Mil-Spec and CARC Painting for Defense Parts

Defense parts come with a finish callout, and the callout is the job. Primer, topcoat, type and class, color number, film thickness, masking, and inspection requirements all live on the drawing or PO. We paint to the specification on your drawing or PO, and we quote to that same callout.

So the price follows the spec. A two-coat CARC system with threaded holes and grounding pads to mask costs more than one topcoat on a clean bracket.

We do this work for defense primes, their subs, and the machine shops and fabricators building parts for defense programs, from first articles to production releases.

Mil-spec coatings commonly called out

These specs show up on defense finish callouts. We paint to the one on your drawing or PO, using material from manufacturers qualified to that spec.

A few things we check before quoting:

• Revision. If the revision on your drawing doesn’t match the qualified material available today, we raise it before quoting.
• Type and class. Chromated classes carry extra environmental and handling requirements. If your drawing calls for one, tell us at RFQ and we will confirm before we quote.
• Conversion coating. Chem film such as MIL-DTL-5541 is not part of our in-house prep. Send parts already chem-filmed, or note it on the RFQ and we will tell you at quote time how that step will be sourced.

What QPL means for your parts

The Qualified Products List covers the coating product, not the shop that sprays it. Department of Defense guidance says CARC must be bought only from QPL suppliers. So the real question is whether a shop uses qualified material and applies it the way the spec says.

We apply QPL-listed CARC materials per MIL-DTL-53072, which covers material selection, application and quality-control inspection for the CARC system. When a drawing calls for an aerospace system such as MIL-PRF-23377 primer under MIL-PRF-85285 topcoat, we use product from qualified manufacturers. If your program requires your prime to approve special-process suppliers or accept a first article, we work through that process with you.

Choosing between 53039 and 64159

Both are CARC topcoats, and many drawings allow either.

• MIL-DTL-53039 is a one-component, moisture-cure, solvent-borne polyurethane. It sprays as supplied, with no mixing and no pot life.
• MIL-DTL-64159 is a two-component waterborne polyurethane with lower VOC. It has a pot life and longer flash and dry times than 53039.

If your callout allows either, we will talk through which fits the part and schedule at quote time. One caution: a commercial paint matched to a CARC color number is not CARC, because CARC also carries chemical agent resistance and infrared requirements. For the full system, see our CARC painting guide.

AMS-STD-595 colors

The color is part of the coating callout, written as a five-digit number. The first digit is sheen (3 means flat or lusterless), the second is the color family, and the last three run from dark to light. Colors we see called out often include:

• 34094 Green 383, the standard woodland CARC green
• 30051 Brown 383 and 37030 Black, the other two colors of the three-color 383 camouflage
• 33446 Tan 686A, the desert tan
• 37038 Aircraft Black, also the most common generic flat black callout on non-CARC parts

Check color against individual chips; fan decks are reference only. Our AMS-STD-595 color guide explains how to read the numbers and what changed from FED-STD-595.

Prep and masking before the primer

In-house, we handle solvent wipe and degreasing, multi-stage washing, outgas pre-bakes for castings, masking, plugging of threads and bores, and sanding. When a spec needs an abrasive-blasted profile, we include blasting through our partner as part of the coating job. See our prep and masking service for how to call out masking.

Inspection and paperwork

On production programs, we follow your QC procedure and the inspection requirements on the PO. Certificates of Conformance are available on request. We do not run certified lab testing in-house. If your program calls for lab testing such as salt spray, raise it at RFQ.

Subcontract work flowing down from primes

Most of our government work is subcontract: a prime or one of its subs flows the finish requirement down on the PO, and we paint to it. We are a small business under NAICS 332812, metal coating services to manufacturers. Buyers onboarding a new finisher can find our NAICS code, small-business status and documentation details (CoC on request) on the defense and government page.

Colorado Springs has an Army post, Space Force installations, and many defense contractors and machine shops. A local finisher means shorter transport and talking through a callout in person. Denver and Pueblo pickup and delivery is available by arrangement.

What to send with your RFQ

A complete package gets an accurate quote the first time:

1. The drawing with the full finish callout (primer, topcoat, type, class, color number, film thickness)
2. Quantity, release schedule, and due date
3. Base material and any existing coatings or plating
4. Masking callouts and any areas that must stay bare or conductive
5. CoC requirements and any inspection your prime flows down
6. Legends or markings to add after painting, which we coordinate through our screen-printing partner on the same PO

Our coating callout checklist walks through each item. Then send your drawings through our quote request form.