Cerakote...Take The Time
Recently a coworker of mine went to the Cerakote training center in Oregon. He spent several days learning correct procedures for applying this awesome finish. However, there are some catches. Over the past couple of weeks, I have had the pleasure of learning from a meticulous man. He took every detail to heart and devoted it to memory and notes. He has been teaching me since I have never been to the school. Well, now I am. As a gunsmith, my job is to disassemble and reassemble the firearms for Cerakote. Over these past few weeks I have learned the ins and out of the coating, and the things affect proper function of the firearm First and foremost, the Cerakote finish is one of the best in the industry, Using this finish on a firearm will prolong the life of your treasured firearm. The proper mixture and following the procedures given by Cerakote produce a finish that is solid and prevents rust far more than any other finish I have encountered. It takes time to apply this finish properly. You must prepare the firearm meticulously. Don’t miss a step. When you apply the coating it must be done according to all of the instructions set forth by Cerakote. The bake time must be done for it to cure properly. Now down to the important part. As we are learning the process we are finding that tolerances can be altered. Note that the proper finish should be no more than 2 mils. However getting into internal parts of the firearm can lead to tolerance issues. After working on a Sig Sauer 229 I found that the Cerakote is preventing proper operation of the internal parts. There are several gun manufacturers that use tight tolerances and Sig is just one of them. It is essential that you tape off the areas that are not to be painted during prep. These areas should not be media blasted and should not be Cerakoted. It is hard for me to tell you exactly which areas can be effected. That really takes a knowledge of firearms and operating systems. Prior to media blasting the firearm, we soak the firearm in acetone for a min of 20 min. This gets all the oils out of the firearm. This also takes any foreign materials off the firearm. This is necessary to get the job done correctly
Now if you are going to Cerakote a firearm, you need to spend some money. Don’t skimp. You need to spend the money on a good media blast cabinet, This is essential. It takes a lot of time to prep a firearm for Cerakote. The media cabinet it a must. Something that won’t clog, that has good quality filtration and that sprays media consistently. We have found that 100 to 120 grit works best. We use 100 Grit aluminum oxide. This gives us the best blasting results possible to prep the firearm. Following media blasting, we bake it. Yes just like your dinner, we bake it. We set our oven at 300 degrees and bake the firearm for 30 min. This is called the “gas out”. This is done to get any oils out of the hidden areas of the firearm that we simply can’t get any other way. If this doesn’t get it all out you will need to do it again. If you see anything that looks like a water spot or an oil spot, You need to soak in acetone and gas it out again, Oil will prevent the finish from adhering to the metal. This is a big deal otherwise, you have wasted all kinds of time. Next is the mix. I am not going to give you details of mixing the paint. You can get that from their website. You need to ensure that you mix the paint properly. First, you need to shake the bottle of paint. Do so for 1 min vigorously. Not 30 seconds, not 45 seconds. 1 minute. Once you have done this pour the solution into a test beaker(more money) get the correct equipment for the project. Then you need to add the correct amount of hardener. This is important to getting the correct finish, be it gloss, semi-gloss, or flat. Again, this is available on the Cerakote website. You need to then mix the paint and the hardener, This should be about 1 min slow shake in the measuring vial. Now, most people skip this next step, I won’t as I have seen that it matters. You need to filter the paint mixture. Some of the colors create lumps as you mix them. A few seconds and a $.30 cent investment will save your paint gun. And will give you a good finish The next part is spraying on your finish. There is a method to this that I really can’t teach you on here, There are several videos produced by Cerakote that you can watch that will teach the method. I will tell you however there is a definite need to use the proper equipment. Cerakote uses a paint sprayer that meets certain specs, There is a reason for that. Not only to get consistent results but to be able to adjust the paint gun so you can do specific patterns. Once you have sprayed your firearm, you need to remember not to touch it. Take it directly to the oven for curing, This takes on average 2 hours at 300 degrees. Once this step is done, you have completed your firearm. Begin the reassembly. Make sure to use caution not to damage the firearm during assembly.
Now that you have basic information on Cerakote and some do’s and don'ts, I wish you luck in trying to perform your own Cerakote project. I as always will recommend that you have a professional gunsmith perform the work. Don’t skimp, Do it right. There you have it, Straight from the gunsmith's mouth.
