Litehiker
Well-Known Member
300 F. will absolutely not hurt your steel action or barrel. To mess with its temper you 'd have to go well past 500 F. and for a long time.
Eric B.
Eric B.
Cerakote, just a few questions????
- Thread starter Jeffrthehunter
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Timnterra
Well-Known Member
Jeff
I've done a lot of Cerakote in the last 5 years. Barreled actions, Barrels, actions, pistols, stocks, plastic AR parts and even some car parts. I've never had a problem with Cerakote curing at a lower temp for a longer period of time. I also have never had a problem with any metal stainless, chrome moly, or aluminum that I've baked at 300 degrees. I think you pick which way makes you feel more comfortable and go with it.
I've done a lot of Cerakote in the last 5 years. Barreled actions, Barrels, actions, pistols, stocks, plastic AR parts and even some car parts. I've never had a problem with Cerakote curing at a lower temp for a longer period of time. I also have never had a problem with any metal stainless, chrome moly, or aluminum that I've baked at 300 degrees. I think you pick which way makes you feel more comfortable and go with it.
Timnterra
Well-Known Member
If you are going to mask off that inside you will have to do a good job of it. Because, the sand blaster will ruin the finish inside the action if you do not intend to coat it. Also make sure you use the Cerakote brand tape or something very good that doesn't leave any residue on the parts when you peel it off because that residue will ruin your finish if it melts on there in the oven. I masked off the inside of a Bordon Rinmrock action and didn't cost the bolt because Bordon tolerances are very tight.
Jeffrthehunter
Well-Known Member
Tim,
Thanks for all the great info! If I mask the inside of the action and then spray, could I carefully remove tape prior to bake? Does the Cerakote get tacky before baking?
Jeff
Timnterra
Well-Known Member
You can "set" the Cerakote by baking it for 15 minutes. That will allow you to peel the tape off without smudging the coating. It will flash and look dry a couple minutes after spraying but it will still smudge if you touch it. I really think the high heat tape is worth the investment if you are ever going to Cerakote anything else. That stuff will not need to be removed before baking and can be peeled off after without risking messing up your paint job.
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Like Timnterra states, you can flash cure first. I bake all of my (metal) Cerakote at 250 for 2 hours. I use regular blue painters tape, flash cure for 15 minutes, then remove tape. Remember to let cool after flash cure before removing tape as coating can still be soft until cool. I've also left the blue painters tape on for full 2 hours without problems.
Timnterra
Well-Known Member
Some other things to keep in mind:
If you have painted other stuff like automotive stuff this will be common sense so don't take offense I learned this stuff the hard way.
What will you be spraying the Cerakote with? I use a detail spray gun with a .08 tip. Cerakote is very thin and will pile up and orange peel or run if you spray it too thick.
You can use an air brush if you are just doing an action but it will be tedious to do a whole barreled action.
Make sure to test your gun settings before spraying the parts. You want well atomized spray with tiny droplets no big splatter. Adjust the amount of paint to air ratio to get a good even pattern. But you don't want it to be a "dry spray" either or it will end up with a mat almost grainy finish. This is caused by too much air.
Make sure you have good multidirectional lighting when you are spraying the parts. This stuff is deceptive and looks like you have good coverage when you don't. It is very easy to leave light spots that don't show up till the part is baked. The best way to tell is spray it then hang it and let it flash dry and then inspect it to ensure you got good coverage. If you see light spots go over that area overlapping with the rest, don't just try to shoot that spot or you will get a bad spot withruns or orange peel.
If you have painted other stuff like automotive stuff this will be common sense so don't take offense I learned this stuff the hard way.
What will you be spraying the Cerakote with? I use a detail spray gun with a .08 tip. Cerakote is very thin and will pile up and orange peel or run if you spray it too thick.
You can use an air brush if you are just doing an action but it will be tedious to do a whole barreled action.
Make sure to test your gun settings before spraying the parts. You want well atomized spray with tiny droplets no big splatter. Adjust the amount of paint to air ratio to get a good even pattern. But you don't want it to be a "dry spray" either or it will end up with a mat almost grainy finish. This is caused by too much air.
Make sure you have good multidirectional lighting when you are spraying the parts. This stuff is deceptive and looks like you have good coverage when you don't. It is very easy to leave light spots that don't show up till the part is baked. The best way to tell is spray it then hang it and let it flash dry and then inspect it to ensure you got good coverage. If you see light spots go over that area overlapping with the rest, don't just try to shoot that spot or you will get a bad spot withruns or orange peel.
Bigaldepr
Well-Known Member
The bolt is 4340 Chrome-Moly and the receiver is 416 SS. The recrystalization temperature for these austenitic steels is around 1400 F, that is the temperature that would result in a change of the metal's properties.
azsugarbear
Well-Known Member
I've done several rifles and a couple of pistols with Cerakote H over the years in my homemade oven. I typically cure mine at 200-225 degrees for three hours (synthetic stocks were at lower temps and for longer time). The first rifle coatings I did are now five years old and they have held up very well with no chipping or flaking. A great product.
osok-1k
Well-Known Member
I've been doing Cerakote since it came on the market and before that I used KG Gunkote. The key to a good finish is prep work, which means the surface structure must be coarse enough for a good bond (100 grit aluminum oxide blast) and meticulously cleaned by soaking in acetone or MEK for an hour. Spraying off the surface with brake clean will work but only to a degree. The heating part is to cook off any residual oils that are in the pores of the metal and wont come off with just acetone. After blasting, another hour soak in acetone will remove any residual aluminum oxide and then you're ready to apply the finish. If you don't have a spray booth the garage works (with a respirator for you) but it needs to be done with the door closed and lots of good light and wait long enough for dust to settle. Your spray gun needs to have the 8 nozzle and you need to strain the mix with a 125 mesh filter for "H". You also need to consider receiver boltways which you may or may not want to be coated depending on tolerances. The chamber area absolutely must not be blasted or sprayed. Rubber plugs are a must for muzzle and chamber in both the blasting process as well as spraying. All of this is important, which is why a good Cerakote applicator charges what they do. Spraying and baking is easy, the prep ain't. Watch the video on the website (if you haven't already). All of this sounds very fundamental, because it is to have a good result.
shortgrass
Well-Known Member
osok-1k said it all!
coyotezapper
Well-Known Member
I have been using this product for years with no problems. Also, they make an air dry cerakote but its not as durable.
As someone whose first degree required metallurgical classes, a 300 degree bake will not harm an action, and might help some as this could relieve some stresses _ which might stabilize the metals sand increase accuracy. A defiance action shouldn't need to be baked to relieve stresses, but the bake shouldn't harm the action in any way.
