As others have mentioned DO NOT bead blast. It leaves a smooth finish and paint won't adhere to it properly. Bead blasting is good for Stainless barrels where you want a nice satin finish (but don't paint it). Good paint prep uses 120 grit aluminum oxide, or "Starblast" at about 70 PSI in a blast cabinet. Degreasing/decontaminating prior to applying the finish is critical. I go through a lot of CRC brake cleaner (cheapest at wallyworld).
I've used Moly Resin in the past and it goes on easy. Moly Resin is very thin. That means no extra thinning required, but it is easier to get runs than if you used a thicker type of paint. I used an inexpensive "Badger" brand airbrush and it worked surprisingly well with Moly Resin. However, I too felt the finish was a bit "delicate". I have since "graduated" to heat cure Cerakote. I bought the Cerakote recommended Iwata HVLP gun. It is an absolute work of art, it is the shizzle. It also has the proper sized tip to spray Cerakote. Do not try to shoot Cerakote with a traditional airbrush though, there aren't any around that are available with large enough tips/orifices (ask me how I know.......). I also built a vertical curing oven with an extension rack that works quite well. Also, water traps/air coolers/driers for the output of your compressed air source are critical. If the system being used doesn't have them, you'll get water in the paint and ruined finishes will be the result due to "fisheyes".
A big part of your success is having (and learning how to use) the right tools. Once you have the tools, the learning curve isn't bad. If you don't have the right tools, you'll have failures and you won't necessarily be able to figure out why. If you aren't going to finish a lot of items, it doesn't make sense to invest in the tools. That is, unless you want to escape to your man cave, learn new things and have a finished product that you can (and want to) take personal pride in.
I would recommend staying away from the whole handsanding etc., process. You will probably have problems and be unhappy with the results. Others have made good recommendations for certified applicators, I'd suggest using one of them. The prices may seem high, but from personal experience of having done the work, I look at their prices and I haven't seen many that seemed out of line. Trust me, no one is getting rich from applying Cerakote. It is labor intensive (assuming they are doing it correctly). The prep time is probably 80% of the job, shooting the paint is quick. Remember, whoever is doing the work, their time is worth something. If you pay them to do the job right the first time, you won't be looking back and saying "that project cost me twice what it should have, I should have just sent it to the applicator the first time around".
Hope this helps......
