Cerakote

[igl00jx]

Starting to get into firearms, and notice individuals getting their firearms coated with this. Is the process the same as anodizing reels?

[hoohoorjoo]

Copied and pasted from Cerakote's website:
What is Cerakote?
Cerakote is a Polymer-Ceramic Composite coating that can be applied to metals, plastics, polymers and wood. The unique formulation used for Cerakote ceramic coating enhances a number of physical performance properties including abrasion/wear resistance, corrosion resistance, chemical resistance, impact strength, and hardness. Each of these properties is rigorously tested to guarantee that Cerakote products remain at the forefront of the ceramic coatings market. Cerakote ceramic coatings utilize state-of-the-art technology to out-perform any competitive coating in both laboratory settings and real world applications.
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Anodizing uses a chemical combined with electrical current to re-arrange the molecules into a thin, dense layer on the surface of aluminum.

[igl00jx]

Good to know. Thanks Tim

[hoohoorjoo]

Good to know. Thanks Tim

No worries, glad to help out.

[Cali]

Anyone doing this to reels? Sounds like a great solution to old beaten up reels...

[Slazmo]

I was quoted here in Aust $400 to redo my Calais DC... If there was a cheaper option (with the same benefits) I would do it without hesitation its the best coating option out imho.

[Cali]

Yikes... a guy who bought a rod from me locally is Cerakote certified. He showed me a couple pictures of his own reels he has Cerakoted, and they looked fantastic. I'll have to ask what his rates are. Can magnesium reels be Cerakoted, or just aluminum?

[Slazmo]

Not quiet sure about MG reels, having said that they need a special undercoat once stripped and once stripped can start to oxidise once exposed to air humidity.

Otherwise other materials are fine. My ideas for reels to be repainted would be simples monotones of blacks and deep shades of grey, nothing fancy... But Cerakote is by far the only decent long lasting option for me, I've delved into automotive paints and powder coat finishes (and seen mixed results locally) but they just don't last all that long for some reason and chip / scratch easily.

Also the point that Cerakote is a self lubricating surface, it also helps that the inside surfaces as they will benefit from its application, clutch assemblies running against frames would expect less wear and somewhat better actions (to some degree).

I also looked into gears being surface treated, the armourer I was dealing with was very confident that it'll work especially on the aluminium / brass gearsets. So just imagine how many benefits it could bring into a tired reel.

[Cali]

I completely agree, but at 400$ you can just buy a new reel. The reel my local guy used an an example was a Curado B in a blue-purple colorway. It was similar to the Harlequin PPG automotive paint colorways. What is the texture like? I imagine it being sort of slippery. I would not think you could coat the gearing, interesting Wonder what that would do for longevity. I was thinking of sending my TDZ Type R+ to get coated, or maybe automotive paint. If you haven't, check out Shane's stuff on IG. His work on TDZs, making them look like Megabass IS73s is what gave me the bug.

[Slazmo]

The texture and feel of Cerakote is basically a high sheen satin or that of the Curado K finish - basically matt or satin it's hard to expand on the two more than that / if there are more sheen's available globally I'm unsure? But I was very happy with the finish in all regards to the samples and the firearms I handled with the process applied.

That until the quote was passed across the table... Not great for a $25 Calais DC value adding exercise...

The gears was an interesting idea, because the coating is so fine the tolerances would remain to some degrees, even possible to make up for wear in time?

[Cali]

I'm not sure on the AU to US conversion, but my local Cerakote armorer quoted me 150$. That doesn't seem to bad for chameleon which is three layers. Problem is I'm not to keen on taking apart reels myself.

[Slazmo]

Big difference in price...

You may need to get someone to strip it down and forward the necessary parts onto the coater if it's all done by post... That's how it's usually done here with large distances between owner / servicer / painting agent etc...

[Cali]

His shop is only 5 miles from me. I'd like to strip it myself, coat it, then send it to Ian to work his magic (and put it back together )

[Slazmo]

Easy job if done that way.