Cerakote Air Dry Coating

[Rapier]

Has anyone on the board used this fairly new product and if so did you blast the surface or sand the surface? In general what was your results? I have read the reviews on Brownell's, which are all positive on the Black, but there is a lot missing from any description.
Ed

[Rapier]

Well I bought some to try after reading several 5 star reviews by 5 users. Most said the stuff is hard as woodpecker lips after the 5 day cure period. I messed up the first try, with an air brush, it went to spitting and carrying on. So I ordered a touch up gun and let the splatter job cure out, then sand blasted it off, per directions. The splatters and double coats did not want to come off, so sure enough the finish is tough. The gravity fed touch up gun worked like magic.

I got the Graphite Black and found that it goes to a semi gloss with a second coat, must be applied while it is still wet, and that is an easy does it deal, the stuff is the consistency of acetone, real thin. But you can with a bit of patience and practice get two coats on. Now it does not fill in pits like some coatings, it only adds less than a .001 coat so everything shows. That is why the sand is supposed to be 120 grit and they recommend Aluminum Oxide as the blast material. I will post some pictures of the little 410 barrel and action plus the 391 barrel and cap I refinished.
Ed

[Rapier]

410 Action L side before and after coating. Note that the coating is very thin, less than .001 so unlike other coatings it does not cover pits.
Ed

[Rapier]

This is the 410 barrel, long and up close. Note the pits in the close, right at the front of the block, half way up the barrel. It looks like a line of lettering, but is actually the forend line. The gray look in places is the reflection of the flash, it is Graphite Black, real black.
Ed

[Rapier]

This is the 391 cap and barrel. The cap was rusted, the barrel had, had a choke tube laid on it in the case and the case closed, the choke scratched and gouged about 3 inches of barrel right in front of the gas port / spring area going to the muzzle, to the right in this case.

The cap turned out with a semi gloss finish from the top being sprayed several times as I coated the sides. So, were I to do the barrel again, I would coat it in a 4 point then go right on with a second 4 point while it was still wet.

I called the tec folks and they said this stuff will not stick to itself once it gets tack free, so a second coat must be applied when the first is wet. The cap is how it looks with a wet applied second coat.
Ed

[Jack]

That really looks good.