Pittsburgh Cerakote

**Mabuz** · January 9th, 2014, 10:31 AM

Highly recommended if you need cerakote work done in the Pittsburgh area.

First off, the disclaimer: I have nothing to do with this company, I just discovered them, decided to inquire about having some work done, and was met with great customer service and great work at a great price...what's not to like about that? I figured lots of folks do reviews on good (and bad) local companies as a service to other gun enthusiasts in the area, so I'm going to do the same.

BACKSTORY:
I have been kicking around the idea of getting a couple of my ARs cerakoted, but with the need to ship everything out to get this type of work done if you live in SW PA, I put that project on the back burner for a while. I decided that this winter I was going to finally get one gun done this year, so I began looking into who to have do the work again. Lots of reviews here for places that are well known, but you have to ship everything, and be ready to wait and wait because most of them seem to have a good amount of work lined up. With these two factors in mind, and since I like to try to keep business local if possible, I emailed a few guys that do different types of gunsmithing that I've come to do at least some type of business with over the years to see if they did cerakoting, or could recommend anyone local that they knew of.

It was amazing how few responses I actually got...one guy responded to me, and it took him around a month to do so, and he said he hasn't done it for years but would be willing to do it and would guarantee his work. He didn't sound like it was really something he was too interested in, but I was sure he would have done a fine job, however asking a few more questions and not getting a reply again weeks again, I decided I'm not giving this person $500 worth of stripped parts to have sitting around for who knows how long.

So I was back into looking at these "mail to" companies again it seemed. However, after looking at a few things on the Cerakote page for a while, I noticed the "Find Applicator" page and decided to have a look to see if any shops on Cerakote's page were close enough to just drive to. What did I see...BAM! A new Cerakote Certified Shop was "Coming Soon" to the Pittsburgh Area - Pittsburgh Cerakote.

MY EXPERIENCE:
I emailed Pittsburgh Cerakote asking the same questions I asked all the other local smiths I previously contacted, also asking when they were planning to be up and running, etc... I got a reply within about a day.

One of the owners got back to me, and explained that they were currently working on getting things set up to finish their certification through Cerakote, and they were also getting their FFL in order, but they could try to accommodate me whenever I was ready, as long as I knew they were not yet Cerakote certified and they were still waiting on their FFL, so I would have to stick around while they did the work. They also said even though they were not yet certified doesn't mean they wouldn't stand behind their work 100%, and they assured me they would do whatever it took to make me happy with the work they did if I went with them.

Well, after getting this info, talking with one of the owners a bit through a few more emails, and getting pricing sorted out, it seemed like an easy decision to go ahead and give this place a try.

We set up a date to meet up, Pittsburgh Cerakote ordered the color I asked about them doing my gun in, and it turned out that while waiting for the color to come in (about 4-5 days from Cerakote) Pittsburgh Cerakote was granted their FFL.

So I met one of the owners, dropped off my parts, he asked about what I wanted done again just to be 100% sure on everything before I left, and asked to give him 7-10 days because both of them are still working their day jobs while trying to get this shop going. That wasn't a problem with me.

4 days later I got a call saying everything was done and they think I'll be happy, so come by some evening to check everything out.

I was 100% happy with the job they did. Pics below aren't the greatest, but give an idea. The work was excellent.

Magpul OD Green Lower, Upper, Handguard, Dustcover (I had some other parts done too, but here's a complete rifle for your viewing pleasure):

Close up (not sure why Photobucket won't keep this one rotated correctly):

The color does match my Magpul stuff perfectly (note the trigger guard and MBUS), I have a LaRue stock and grip, so the color with these is slightly off, but it was Magpul OD green, not LaRue OD. If I get time to take some better pics this weekend, I'll update the OP.

I didn't want to give out personal info on the company, but their contact info can be found on Cerkote's web page if you are interested. I love the way my AR turned out, and am going to have them coat another one soon. I 100% recommend them on the work they did to anyone else looking to do the same in the SW PA area.

Thanks for reading.

**Lazylaser** · January 9th, 2014, 10:44 AM

How accurate was their estimate? Did they come in exactly what they quoted you?

**Mabuz** · January 9th, 2014, 11:10 AM

Yes.

I don't want to quote any prices, but they said it'll run you about $X, and it was $X when I went to pick everything up.

**Emptymag** · January 9th, 2014, 11:24 AM

Good to know.

**LightningMcQueen784** · January 12th, 2014, 01:41 AM

Thanks for the quick review, Mabuz, as I have been sitting on a potential project as well… and haven't done anything about it yet, since I wasn't that interested in shipping things out.

Can you tell me where they are and who you spoke with? Their website seems to be "under construction".

Thanks!

**arjohnson** · January 12th, 2014, 02:57 AM

I think I'm going to have them do a lower, upper and rail for me in FDE.

**Mabuz** · January 13th, 2014, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by LightningMcQueen784

Thanks for the quick review, Mabuz, as I have been sitting on a potential project as well… and haven't done anything about it yet, since I wasn't that interested in shipping things out.

Can you tell me where they are and who you spoke with? Their website seems to be "under construction".

Thanks!

Sure thing, since folks are having a hard time I'll share the contact info I found on Cerakote's page. I sent them an email initially to ask about pricing, when they'd be up and running, etc...

Nice guys to deal with.

Anyways, from Cerakote's page:

PITTSBURGH CERAKOTE CO
Services: Cerakote™ Firearm Coating
288 MURDOCKSVILLE ROAD (I'm pretty sure their address was 296 vs. 288 listed here)
CLINTON, PA, 15026, USA

(412) 515-7533
Email: info@pittsburghcerakote.com

I spoke with Chris mainly, but also talked with his brother Jon.

**Mabuz** · May 6th, 2014, 09:14 AM

Summer bump...as I just got my .50 Beowulf back a little bit ago from Pittsburgh Cerakote.

Did this one in FDE, and again it was a great job. I apologize for the crappy background and bad lighting, as I've been meaning to grab a pic of this rifle when I was out shooting, but it slipped my mind, so inside with fluorescent lighting will have to do for the time being. Been busy with a lot going on lately, so I haven't remembered to take the time to do stuff like this lately.

***ETA: I commented on the lighting because the FDE looks like a different shade when not in fluorescent lighting, it looks a lot more like a sand color that is closer to the furniture when it's outside.***

Anyways, my SBR in OD and the Beowulf in FDE:

Thanks again for the good work Chris and John, if you guys are even on here I don't know, but as I said before it's nice to have a place that does nice work locally.