Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Bluing vs Cerakote

Hi all,

I have a Ruger M77 in .30-06 that was my father's rifle before he passed. It shoots quite well, however I want to give it some attention given it's sentimental value. I have redone the stock but the bluing is worn in areas. One particularly wet hunt resulted in spots of rust appearing which obviously need to be addressed.

I seem to have limited locations that do bluing local to my area. There are a couple, but there are also individuals that do cerakote and these really talk it up in comparison to bluing. Having never owned a rifle with cerakote (or any other coating) I am unfamiliar with the durability and appearance in comparison to bluing. Is it possible to get a more durable finish that won't compromise the appearance of the rifle with Cerakote?

Local shops are wanting $350 to cerakote. I haven't been able to get a price from a bluing shop.


SS

Its really a question of preference. a good blueing is going to look better to a blue/wood kind of guy. It seems that Rugers often don't blue the cast receiver very well, so I would ask the smith doing blueing that he can make a uniform finish on both barrel and receiver.

Cerakote can provide a very weather resistant finish (although it won't protect the bore) and can look good, but its not as traditional as a good blue. Its pretty tough, but its not forever, you can chip and or wear it away.

BTW don't be worried about sending out a barreled action to a smith, Its not that hard and might add $50 to the price.

Short of a saltwater environment, you can keep either a blue or cerkote rifle from rusting.

Thanks noKnees. Do you have a suggested cerakote color that would look good with a traditional wood stock?

Also, if I got cerakote done and down the line decided that I wanted to have it blued instead, could it be easily done or is it pretty much only cerakote from then on?


SS

Cerakote is the way to go . Black Graphite

I agree Black graphite is the way to go if you want a traditional look.

Oh to the second question, you can have the cerakote blasted off, I don't know what the finish would look like after. I have had a coated rifle stripped and recoated and that looked fine (Eddie F did it for me) I don't know if you could gloss blue after blasting or how much polishing would be necessary before blueing.

You said there were some local guys that cerakote, you might see if they will let you look at a completed rifle just to get a feel for what it will look like.

This my 6.5-06 i built finished in Cerakote Black Graphite

The reason gunsmiths talk up Cerakote and similar coatings is that their equipment investment is tiny compared to a proper hot bluing set-up and there is no metal polishing skill required to bead blast and then paint the metal parts. I say "paint" because that is what all the various coatings are. Anything that is glued on can be chipped off.

Hot blue or, even better, rust blue will outlast the paints appearance wise if not in rust prevention. If you really want a blue job, there are many shops in the US that can do a professional job. I don't know how difficult it is to ship a gun from Canada to a USA shop; the cost might be prohibitive.

RAN

Thanks RAN. Shipping gun parts across the border is a big headache. Believe it or not, more from the US gov't than the Canadian. It can be done, but it probably isn't worth it in this case.

CK and some UBC in the bore is a pretty good path for weatherproofing your old blued rifle.

Cerakote will definitely make the rig look nice, but it will wear. I have had 6 guns CKd and some have chips and scratches. The bolts wear off the coating at contact points in no time.

$350 is ridiculous. I know a place that only charges $95. Shoot me a PM if you want their info.

Places in Canada? If it's in the US I would spend $200 just getting it across the border and back.

SS

That's awfully expensive for cerakote. I usually pay $150.00 for the ones I've had done. I like the durability and corrosion resistance cerakote offers. Here's a tang safety that I had cerakoted in graphite black:






I've been extremely happy with cerakoting...

This guy says it like it is.

Another truthful post.

I like Cerakote and other such "toppings", but they really don't last from what I've seen, You pay 250 to have it put on, then after the disappointment sets in, you think about dropping another 200 to bead blast it off,

Now your at close to the original purchase price of the entire rifle when new.

These coatings, Mens make up for rifles.

Nice rig BSA!

Did you do the rings as well? I'm willing to pay a little more if they do better prep work and make the coating last longer. Not sure the price differential between Canada and the US. Suspect we are a fair bit more as there seem to be less options up here.

SS

Just got off the phone with another shop that does both bluing and cerakote. Cerakote for the whole rifle was $300 and bluing was $200. When I asked about the chance of the bluing on the receiver and barrel appearing different they suggested blue for the barrel and teflon for the receiver.

I've never heard of Teflon on a receiver and given my experiences with teflon coming off of frying pans and "no metal utensils" I am wary of using it. Any experiences?

BTW, I would have to ship the barrelled action to this shop as they are about 8 hours away.

SS

My 308 and 25-06 i had finished in Black T which is what the company calls their Black Teflon. Great finish and has held up great.

You might want to check and see what a nitrate finish would cost. I have two rifles done in a nitrate finish and the finish is very durable.

I have a couple of pistols done in the NP-3 Finish and this finish is expensive

A properly done Cerakote job will not chip off. I have sample barrels stored in a drainage ditch behind my shop. I let people abuse these barrels to see how sturdy it is. It is far and away the most durable finished you can have applied short of hard chrome. It's tougher than the black that comes on a Glock slide.



It will stand up to anything that the base metal will take. If you put a sharp edge to you can get under the metal and scrape it off but it will dent with the metal and not come off. Other coatings really are just good paint. Cerakote is ground up ceramic beads suspended in an epoxy. I've seen it made in person. The key to it's durability is the surface profile blasted into the surface for the Cerakote to mechanically lock into. Too short of profile it will chip, to deep of profile it can't cover the peaks and will wear off over the peaks and rust prematurely. Just read the application instructions on the Cerakote website and quiz the applicator to be sure he follows he protocols. You can find the nearest applicators here. http://www.cerakoteguncoatings.com/resource/locator/

Midnight Blue is a lot closer in color to original bluing but it will not fool anyone. Nothing looks like bluing other than the real thing.