Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing How much to get set-up to Cerakote??

I just sent lots of barrels and bolts off my guns to get fluted and will need to paint or repaint them. Wouldn't I be better off to by a blaster, cabinet, hvlp, and build an oven than to pay some one to paint 5 rifles??

So the question is...

How much would it cost to get set up to Cerakote? I am not looking for industrial grade equipment, just functional.

You'll need an air compressor with a decent size tank for starters.

MtnHtr

Thanks goodness I already have that.

A heat lamp double wall stove pipe oven, a harbor freight cabinet and gun, and a good air line filter and desiccant air drier. Maybe $300 give or take. If your going to get into it more, get a bigger blast cabinet, I wish I had. Also build a better oven, to allow baking more at a time.

I would say no. There are many tricks to learn to do it right. If you are only going to do 5 and not go into business it would be better to let an expert do it. JMHO

not that hard to do it yourself.. for small # of firearms.

blasting cabinet.

a good dry air compressor

HF air brush

heat box ( build your own ) I built one out of wood with foam reflective insulation... and use a $10 HF heat gun. Easily gets to 300 degrees and works like a champ. google heat box and you should find many home made styles

some things are just fun to do yourself

I find ceracoat the easiest of all two part paints to use.. goes on dead smooth

Whatever you do make sure you have a good ventilation system and respirator.

Cerakote is very nasty for your health without the correct equipment. This goes for spraying and while baking.

dead on... Don't even think about using your wife's oven

It also reaks. Metal prep, a steady air supply, not a small constant, pulsating compressor, and a good spray gun all make a difference. I bought a respirator for doing the coatings. Even with an exhaust fan it showed ceracoat on the outer filters. I used a small, pulstating compressor. supposedly suitable for the airbrush I was using. I got a crap finish. Using a real compressor with a tank and a good regulator makes a huge difference, as does good, dry air.

This should be an image of the way I built my oven. I have not added the heat lamp on top, but did find everything to do so at Lowes. The heater element and thermostat could come from a large toaster oven, but I bought mine on an internet auction site. I was using it horizontally, but find this gives me more room to hang the rifles in my small spray room. When it was horizontal it heated up faster as the heat did not all rise upward and leave the rest cool. I am placing the heat lamp, attached to the same thermostat, in to prevent that. Notice the temp probe is centrally located.

Thanks a ton. THat is great info.

I bought some of the air dry Cerakote and applied it to a piece of scrap with my $10 Harbor Freight air brush. I only cleaned the metal and the Cerakote appears to have adhered well and has passed my scratch test. I intend to try it on the next cheap rifle I buy. Ken

The key is the surface prep. 120 grit aluminum oxide is over a dollar per pound. Without a blast cabinet it goes away very fast. Glass beads are too soft and most sands are too rough. I spent a couple thousand getting set up.