Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Cerakote or Durakoat

First in durability in all ways of the sprayed on coatings is Cerakote, It is made of real ceramic glass like beads ground up with tungsten carbide tooling that costs something like $20,000 per tool and they only last about 4 hours. That ground up ceramic is then mixed and suspended in a 2 part epoxy that is mechanically locked into the surface of the product it is applied to. Being a ceramic it doesn't really stick to anything but is laid down and mechanically locked into the roughed up valleys that are optimized by the surface prep Cerakote has specked out in the metal. It just barely covers the peaks of the metal a lot like a sight pressed into a tight fitting dovetail but at the microscopic level. If it is scratched or dented it only takes the peaks off the metal and the Cerakote is still in the valleys. This is why it is so wear resistant.

If the surface is either too rough or too smooth the coating will not perform. Too smooth, it will chip and peel because it is not a paint. I see this a lot by other applicators. The other common problem is from the fact Cerakote will not stick to cured Cerakote. When doing multiple colors it's a fine line between a quick flash to dry the surface and too cured for other colors to melt into the base colors. Typically the other top colors will chip or scratch real easy. If the surface is too rough the peaks will stick out too much and won't be covered properly. Each peak needs the support from surrounding peaks or it will scratch through real easy and rust. Like Ceramic beads no known chemical will hurt Cerakote unless it dissolves the metal under it. It can never be stronger than the underlying material it is applied to. If scratched deep enough to cut or wear the metal under the valleys then the metal is no longer protected by it and then acids can attack the metal and rust will form.

To get the correct surface profile and coating thickness it really should be applied by a certified or well trained applicator. If corners are cut it will not perform as advertised. Cerakote has relaxed some of the protocols in an effort to make it more appealing to the do it yourselfers but the results are not the same as using real virgin Acetone and virgin 120 grit aluminum oxide shot at the right pressure. To get aluminum oxide we have to drive 4 hours each way and pay $2 a pound for 50 pound bags. The Carbide tip in our cabinet is $55 each plus shipping and only good for about 20 guns. You can see the incentive to cut corners is great. Sometimes we have to soak and gas out parts more than 5 times before it is ready for color. When we do a gun you can't get through the finish with a hammer. Even the bolt bodies and locking lugs will not wear off. It works a lot like a dry lube on those parts. We have sample barrels that have been outside in the drainage ditch or buried in the wife's garden that still look like new 10 years later.

Everything else is basically good paint. Some better than others. They don't have the ceramic content and the epoxy is made to stick to good clean surfaces. Lots of products will easily dissolve Duracoat. Birdsong is a couple times better than Duracoat for chemical and abrasion resistance but not anywhere near Cerakote.

Here is a good video on Cerakote strength.