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Posted: 10/16/2025 3:25:00 PM EDT
[Last Edit: BubbaFudd][Edited]
| How terrible of an idea would it be to cerakote an Oasys UMTx thermal with the air dry version? I wanted a black one but they are impossible to find. I currently have a tan one that I considered doing this to. Would the cerakote even stick to the rubberized buttons on top? |
"The dildo of consequences rarely arrives lubed"
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It will crack and flake off the rubber in short order. Masking those rubber buttons off is….fun. Painters tape doesn’t stick to it well so I usually just use white masking tape and carefully trace the buttons with an xacto knife. Air cure Cerakote doesn’t hold much better than spray paint unless you do the prep right. Degrease it with alcohol or acetone on a microfiber. Don’t touch it with bare hands and don’t set it down on anything other than something like clean paper towels. Be sure to scrub the crap out of it with a red scotchbrite. I like to cut them into two-inch squares and use them until they stop feeling ridged. One they get soft they won’t score deep enough for Cerakote to adhere. Using little 2” squares helps me keep better track of that. Blow it clean or wipe well with a lint free cloth. Don’t wipe it with acetone again as it will soften the plastic surface and ruin your “etch” from the scotchbrite. Once you’ve sprayed and it is all cured (do not they 24hrs is safe for handling, 5 days is full cure), pull the tape off and color the buttons with a sharpie. If it rubs off it’s a cheap easy fix to do it again! |
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Originally Posted By Thor: It will crack and flake off the rubber in short order. Masking those rubber buttons off is….fun. Painters tape doesn’t stick to it well so I usually just use white masking tape and carefully trace the buttons with an xacto knife. Air cure Cerakote doesn’t hold much better than spray paint unless you do the prep right. Degrease it with alcohol or acetone on a microfiber. Don’t touch it with bare hands and don’t set it down on anything other than something like clean paper towels. Be sure to scrub the crap out of it with a red scotchbrite. I like to cut them into two-inch squares and use them until they stop feeling ridged. One they get soft they won’t score deep enough for Cerakote to adhere. Using little 2” squares helps me keep better track of that. Blow it clean or wipe well with a lint free cloth. Don’t wipe it with acetone again as it will soften the plastic surface and ruin your “etch” from the scotchbrite. Once you’ve sprayed and it is all cured (do not they 24hrs is safe for handling, 5 days is full cure), pull the tape off and color the buttons with a sharpie. If it rubs off it’s a cheap easy fix to do it again! Don't let acetone touch any rubberized parts or plastic. Very high chance it will cause issues it will partially break it down. IIRC rubber will become gummy. |
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Originally Posted By JTX23: Originally Posted By Thor: It will crack and flake off the rubber in short order. Masking those rubber buttons off is….fun. Painters tape doesn’t stick to it well so I usually just use white masking tape and carefully trace the buttons with an xacto knife. Air cure Cerakote doesn’t hold much better than spray paint unless you do the prep right. Degrease it with alcohol or acetone on a microfiber. Don’t touch it with bare hands and don’t set it down on anything other than something like clean paper towels. Be sure to scrub the crap out of it with a red scotchbrite. I like to cut them into two-inch squares and use them until they stop feeling ridged. One they get soft they won’t score deep enough for Cerakote to adhere. Using little 2” squares helps me keep better track of that. Blow it clean or wipe well with a lint free cloth. Don’t wipe it with acetone again as it will soften the plastic surface and ruin your “etch” from the scotchbrite. Once you’ve sprayed and it is all cured (do not they 24hrs is safe for handling, 5 days is full cure), pull the tape off and color the buttons with a sharpie. If it rubs off it’s a cheap easy fix to do it again! Don't let acetone touch any rubberized parts or plastic. Very high chance it will cause issues it will partially break it down. IIRC rubber will become gummy. Most weapon grade polymer holds up just fine to an acetone wipe, especially due to how fast it flashes. I literally do it daily and I have never had a rag "stick" to a plastic parts or gum it up. Soaking or dowsing it in acetone is an entirely different story of course, and wiping after a fine etching would likely smooth the profile. As far as rubber, yes. Definitely need to mask that off before wiping. I've has a rubber eyecup get mushy and stick to my bench when I accidently spilled some acetone and it pooled around it! Though I did have a Holosun I had to use acetone and a q-tip on to remove some flash-cured Cerakote overspray from the bottoms as the alcohol wouldn't touch it. The rubber didn't gum up or discolor witch was surprising to me. I fully expected to at least need to redye it too look pretty, but it was 100% ok. |
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