FAQ'S

Q...HOW DO I CLEAN MY TUFF-GUN'D FIREARM?
A...A TUFF-GUN FINISHED FIREARM IS CLEANED AND OILED AS USUAL WITH A FEW
EXCEPTIONS. IT'S NOT REQUIRED TO OIL THE FINISH FOR RUST PROTECTION AND SERVES NO PURPOSE EXCEPT TO MAKE YOUR FIREARM SLIPPERY! THE TUFF-GUN FINISHED SURFACE CAN BE WIPED CLEAN WITH A DAMP CLOTH. DO NOT USE STEEL/BRASS WOOL TO CLEAN THE FINISH. DO NOT USE AUTOMOTIVE TYPE SPRAY CLEANERS TO CLEAN A TUFF-GUN FINISHED FIREARM. (BRAKE SPRAY, ELECTRIC CONTACT CLEANER, ETC) IN FACT, IT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA TO USE AUTOMOTIVE TYPE SPRAY CLEANERS TO CLEAN ANY FIREARM AND ESPECIALLY NOT ONES WITH SYNTHETIC FRAMES! THE CONTENTS OF AUTOMOTIVE SPRAY CLEANERS MAY BE SIMILAR OR EVEN IDENTICAL TO FIREARMS SPRAY CLEANERS BUT THE PERCENTAGES ARE NOT!

Q...CAN I SHIP MY FIREARM DIRECTLY TO YOU AND CAN YOU RETURN
IT DIRECTLY BACK TO ME?DO I HAVE TO DO ANY SPECIAL
PAPERWORK? HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO DO A TUFF-GUN JOB? DO
YOU HAVE AN FFL?
A...YES, YOU CAN DEAL DIRECTLY WITH US. THE ONLY PAPERWORK THAT YOU
WILL BE REQUIRED TO FILL OUT, IS THE SHIPPING FORM AT THE SHIPPING
CENTER. OUR TURN AROUND TIME IS TWO WEEKS PLUS OR MINUS ONE WEEK DUE TO WORK LOAD.
HERE'S A LINK TO A COPY OF OUR FFL.OUR FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE

Q...WHAT IS THE TUFF-GUN I FINISH?
A...TUFF-GUN IS OUR NAME FOR A FINISHING PROCESS THAT WE HAVE DEVELOPED
BASED ON OUR EXPERIENCE. A MOLLY TYPE FINISH (IN OUR CASE, GUNKOTE) APPLIED
OVER A PARKERIZED FINISH IS NOTHING NEW BUT WE HAVE PERFECTED IT IN OUR
TUFF-GUN PROCESS. THE PARKERIZED FINISH LEAVES A POROUS SURFACE WHICH
THEN SOAKS UP THE MOLLY FINISH. THIS COMBINATION OF A "SURFACE CONVERSION"
FINISH UNDER A "SURFACE ADHESION FINISH" RESULTS IN A FINAL FINISH THAT IS
MUCH MORE DURABLE THAN EITHER BY ITSELF. OUR FOUR STAGE CURING PROCESS INSURES THOROUGH CURING WITHOUT COLOR CHANGES.

Q...WHAT IS THE TUFF-GUN II FINISH?
A...OUR TUFF-GUN II FINISH IS OUR TUFF-GUN I FINISH WITH AN ADDED FINAL LAYER OF AN ELECTROSTATICALLY APPLIED COATING. THE IDEA OF ELECTROSTATICALLY COATING FIREARMS IS NOTHING NEW BUT WE HAVE PERFECTED THE PROCESS. THE PRECISE TEMPERATURE AND TIME REGULATION OF OUR RECIRCULATING CURING OVEN INSURES A FINISH THAT IS PRACTICALLY IMPERVIOUS TO CHEMICALS AND ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. YOU GET ALL OF THE SAME BENEFITS OF OUR WELL KNOWN TUFF-GUN I FINISH WITH THE ADDED BENEFIT OF AN ELECTROSTATIC APPLIED COATING. ALL INTERIOR PARTS ARE FINISHED WITH OUR TUFF-GUN I PROCESS. OUR TUFF-GUN II FINISH PROCESS HAS AN EXTREMELY HIGH RESISTANCE TO IMPACTS, ABRASIONS AND FOUL WEATHER.

Q...WHAT IS THE TUFF-STOCK FINISH?
A...OUR TUFF STOCK FINISH USES AN INDUSTRIAL MARINE GRADE MATERIAL AS THE BASIS FOR THE PROCESS. IT HAS A TINY PEBBLE TEXTURE WHICH GIVES A GOOD GRIP. IT'S PERFECT FOR ALL TYPES OF STOCKS USED ON TACTICAL OR HUNTING LONG GUNS. IT'S ALSO GREAT FOR THAT STOCK THAT HAS A FEW DINGS SINCE IT DOES A GOOD JOB OF CONCEALING THE UNDERLYING MATERIAL.
Q...WHAT IS GUNKOTE? IS GUNKOTE A PAINT?
A...GUNKOTE IS NOT JUST ANOTHER PAINT! IT IS A MODIFIED PHENOLIC
THERMAL SETTING RESIN SPECIFICALLY TAILORED FOR REFINISHING FIREARMS.
EACH LAYER IS ONLY .0004 OF AN INCH THICK AND CONTAINS MOLYBDENUM
DISULFIDE FOR FRICTION REDUCTION!

Q...THERMAL WHAT AND MOLLY WHO?
A...THERMAL SETTING PHENOLIC RESINS HAVE BEEN IN USE FOR MANY YEARS
BY VARIOUS INDUSTRIES AND THE ONE USED IN GUNKOTE HAS BEEN SPECIALLY
MODIFIED TO GIVE IT PROPERTIES IDEAL FOR USE AS A FIREARM FINISH. THE
GUNKOTE FINISH ON EACH PART IS CURED (THERMALLY SET) DURING A FOUR
STAGE PROCESS IN A RECIRCULATING OVEN THAT WAS CUSTOM BUILT FOR
THAT PURPOSE. MOLYBDENUM DISULFIDE IS A DRY LUBRICANT THAT CAN BE
DISPERSED IN PHENOLIC RESINS AND HOT SPRAYED ONTO SURFACES.
MOLYBDENUM DISULFIDE LOOKS LIKE GRAPHITE BUT IS TWICE AS SLIPPERY!

Q...CAN TUFF-GUN BE APPLIED TO THE INTERNAL WORKING PARTS OF A
FIREARM? WILL IT AFFECT THE FUNCTIONING?
A...YES, TUFF-GUN IS APPLIED TO THE INTERNAL WORKING PARTS OF EVERY
FIREARM THAT WE DO A "STANDARD JOB" ON. SOME AREAS, SUCH AS SLIDE RAILS
ON SEMI AUTO'S, NEED TO BE LAPPED AFTER THE TUFF-GUN IS APPLIED BUT THIS IS
PART OF THE JOB AT MAC'S AND IS INCLUDED IN THE PRICE.

Q...CAN ANY FIREARM BE TUFF-GUN'D AND WILL THE CURING HEAT HURT ANYTHING?
A...THE METAL PARTS OF ANY FIREARM CAN BE TUFF-GUN'D AND THE
TEMPERATURES ARE VERY CAREFULLY CONTROLLED. THEY ARE NEVER HIGH
ENOUGH TO AFFECT THE METAL. THE PARKERIZING PART OF OUR
TUFF-GUN FINISH CAN NOT BE APPLIED TO STAINLESS OR ALUMINUM BUT WE USE A
MIL-SPEC CHEMICAL PROCESS FOR THOSE METALS TO PREPARE THEM FOR THE
FINAL MOLLY FINISH.

Q...WILL DIFFERENT BASE METALS, LIKE AN ALLOY FRAME WITH A STEEL SLIDE, LOOK DIFFERENT AFTER IT'S TUFF-GUN'd?
A...DIFFERENT BASE METALS WILL HAVE NO EFFECT ON THE FINAL COLOR OF
THE TUFF-GUN FINISH BUT SOMETIMES THE TEXTURE IS VERY SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT. ALUMINUM AND STAINLESS PARTS RECEIVE A MIL-SPEC CHEMICAL BATH PRIOR TO
THE APPLICATION OF THE TUFF-GUN FINISH.

Q...WILL TUFF-GUN "FILL IN" OR OBLITERATE THE SERIAL NUMBERS OR ANY ENGRAVING?
A...NO! IN FACT, FACTORY STAMPED NUMBERS AND LETTERING USUALLY
LOOK SHARPER BECAUSE THE CRUD EMBEDDED IN THE STAMPING OR
ENGRAVING IS REMOVED DURING THE TUFF-GUN PREPARATION PROCESS.
(NOTE: THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO ACID OR LASER ETCHED NUMBERS.)

Q...CAN SYNTHETIC OR WOODEN STOCKS BE TUFF-GUN'D?
A...NO, SYNTHETIC OR WOODEN STOCKS CAN NOT BE TUFF-GUN'D BUT WE DO HAVE A FINISH
AVAILABLE FOR STOCKS. PLEASE CLICK HERETO SEE MORE INFO
ABOUT OUR TUFF-STOCK FINISHES.

Q...I HAVE NICE JEWELING ON MY BOLT AND WANT TO KEEP IT AS IS.
CAN YOU TUFF-GUN FINISH THE HANDLE AND BOLT HEAD WITHOUT
AFFECTING THE JEWELING ON THE BODY OF THE BOLT?
A...YES, WE CAN DO THAT! WE HAVE A SYSTEM TO "MASK" CERTAIN AREAS THAT PREVENTS ANY ALTERATION TO THESE SPOTS. THERE IS NO EXTRA CHARGE FOR THIS.

Q...I WOULD LIKE TO REPLACE THE OLD SPRINGS IN MY GUN WITH A NEW SET WHILE IT IS BEING REFINISHED. WILL THIS COST EXTRA?
A...NO, THERE IS NO EXTRA LABOR CHARGE FOR THIS. A "STANDARD JOB"
INCLUDES DIS- AND REASSEMBLY SO IT'S NO PROBLEM FOR US TO JUST USE NEW
SPRINGS DURING REASSEMBLY.

Q...I HAVE TRITIUM NIGHT SIGHTS ON MY GUN. WILL THIS COST EXTRA?
A...NO. TRITIUM SIGHTS WILL BE REMOVED FOR THE FINISH PROCESS AND THEN REPLACED DURING REASSEMBLY. THE SIGHTS THEMSELVES WILL NOT BE FINISHED BUT WILL BE CLEANED. THEY CAN NOT BE FINISHED WITH OUR PROCESS DUE TO THE CURING HEAT INVOLVED. IT WOULD DAMAGE OR DESTROY THE TRITIUM VIALS.

Q...WILL THE TUFF-GUN FINISH AFFECT THE CLEARANCE IN THE SLIDE
RAILS ON MY SEMI AUTO PISTOL?
A...YES, IT WILL MAKE IT TIGHTER. OUR TUFF-GUN FINISH IS EXTREMELY THIN BUT IT DOES TAKE UP SOME ROOM. AFTER THE FINISH IS APPLIED, THE SLIDE IS HAND LAPPED TO MATCH THE FRAME. THE RESULT IS A VERY WELL FITTING AND SMOOTH SLIDE TO RAIL INTERFACE.
NOTE: WE CALL IT "HAND LAPPING" BUT WE DO NOT USE LAPPING COMPOUND. IT'S ACTUALLY A WATER BASED POLISHING COMPOUND THAT DOES NOT EMBED INTO THE FINISH.

Q...WILL YOUR TUFF-GUN FINISH AFFECT THE GAS SYSTEM ON MY RIFLE?
A...MOST GAS SYSTEMS HAVE THE HIGH WEAR PARTS HARD-CHROMED. THESE PARTS
ARE MASKED AND ARE NOT ABRASIVE BLASTED OR TUFF-GUN FINISHED BUT THEY ARE
POLISHED AFTER THE NEW FINISH IS APPLIED. IF ONLY THE PISTON HEAD IS
HARD-CHROMED, (SOME AK TYPES, ETC) THE HEAD IS MASKED AND THE SHAFT IS
TUFF-GUN FINISHED. AR TYPE RIFLES WILL HAVE THE GAS RINGS REMOVED. THEY
ARE NOT FINISHED, ONLY CLEANED. THE COMPLETE GAS SYSTEM IS CLEANED,
INSIDE AND OUT.

MORE QUESTIONS? NO PROBLEM! JUST EMAIL US WITH A LIST AND WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO ANSWER THEM ALL.

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MAC'S SHOOTIN' IRONS IS A LIMITED LIABILTY COMPANY REGISTERED IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA.
MAC'S SHOOTIN' IRONS, TUFF-GUN 1, TUFF-GUN 2 AND TUFF-STOCK ARE ALL REGISTERED TRADE NAMES OWNED BY MAC'S SHOOTIN' IRONS.