Diy cerakote

[stewart3]

Hey guys. Just thinking about taking this on for a barreled action. Saw a thread on another forum where they used a preval sprayer, made a drier out of a propane burner with round duct work and the job turned out nice. Read some other articles and what not which seemed to make this out as complicated. Anyway, I would have the blasting done by someone else but the drier would be no problem. Also, instead of disassembly for prep I was thinking of soaking in acetone for a couple days and dry like these fellas did. Some other opinions would be much appreciated.


Ted

[n10sivern]

Ummm, I would not recommend that. Just my 0.02. I cerakote and I do it 2-3 days a week. To me, your plan is a recipe for expense and possibly poor results. You have to soak in acetone and then blast. Then outgas the metal and heat it up to free up oils that have soaked in. If you have wet spots it goes back into the acetone then back to the oven until no more oil leeches out. If you make a mistake, or touch the item accidentally, or have a drip, you have to flash cure the item, blast the cerakote off, and start over. That means you would have to take it back to get blasted and pay even more for that. If I have to take a bet, your first time isn't gonna turn out right and it'll have to be blasted. By the time you do all of that you would have come out better paying $150 to get it done. Who knows though, it could turn out perfect for you the first time. BTW, you have to make sure they use 100-120 grit aluminum oxide or garnet when they blast it. Bead blasting doesn't etch it enough and coarser grit will etch it too much. Most blasting places don't keep 100-120 grit media either so it'll have to be ordered and shipped.

[stewart3]

Thanx for your .02 n10. I'm just starting to research this. My buddy is a fabricator so the blasting expense would be the media if he doesn't have it already. I have several projects so in the long run..... I don't mind making a couple mistakes to learn something. The first time I pillar bedded a stock and set headspace was a little nervous but everything turned out great.

Ted