Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Cerakote or GunKote over QPQ nitrided?

Does anyone know if Cerakote or Gunkote will stick to a QPQ/Nitrided barrel and action? They were bead blasted before nitriding, so should come back from H&M with some texture. Just wondering about an additional layer of protection with KG or Cerakote. Will it adhere to the nitrided surface is the question. TIA

I don't know absolutely, but I would be willing to bet the farm that Cerakote would adhere; no problem.

But unless you just want a different color, I think it would be a big waste of money. Nitride is FAR more durable and protective than Cerakote.

Yes. Also, I should wait and see what the finished product looks like first. Thx

If it's anything like mine, the finish is a soft matte black, that is really pleasing.

Maybe not suitable for a high-dollar wood/blue custom, but as nice as any matte bluing I have had on any factory rifle.

I think you'll like it.


BTW, my action is CM, and the barrel is stainless. To me, there is no color difference in the nitrided components.

Yes, Cerakote will adhere to a QPQ nitride/salt bath nitrided surface as long as the surface has been properly cleaned as is required for all Cerakote application. As was stated above, QPQ is far more wear-resistant a finish than Cerakote, by a significant margin because it is a form of case hardening. On chrome moly steel, the QPQ finish has better corrosion resistance too...but not necessarily on stainless. QPQ = Tenifer = Melonite = Tufftride... all same process.

What is misunderstood by many is the fact that the QPQ process actually REDUCES corrosion-resistance of some stainless steels, depending on chromium content and process temperature. The reason - stainless steel's corrosion-resistance is due to its higher % of chromium vs the typical alloy steels used in guns, and that higher Cr % produces a passive layer of chromium oxide on the surface. The QPQ salt-bath nitriding process binds nitrogen with iron to form iron nitride rather than iron oxide (rust). In stainless steel the introduced nitrogen also ties up the chromium at the surface to form chromium nitride, which then cannot form chromium oxide and it leaves some of the iron to oxidize. This is especially true with the 400 series stainless steels used in guns. The process still adds significant wear-resistance to stainless.

So in short, coating QPQ'd 416 SS with Cerakote does have some corrosion-resistance benefits. On QPQ'd alloy steel, Cerakote's only benefit would be to change the color from black. I think QPQ looks really nice. Its level of sheen from flat to gloss black has to do with how the surface was prepped prior to immersion in the salt bath and how much and what type of polishing was done in the 2nd stage of the process ("QPQ" = "Quench > Polish > Quench").

Thank you guys. You obviously know what you are talking about. Do you have an opinion on whether a bore must be broken in (by firing) prior to nitriding? I've heard conflicting opinions. Some say without break-in that after nitriding, the bore will foul terribly. Others say they've noticed no fouling issue after nitriding a brand new barrel. Opinions? TIA.

It all depends on how smooth the bore is prior to nitriding. If it's a lapped custom barrel, no break-in is required. Even if it's a good factory barrel that doesn't have a lot of tool marks, it's good to go as-is. The reason it might foul more in some cases is because the process case hardens the surface of the bore just like it does to the exterior, so it takes longer for the bore to smooth out from firing.

Got it. Thanks! It's a Douglas. Fingers crossed! (Although the most accurate rifle I've ever owned had a Douglas tube on it). We'll see about fouling when we shoot it.

I always leave my Melonite QPQ barrels in a tub of water after treatment. Makes it easier to get the salts out of it. I do not break in a custom barrel before treatment. If you have one of Stan Taylor's barrel, it will last a long time after it is done.