MD,
Shaking & Shelf life can also be an issue…. (Beyond someone short cutting blasting, soaking, and gassing the metal first that is)
I moved to a lab stirrer before I started doing it for real because shaking the stuff my hand is a real PIA…
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F34Y7VK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1I put the magnetic pills in the bottles and let them stir for way longer than they need to be agitated… (generally 30 minutes to an hour) it’s not problem to do that with this system.
NIC (owns cerakote) did came up with a air powered shaker in the last year or so…
They show it and the “shaking issue’” on this link
https://www.cerakote.com/resources/...tating-cerakote-fully-before-applicationThe metal based coating separate the fastest, and if they get near the end of there shelf life they don’t mix as readily, the settled stuff can clump a bit so it takes longer to smooth out, and it separate faster as well. I learned that before I started doing it for real, because I bought some training stuff, and experimented for over a year before doing it for anyone. That first batch started acting up with time.. so I decided fresh coatings are part of the game.
So - as stated, I always work with fresh coating fluid because of that
- I just buy small bottles so I don’t have it sitting around… and I get them DIRECTLY from NIC.. vs a supplier that may have had them laying around for months… and then I date the jars… I just throw the stirrer pills in the bottle before I use the solution, and out with it when I’m done.
I’ve also noticed that the hardener changes color over time if you happen to keep it - but Like I said… it’s always best to order just what you need unless you are a mass volume guy.
