Re: Dura coat
I have DC the inside of an action and the bolt of a 700, had no issues. It was a stock Remmy and the tolerances were farely loose, I would never dream of doing such a thing on a trued bolt/action.
My two cents; if there is someone near you who will do it for a decent price and knows what they are doing, you're better off dealing out the dollars. I have done about 12 weapons so far. I did 3 of my own first, the first one came out... not very good. The second, as little better. I more or less had it figured out by the third.
I have since invested in a blasting cabinet, degreasing tank, and a decent sprayer. Someone with more experience, better techniques, and the proper equip, can generally do a much higher-quality job than the do-it-yourselfer. That being said, I understand with the pride of being able to say "I did it myself" so if you want to, go for it. Of course, the do-it yourself jobs often come out quite good too.
And doing a hide search is quite possibly the single biggest thing that has helped me, with duracoating, and a number of other things.
Here is my most recent work: