Anyone else doing Cerakote at HOME?

I started this asking if anyone else does it. I guess it’s not super popular. So this is going to be my account of it as I go along.

I have everything on the way. My biggest thoughts on it were a sand blaster & a curing oven. Sand blaster, no problem. Picked up a cheap symphony blast gun. No cabinet, but small beans. Other issue is the curing oven. Certainly not going to even TRY TO ATTEMPT curing the parts in our home oven. My wife would be less than welcome thrilled. There are many tutorials of guys making their own from old gym lockers. On the other hand, I had an old steel shelf cabinet that was useless taking up space. I cut the two sides & am planning to rivet them back together at about 11” wide. It stands about 40” tall, but I’ll take up the lower space & only line it with Ceramic Wool to about 30” tall. Got a 1500Watt heating element that was in a square “S” pattern. Bent the steel wire so had length. I’m planning to bent the wire at 90* right at the plug section, so it stands upright in the back of the oven. I really enjoy fabricating.

https://i.ibb.co/h8D8zB9/F9-AB4645-C...BB2963-D12.jpg

I’ve done several Savage rifles after removing blueing, sand blasting, pretreating the metal with K-Phos and then using Gun-Kote. I used the wife’s oven to cure when she was not home. I’m still married. I used Cerakote on my last shotgun refinish job. I found Cerakote to be a little harder to work with. Pre-prep steps, including sanding-blasting are critical to getting the best results with Cerakote.

Well, I’m not worried about prep. I’m always meticulous in anything having to do with need of prep. In my estimation, any procedure requiring extra steps, prep work & care ends up giving the best results. I have firearms with Cerekote & I have been quite happy with the performance. I was also looking at Duracoat. I am much more fond of the colors offered in Cerekote. I’m also more fond of the surface right finish, mmm......how the paint actually lays if that makes sense?

Almost have the curing oven squared away. Riveted the two halves of the steel cabinet together again. And the Ceramic Wool lining lining came in. It’s shaping up pretty good. I’ll have it completed over the next few days. Next week I’m gonna start sand blasting the Barrel & Action with 100grit Aluminum Oxide. I won’t have the Cerekoting done until after New Years most likely. We will be in Florida right before Christmas for my Niece’s wedding,,,and then holiday stuff obviously.. Oh, BYW..this is SO much more difficult with only one hand. FRUSTRATING at times. And VERY slow. But holding up ok.

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You have waaaay more patience then me. I would have just bought a cheap oven on Craigslist.

Nah man.... it’s not really patience. I truly enjoy building things. I’m DIY’er through & through. Have been for over two decades. Doesn’t hurt saving a buck; but when the things you build are working as well, if not BETTER than what you can buy WITHOUT spending a small fortune, it becomes quite an enjoyable effort. I’ve become quite talented in building things like things. The frustration is strictly a result of my physical limitations. I can SEE every facet to of a completed project, but I’m limited by disability. Still worth it though.

Not sure if you have a fan in the box but my nephew “who does it for money”swears you need a convection oven for good results. I found a free convection oven with a bad element, I’m going to use after I repair it, now just hoping my wife doesn’t see it in the barn and want it in the kitchen, it’s way nicer than the one we have.

Well, there is a plethora of info online...blogs, tutorials, videos. Many are using a very simple oven like I have here, and get fantastic results. Remember the oven curing is simply a “drying, hardening” process. It has nothing to do with the paint adhering. Preparation is everything! Having a good etch profile on the surface & completely free of oil, grease, residue.

But if I need, adding a circulation fan would be easy & inexpensive. We’ll see.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dave Hoback

Well, there is a plethora of info online...blogs, tutorials, videos. Many are using a very simple oven like I have here, and get fantastic results. Remember the oven curing is simply a “drying, hardening” process. It has nothing to do with the paint adhering. Preparation is everything! Having a good etch profile on the surface & completely free of oil, grease, residue.

But if I need, adding a circulation fan would be easy & inexpensive. We’ll see.

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A plethora? Like on the 3 amigos?


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Hmm... haven’t seen that in probably 25 years or more. I was referring to a plethora as in “Large or excessive amount”. My apologies for not getting it.

I’m dragging on this, LOL! Hung the door on the bake oven & put it blockers to line with Ceramic wool.
https://i.ibb.co/ySYszd6/37-E5683-C-...862-BF23-C.jpg

Here are the blocked plates I made to line with Ceramic wool. Makes the inside area approx 9” Wide X 12” Deep X 32” height.
https://i.ibb.co/fStD7vF/39648-D46-F...-FA48-ED02.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/dfQRpWC/45-C70-F30-...6-F81-BDF5.jpg

Nice


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With the ceramic wool in.

https://i.ibb.co/gdwFFR9/343-B26-C0-...25-AABAFEE.jpg

Does the wool release any particles? You may want to coat it.


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After it’s settled, it’s fine unless disturbed intentionally. I am planning to wrap it in Aluminum foil regardless.

I’m not worried about any particles sticking & impeding into the Cerakote. I’m planning to let it air dry for several days before curing. So nothing is going to stick to it anyway. But yes, covering with it foil makes the topic moot. :redface-new:

Good to know, I’m thinking my oven won’t provide enough space for longer barrels and will probably go this route especially if air circulation isn’t a must.


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Finished the curing oven. Went ahead and wrapped the ceramic wool with foil.
https://i.ibb.co/ZXstgm1/9-A7463-AB-...F969-D2-DE.jpg

I tested it without the wool. The temp got to 200 & climbing, on high....but it took like 25+ minutes tea to get there! I’m planning to cure at 250F for 2 hours. NOW.., after insulating with ceramic wool, it easily reached 320f and still climbing FAST!
Took maybe 6 minutes. It’s a beast!
https://i.ibb.co/HxGJDXn/DB057582-04...B67714-A35.jpg

What are you using for a controller? I use inkbird from Amazon for my incubators, cheap and work well as on/off control usually run a 3 degree dead band


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I was originally gonna build a curcuit. I have an PID controller(like your Inkbird), a 40A SSR & a roll of Kanthal resistance wire to make a coil element. I do heat treating on my custom steels. I can build an electric kiln that’ll reach 2300F with accuracy to within a few degrees. But treating steel is a different study. Words like Austenite & Ferrite, which are heat treat temp stages of steel... and Martensite & Pearlite which are stages after cooling(quenching) come into play. Remember, this is much different from curing Cerakote, which is simply a SUPER drying technique. It doesn’t need an incredibly accurate tempurature. 350F for an hour or 250F for 2 hours, either will work. And when I build a circuit, I really go nuts with them. Would have picked up another project box, connectors, wire leads, etc. I’d have ended up spending more Than I wanted. I picked up this standard element that I bent to shape. It’s controlled with the simple switched rheostat controller, like the kind in a heating griddle.

You can’t really take advantage of PID with a digital output if you ever need nats ass control I’d suggest using a controller with an analog output to drive an SCR. If you really want to geek out in the at home controls engineering world a raspberry pi can be programmed to do damn near anything. I’ve installed a few induction furnaces over the years and am fascinated by them, I will build my own sometime before retirement.


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The regular old PID’s have been working just fine for me & thousands of other custom knife makers for many years. I first learned of them about 5-6 years ago. This PID I’ve had NIB for 4 years, LOL! I just decided to never build another Heat Treat oven.

Honestly, the electrical stuff isn’t very “fun” for me. It’s all PURPOSE driven. I learned it because I wouldn’t spend the crazy money for some electrical components. But yeah, it’s not something I can “geek out” on. Ya know?

I get what you’re saying though. I was never more than simple circuits. Just what I needed. My forte has been mechanical(obviously).

Have you cooked anything yet? How did it work?


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No, I’ve actually been down & out the last almost three weeks. My whole family had the COVI! I was actually the most sick.... two straight weeks I was sick! I’m recouping this week.

Anyway, I’m not in any rush. Thinking about picking up a bigger compressor first as well. Just got my new Chassis in- Mirage URL. It’s something to see. I don’t know of anyone else with one of these. Going to be unique.

Get well, we had it run through the house the week of Christmas but it felt like a mild cold, we’ve all had Covid, are unvaxed and hopped up on horse dewormer. The first time was far worse.


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Thanks. I’m good now. Yeah, I never got the jab. My wife & kids did.... AND the boosters(whatever they are). It was tough but I’m through it now and have my own homegrown antibodies against it in the future, thank you very much! LOL! I’ve never even had a flu vaccine so I wasn’t about to get this one. This was the first time I’ve been sick in like 20years, so I think I’m doing pretty good.

I built one using a cheap gun locker from Academy ($80). The heating element is a BBQ starter element from Amazon, has a thermostat like an electric skillet. Lined the inside with an insulation from amazon called turbo wrap.
it has a heavy foil on one side and a short wool insulation on the other. Mfg claims it is good to 1500 Deg. It has held up well. Takes about an hour but it will hit 400 deg. I thought about a fan but it is not necessary. I have mine sitting on an elevated furniture dolly, wheel it outside when i'm ready to spray. I like to preheat my parts to about 100 deg and then let them cool just a bit before I coat.
I have been using Cerakote and KG Gunkote. By the way ...KG has a color that duplicates gun bluing so well it is almost impossible to tell the difference.

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Yup... that’s pretty much everything I did & used, LOL! Except my Ceramic wool is WAY overkill. It’s insulated to 2300f! But my mind is geared for building Heat Treating ovens for custom Knives like I make. Ovens that will heat to 2100F+. So this was really easy to do.

Yes, I’ve looked through the bulk of colors. I’m spraying the Barreled Action in Armor Black. The Chassis I’m spraying either Tactical Gray or Tungsten. I’m leaning towards Tungsten.

This is an amazing thread. I have been wondering if doing this at home was really possible. Well, here's my answer. When I get my shop set up on our land I am so doing this!

Many before me have been doing this on a DIY basis for a LONG time. So I already knew it was. Just wasn’t sure of cost. Honestly, I have not spent a ton of money. I made my own sand blast cabinet. The blast gun was only like $25. Same for the HVLP gravity paint gun. Cheap 8gal compressor. It was more just good American “know how” with building the oven.

In case anyone else wants to build their own oven.



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