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Cerakoting Services

Cerakoting Services

In the old days if you wanted your gun re-finished it meant the stock being stripped down to bare wood and re-oiled or varnished and the barrelled action blued. Back then it was simple as all guns were literally brown wood and black steel. Not so now, as all them fancy polymers, carbon fibre wrapped barrels etc., offer a host of possibilities.

HOLY TRINITY
One such is to spray paint guns, with many a rifle finished off in Halford’s best car/ exhaust paint. Later on things got more technical; I can recall getting a Duracoat DIY package complete with 2-pack paint/ hardener, spray gun and stencils. My digi-camo’d 6.5 Grendel was the result; OK but could do better… The concept embraces three areas; to cover and protect from the elements, and maybe camouflage it into the bargain. The third is cosmetic, as the world is your mollusc where it comes to colour choice etc., combine all three and you definitely have something.

I recently visited Riflecraft to check out their Cerakoting service. The guy behind it is riflesmith Mark Dunford. If you want to do it properly the investment is considerable with special baking ovens, top quality spray guns, cleaning kit, safety gear, fans/extractors, bead-blasting equipment, paint and hardeners. Yes you can grab a £25 Badger airbrush and your wife’s hair dryer, but the results will not be the same…

CERAKOTE WHO?
Cerakote offers H & C-Series paints, the former being a 2-pak (paint and hardener) which is oven-baked. The latter dries in air (air cure), both suit different applications. For example Mark did the scopes on my rifle in C-Series so the mechanism would not have to be put in the oven. There are 65 colours from favourites like desert tan to the unlikely named ‘prison pink’, in both series. More importantly they offer abrasion, wear, corrosion and chemical resistance. As can be imagined possibilities are endless. For us it offers the chance to pimp-up our guns and add a tough and practical, all-weather finish too. Cerakote is a lot more than just a coat of paint!

Mark told me to bring up a rifle and I decided on my S&W M&P 15-22 semi-auto 22. This is a reasonably complex design with lots of individual controls, which represents a degree of difficulty. The gun is a bit mis-matched with a black forend and action with green pistol grip and rail protectors (two different shades) and a tan butt. As Riflecraft offer Magpul accessories I also decided to upgrade the Smith with a new foregrip, rail guards, pistol grip and IBUS iron sights, the butt is already their carbine storage unit.

STRIP!
Cleanliness is paramount to the process and the rifle would be fully stripped and cleaned. We took the Smith apart all the way down and that included my Warne QD scope and torch mount! I had decided on desert tan and a black barrel and assumed that mark would keep the upper receiver, forend and barrel as one unit and mask off the tube. No way - everything is treated individually.

The first stop is the bead blaster to remove metal coatings so a black barrel and mounts went in and silver came out. Prior to this the muzzle thread is covered and the bore plugged, likewise the chamber end. The plastic components are also blasted but with finer grit to give a better key for the paint to adhere to.

Next they are air blasted to blow away any debris from the process. Gloves are the rule, as an uncovered hand will leave residue that will mess up the finish. After this they are blasted with solvent and where required scrubbed clean, a good example; the inside of the receivers had caked on powder residue that must come off. The scope a Leupold 1.5-6x24 VX7 had the front and rear lenses masked off along with the mag ring and logos. Next it’s rubbed gently with a soft abrasive pad then de-greased and left to hang. In both cases this time allows the materials to gas off and vent any vapours etc.

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HANG TIME
Items are all hung off hooks and placed in the spraying bay. Paint is mixed by weight, which offers a precise and repeatable recipe and with all the safety gear on the job starts. The first part was the scope and I found it odd to watch it turn from an optic into a tan tube with few recognisable features, and wondered if the paint was going to get inside it!

The rest of the rifle was finished in H-Series, with a black barrel and flash hider. Mark then cleaned the gun and re-filled it with desert tan for the main job, which also included the magazine and my torch mount. Ten minutes later all this lot was in the oven at 50° for it to cook. What came out was pristine and once cooled we put the Smith back together. I recall unmasking the scope and it was fine, with the gold Leupold highlights and black, flip-up covers giving a nice contrast. This black theme was maintained as I’d left the T-handle, magazine base and controls along with the buffer tube and torch in this colour and added black rail guards and IBUS sights. I had been thinking about going camo but decided to leave it one colour at the moment. But the end result is what amounts to a new gun. Stripping down the trigger mech was a bonus as I also gave that a proper clean.

THIN BUT TOUGH
Cerakote when applied adds about 3-4 microns to a surface and though I was expecting the magazines to be stiff they were not and still free fell from the well. My rifle was in full matt finish and though the coating will not wear off, areas that are constantly handled will smooth up a tad. Which gives a more pleasing feel. You can opt for a semi-matt or whatever you fancy. On the range I initially experienced some stoppages, which I put down to the mech running in, but within 100-rounds my Smith was back up and running in its usual reliable style, but in a cool new look!

Costs will vary and the more complex the job as in strip, prep, extra colours etc will add to that. As a ballpark figure expect to pay about £300 (Inc vat) to have a stock and barrelled/action painted. Mark told me a turnaround of a week is the norm.

A great service and one that offers a lot more than just cosmetics. My Smith is now pretty much impervious to the weather and I have plans to do other guns too. But Cerakote’s qualities can be applied to many things, Mark told me he did is nephew’s racing Mini’s exhaust, which gets up to serious temperatures with no ill effects on the finish.

Overall a practical way of giving your guns and gear a makeover, making them special or just impervious to the elements and hard knocks! So whatever you want - solid colours, patterns, shapes etc., it’s all possible.


FOR
A lot more than a paint job and well worth the effort

AGAINST
Not a lot, just remember if you go for a mad finish will you ever be able to sell it?

VERDICT
An effective way of refinishing and improving your guns, or anything for that matter

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