have an update.
The problem
So I carry a back-up gun from time to time in my line of work. Occasionally in street clothes as a normal CCW practitioner, I also sometimes cannot carry a full-sized handgun comfortably without printing, especially in summer. This leaves me with one of the best compact .380s of the past few years, the Ruger LCP, as my go-to BUG or CCW choice.
As new in the factory coating, July 2012
However, one slight issue with the pistol is the common complaint that the LCP’s slide can often turn to a rusty mess over time. The fact that I live in a near-tropical environment on the Gulf Coast where shorts and flip-flops are common Christmas attire, and the LCP lives in ankle, pocket and IWB holsters can only add to this problem. With this in mind, I decided to rustproof my LCP permanently.
The solution
I got with a buddy of mine, Dan Harvala and we decided on DuraCoat.
Long story short, DuraCoat is a two part chemical coating that is sprayed on by airbrush, conventional spray gun, or HVLP spray gun, depending on the user’s preference. The company says that the coating, like fine wine, gets better with age. LCW states simply that, “DuraCoat wears in, not out.”
Most important to me, LCW proudly states that properly DuraCoat’ed firearms will not rust in a salt environment. “One of DuraCoat’s attributes is its extreme ability to resist salt corrosion. A firearm coated with DuraCoat simply will not rust…EVER!”
With that in mind, I went for a DuraCoated LCP. Dan quoted the slide as $25 to get done since it was so small but when I arrived, we came to an agreement for $50 for the whole gun, frame, and all.
Ah, freshly coated and very bright sand-colored, August 2012.
I dug it and started carrying it as a BUG and, when attending low-key events where a very compact gun was all I could get away due to the heat and wardrobe choices, my main carry piece.
Now, three years to the week later, let us look.
My now fawn-colored LCP on my very rough fifty-year-old copy of William Manchester’s 400,000-word epic, The Arms of Krupp 1587-1968