Cerakote air cure

[bjmac]

I have been wanting to nickel my 336 for quite some time. I have decided against the nickel due to the fact that the "small parts" can't be coated.
I am currently leaning towards a self cerakote air cure job. I have seen a few on here that look great!
My questions are:
If this ends up a disaster can I have it professionally done afterwards, in other words is cerakote able to be blasted off without removing metal?
I plan on doing everything visible on the gun except the hammer-sear area, including the right side of the bolt- Bad idea?
Is it ok to do the crown?
Any advice or warnings?
What is the best filler to use on pitting with this product?

[stringplucker]

I wouldn't let it air cure. If my memory serves me right, it's applied with a HVLP sprayer and cured in a 250 oven. It's damned tough stuff.

[Xringshooter]

You can do Cerakote and let it air cure, but be advised, to get it to the same point as baking it at 250F for a couple hiurs will take about 7 days.

Yes, if you mess something up it can be reblasted to take the coating off and re coat it. Even when you do it originally, you rreally don't take metal off per se, you are roughing up the surface to get the Cerakote to adhere the best. When you blast you will also remove any rust that may be on the gun and if the pits aren't bad, the Cerakote will fill them in. Remember when you Cerakote, you're only putting about a 0.0005 thickness of coating on, so it will only fill minor blemishes.

If you're going to do the crown, you want to put something in the barrel to keep the Cerakote out of the barrel when you spray. Same with the chamber, you don't want to change the dimensions of the chamber.

The biggest problem is not doing a better than good prep job. Any time you paint (automobile, house, gun, etc.), the prep you do before hand is what will make or break a paint job. The better you prep the better the finished produce. With Cerakote you really wan tthe gun clean of all grease and oil. I clean them several times before I ever spray, to include putting them in the curing oven to insure that any hidden oil is brought out under heat. Then they get cleaned again in acetone to insure all the oil is gone.

Poeple might not like the cost of having a gun Cerakoted, but they really don't know all the prep work that is involved to make sure it comes out right.

[arrrrgh15]

xringshooter did my 1911 receiver in FDE and it's holding up pretty well despite getting beat on. he's got the bead blaster and the oven to do it.

I have a couple other rifles that are cerekoted and they are also holding up very well.

cerekote is great stuff but like xring said, it has to be done right to get the benefit.

[Delkal]

Go to a a Good-will store or a fleamarket and get a small toaster oven for $10. Experiment with a thermometer till you get an accurate temperature and put your parts in.

I have one I use to temper small Blacksmithing parts. They work OK and you don't have to deal with your wife when your trying to use your oven........Money well spent!

Keep away from the crown! 1/8 inch and you are OK.

[Xringshooter]

Keep away from the crown! 1/8 inch and you are OK.

You are correct, you have to stay away from the true crown of the barrel. I have soft rubber plugs I use and they fill the barrel and also cover the true crown, extending out about 1/16 to 1/8.

The true crown of the barrel is not the rounded/flat part that you can see on the end of barrels. that part of the rifle is actually to help protect the true crown of s barrel. It's actually the last little bit that "touches" the lands and grooves. One of the gun magazines here in the last month or so had a good article on what the actual crown of a gun is and how to protect it.

[bjmac]

Thanks for the info guys. The product I am contemplating is cerakote "c" series, it's specifically designed to air cure... They call it high temp. I'm pretty well versed in the crown, I've cut a few target crowns in the past. Never on a marlin style though. I wasn't sure if I should " counter sink" an ear plug in the barrel, or let it protrude to completely block the crown.
I'm not the type of person to pay someone to do something that I could do in theory. It's not that I'm cheap, is more along the lines of satisfaction. I could easily pay someone to cut my grass, but I feel like it's more mine if I do it myself.

[39flathead]

Some here must not have heard of the air cure formula.


To the OP, I've never had to remove any so I can't help you on that except to say that bead blasting should take it off if need be.

Doing the crown should be fine, I doubt it will affect accuracy if that is your concern.

It you have pitting, try some epoxy and sand like you would a car.

[Ballistikote]

The C series (air cure) Cerakote is not as tough and durable as H series (oven cure). As for prep, blast with aluminum oxide not glass bead. Glass dimples where the aluminum oxide provides the tooth necessary for adhesion. Small scratches and pitting don't fill very well as Cerakote is a very thin coating. I draw file everything that needs pitting removed. Time consuming but comes out great.

[bjmac]

Thanks for the information. I'll post some pictures if I go that route.
Is the c series a waste of time not as tough, or probably last twenty years not as tough?