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Posted: 11/10/2013 10:13:19 AM EDT
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When sending in a stripped AR upper receiver to be Cerakoted, should you do anything to prepare the surface?
If it matters, I am planning to Cerakote the upper in something like a satin aluminum or titanium color. I like the metallic silvery look that is a little bright. Has anyone had bad experiences or any lessons/tips for someone about to have this done? I know there are a lot of places that can Cerakote. But does anyone have any recommendations (or do you have any places to avoid)? Thanks. HighSpeedSteel |
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Quoted:
When sending in a stripped AR upper receiver to be Cerakoted, should you do anything to prepare the surface? If it matters, I am planning to Cerakote the upper in something like a satin aluminum or titanium color. I like the metallic silvery look that is a little bright. Has anyone had bad experiences or any lessons/tips for someone about to have this done? I know there are a lot of places that can Cerakote. But does anyone have any recommendations (or do you have any places to avoid)? Thanks. HighSpeedSteel A quality Cerakoter will properly prep the parts for you. It is usually part of their price since they want to retain a good reputation so they tend to do it anyways. Usually media blasting and degreasing is standard and should be done at the cerakoters shop to avoid contamination in handling and shipping. Crucible Armament did a couple cerakote jobs for me. My 1100 came out gorgeous and was perfect. I had a gunsmith who sends work to CA for cerakoting when I had work done on my 1100. I also sent out a 10/22 TacSol barrel for cerakoting during a separate job and it wasn't as nice as my 1100. I believe the issue was partially improper prep, but also there were some light spots. It was a red anodized barrel that I had cerakoted black. I could see the red through the cerakoting in some areas of the flutes of the barrel. The barrel was matte, so I don't think they media blasted my barrel light they should have. I had to sand off the barrel extension a little to get it to fit into my receiver. Some pieces came off in chips, which leads me to believe prep was not done to the best of their abilities. But for the record they also did the receiver and a couple other parts that I had no issues with. So I guess CA can be a bit of hit or miss. Most of their work for me has been pretty good though. |
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I was looking into the same thing recently and then went and checked some prices and places are looking at 200+ for a full rifle (handguard, lower and upper). I then proceeded to look at the cerakote site and 4oz of paint, which is plenty enough to cover atleast 2 rifles, only costs 35 dollars. I decided to do the job myself and with a little know how and research anyone is capable of getting a real good paint job. I took all my parts and got then glass blasted, yes glass bead blasted. Alot of people use different media but the guy I took mine to recommended glass beads and he definitely knew more about it than me so I let him use his knowledge. The parts turned out amazing and I used an air brush to paint all the parts. Made hangers in my garage and painted them all very lightyly but enough to coat them. The finish for cerakote is somewhere around .004" so it is very VERY thin coatings. Took about half hour to paint the entire gun and had the oven ready to throw the parts in and let them bake. This is what my finished rifle looks like with my at home cerakote job. Turned out pretty good if you ask me and i saved 160+ dollars doing it myself.
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l248/ixmarshxi/photo.jpg |
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Quoted:
I lightly blast uppers with 120 AO before appying Cerakote. Whoever you get to do it, make sure the do not remove all the anodizing. It will be out of spec. Can you explain the last portion of your statement. Maybe expounding on what exactly would be considered "out of spec"... |
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Quoted:
Can you explain the last portion of your statement. Maybe expounding on what exactly would be considered "out of spec"... Quoted:
Quoted:
I lightly blast uppers with 120 AO before appying Cerakote. Whoever you get to do it, make sure the do not remove all the anodizing. It will be out of spec. Can you explain the last portion of your statement. Maybe expounding on what exactly would be considered "out of spec"... Any place where the upper meets the lower, pin holes, etc.. If you take all the anodizing off the holes and what not you will never get it back to the right size correctly. The best method is to plug all the holes and lightly blast the surface. Also if you remove all the anodizing from inside the upper receiver you will never get the Cerakote to cover without going too thick. I know this because I learned the hard way. |
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Quoted:
Any place where the upper meets the lower, pin holes, etc.. If you take all the anodizing off the holes and what not you will never get it back to the right size correctly. The best method is to plug all the holes and lightly blast the surface. Also if you remove all the anodizing from inside the upper receiver you will never get the Cerakote to cover without going too thick. I know this because I learned the hard way. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I lightly blast uppers with 120 AO before appying Cerakote. Whoever you get to do it, make sure the do not remove all the anodizing. It will be out of spec. Can you explain the last portion of your statement. Maybe expounding on what exactly would be considered "out of spec"... Any place where the upper meets the lower, pin holes, etc.. If you take all the anodizing off the holes and what not you will never get it back to the right size correctly. The best method is to plug all the holes and lightly blast the surface. Also if you remove all the anodizing from inside the upper receiver you will never get the Cerakote to cover without going too thick. I know this because I learned the hard way. Thanks for the clarification & process description. |
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