Got a couple rifles I'd like to have Cerakoted.

How old is your Cerakote finish and how's it holding up? Worth the money? Would you do it again?

My main elk rifle got coated after a week long hunt in wet weather. That was 6-8 years ago and Cerakote is holding up well. Thinking of having a few other rifles done this winter/spring. Highly recommend.

Prep work is what makes it breaks it. I have a few that have went both ways. Overall I’m happy with it.

This! I've had a bunch of rifles Cerakoted and you really do notice who does the proper prep on them. Of all the ones I've had done, Karl Feldkamp and Eddie Fosnaugh do the best work IMHO. I have one of Karl's rifles he did for me I think 6 years ago now, and its a rifle that gets used the most. Its still holding up great.

Have one, but it doesn’t live a hard life. If I ever have a blued rifle refinished again, it’ll get nitrided. Have a couple with factory nitride and really like the look. Supposed to be really tough and rust resistant too.

Karl has done mine and they are holding up great. Yes I would do it again but the Nitride finish intrigues me.

Cerakote done right holds up really well. Cerakote done wrong might as well by a Krylon rattlecan job.be were wary of fly by night, budget shops.

I've had a few done and they look just as good today as they did 4 or 5 years ago when they were coated. Great stuff as far as I'm concerned. My main elk hunting rifle is cerakoted midnight blue and it gets ridden pretty hard.

I have one Cerakoted gun, which lives kind of a soft life for obvious reasons:









Black Nitride treatment I had done by H&M Metal Processing of Akron OH on guns which don’t get babied:

I’ve had 3 done and am happy with the results.

Even done right, it obviously will scratch when bounced off rocks etc. Like anything, after some hard use it will show wear, but it is pretty durable. Will be doing another one before to long.

Eta; they range from 6 to 3 years. The 6 year rifle gets used the most and it definitely shows some wear, but nothing I fault Cerakote on.

My Tc icon weathershield likely 11 years old seems to be doing fine in the ultra harsh conditions of my gun locker

That savage 219 is awesome!! Always wanted one..

Thanks guys, I appreciate the information.

I definitely want to check into the nitride finish, as I have one rifle in particular that would be a candidate for this type of finish.

I see Savage 219s appearing for sale on GunBroker.com from time to time. You should take the plunge. With the Black Nitride option, as long as it has a decent bore, external condition is pretty much irrelevant and internal replacement parts are obtainable.

I found this pre-war vintage 219 .30-30 at a gun show in Reno perhaps twenty years ago and grabbed it. Its external condition reflected its age, but it worked well enough. I didn’t give it the attention it deserved until I discovered Black Nitride treatment, which changed it from a mildly entertaining shooter into an elegant, lightweight, all-weather stalking rifle. It actually seemed to shoot better too, if you disregard that one stray, at 200 yards:

I'm not familiar with Nitride but the rifles look great. What should it cost compared to cerakote? (I've seen a couple rifles done with cerakote that made the bolt pretty sticky until it wore through the cerakote again... which seemed to defeat the purpose)

Also, for those of you who have gone with Nitride, please name the business or individual that was your applicator.

H&M Metal Processing of Akron OH did the Black Nitride treatment on my guns. It is a surface hardening treatment (nitrocarburization, I believe) rather than a coating, so dimensions are not changed. It is said to be harder than chrome (my experience seems to support this) and more rust resistant too (afraid to try). Cost is $220-ish for a batch of parts (not necessarily from the same gun, within reason). Steel parts only, including stainless, but no springs (process too hot for them). After returned from processing, aggressively clean barrel bore to remove process residue before shooting (a couple applications of JB abrasive bore paste did it for me). Check out Black Nitride specifics online.

Nitride and hard chrome are far superior in my experience.

On the other hand, Titanium Nitride is a thin coating, and not so durable. But it’s certainly flashy:

Ive had several done by the some of the bigger names. Its garbage imho...chem resistant spray paint. Honestly engine or grill paint is just as good.

It works well at stoping corrosion but its soft and gets marred up and comes off easy. Ill never do another.

12 years & looks as good as the first day it was done. The rifle has been hard used in all types of weather, often in the rain, but not mistreated.

I would do it again, yes. Definitely worth the money.

Have it on my 25-284. It will be a long time before anything will have to be done to it.
GreggH

I have a few done. They show wear over time but it is far less than a factory coating. I had 4 or 5 different guys coat mine and there is a difference in durability in some of the work. Go with someone reputable. I shipped the last one across the country. Shipping both ways cost a little more but I know it's done right.

Mine's been good but youve got to be careful who you have do the work. Easy to get sloppy and not prep it right.