Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters cerakote?

Those of you who have rifles cerakoted:

What do you think of it?

Does it essentially make the rifle maintenence free (other than cleaning the barrel)?

Are there any downsides? Thanks.

I’ve had several guns that were cerekoated correctly by very good gunsmiths and I’m not a fan. Neither are the gunsmiths that I’ve used. It seems to scratch very easily….if you use your rifle as an honest tool, expect it not to wear as well as you had hoped.

I’ve had better luck, as have others, with Gunkote from Brownells. NOT the $15-$20 spray can…the good stuff you have to buy by the quart (pint, gallon, whatever). Much more durable.

Some here have said it nothing special…not worth the cost…

My experience has been different. I’ve had several rifles cerakoted and I think it’s great stuff! I will say this however: a lot depends on the prep and application. My rifles were cerakoted by Eddie Fosnaugh several years ago. He is very meticulous and did a great job!

To answer your question: Yes, once cerakoted you can consider the rifle weatherproof other than the bore.

Godogs57, above says Duracoat is more durable. My experience has been completely opposite. But it isn’t scratch proof. If your barrel contacts a rock or metal on metal it’s going to scratch just like it would if your barrel was blued. But, if you don’t drag your gun through the mud(I don’t…that’s called abuse/neglect)it’ll likely wear well and look good for years….mine still look basically new and they were cerakoted 5+ years ago. The sharp edges of a barrel muzzle or triggerguard will wear some(similar to bluing wear but the cerakote on my rifles has not chipped or flaked off at all.

I wouldn’t hesitate to use it more in the future.

Leftybolt

It will scratch and it will wear. It can make an action a little stiffer. It does help some with weather proofing.

As mentioned, how it's applied matters. I've had some turn out really well and some not so well. I had a rifle and stainless rings done by a local guy recently....big mistake. When I was wiping down the top of the action and the rings with degreaser before putting the rings on some of the coating wiped off. Use someone with a good reputation if you do it.

JCMCUBIC,

I did a stainless barreled action a few years ago too(graphite black cerakote) and wouldn’t do it again. Reason being if you get a scratch or slight wear at the muzzle you can’t touch it up easily. Plus, it’s pointless to cerakote a stainless rifle, unless you do stainless cerakote.

A chrome moly barreled action can be touched up with cold blue occasionally and you’ll never notice it(speaking of graphite black or darker colors).

Leftybolt

For my money, give me dull-blasted stainless. If it's a cosmetic thing, like wanting darker steel for a walnut stock or something, then I can see using it on top of stainless. The bore matters most, and I personally hate the trend of manufacturers using coatings instead of SS steel these days, charging more than they used to for the SS option, and then calling it "all-weather" or some such thing.

I had a stainless Tikka cerakoted, I should have just bought a can of Krylon, just as durable and way cheaper. Three hunting seasons later, its mostly Krylon anyway because of all the scratches.

I’ve had good luck with it. If you go in thinking it’s bullet proof you’ll be disappointed. Like anything, use it hard enough and it will show some wear.

I have 2 rifles that I had cerakoted. One Rem 700 and one Win M-70. They were done by to different guys. One turned out awesome, looks great. Its tough as nails. The other one, not so much. It must make a big difference in prep and product used. Also the experience of who ever is doing the job. All Cerakote jobs are not the same. If you are considering having it done, do your homework and use someone that comes highly recommended. I agree with JPro. from now on I just buy dull-blasted stainless.

Great input! Thanks, men. I’m looking at a factory coated M70. Is is safe to assume Winchester knows what they are doing??

I have a original custom shop AWR with the Trynite coating that’s the best finish I’ve had on a gun. I’ve often wondered if a person could find someone that applies it at a reasonable price.

At the end of the day it is a spray applied coating. It will wear, chip and peel in time. I have had a few and if you use your rifle and not totally baby it then it will look like crap in short order. The dull bead blast is the way to go if that is an option

Have posted this before: Cerakote needs to be heat-cured after applying, and if the steel is properly prepared and then properly cured it is VERY tough. But too many folks who apply it don't even go to the trouble of reading the directions--which is why it "will, wear, chip and peel in time."

Have hunted a lot with rifles where Cerakote was properly applied, and none showed any wear-finish more than a slight amount around "edges," such as the corners of the muzzle crown--even after years of travel and hard use.

But yes, Cerakote will rapidly chip, peel, etc. if not applied or correctly cured.

Follow-up question: How do you get the crap off a rifle?

Sandblast it.

I will add that whomever you get to cerakote a gun should be a gunsmith. They will pay closer attention to details like clearances where stacking tolerances could become a problem. That advice came from Eddie Fosnaugh.

I have a Howa that came with Cerakote. Its been carried a good bit on the front rack of a 4-wheeler, bounced around in a Jeep, and gone lotsa miles in a saddle scabbard. Holding up very well.

Have both Cerakote and Black Nitride finished guns. The Black Nitride process (nitrocarburizing) is a surface hardening treatment for steel, which makes it harder and more corrosion resistant than chrome. It is not a coating, so it does not change part dimensions. It’s sort of like case hardening.

I’ve read that Black Nitride treatment also improves bore longevity. Can’t say from personal experience, as I don’t shoot in sufficient volume to test that, though my treated guns most certainly shoot with satisfactory precision.









Check it out online.

I said Gunkote, not Duracoat.

JB’s comments are dead on. Heat curing is the secret for Cerekote. But even then I’ve found heat cured Gunkote to be better in my little world than heat cured Cerekote. Your mileage may vary.

I’ve had as good of luck using rattlecan paint jobs on my hard hunting, indestructible go-to-rifles as several buddies have had with expensive Cerakote jobs. I can touch it up easy enough and the exterior coated metal is just as protected from the elements as a Cerakoted weapon. My hunting rifles are used hard and maintained perfectly but they have scrapes and scratches and look like they’ve been used. None of that is permanent and an hour in the blasting cabinet takes it back to square one.

As JB said: read ALL the directions and follow them exactly……
There isn’t any applied finish that is bullet proof. All of them will eventually show some level of wear. How well it was applied will be reflected in how much wear it will show over the years.
That being said, I prefer slow rust bluing….. and walnut.
They both are like fine wine aged to perfection.