Opinions on Best Local Cerakote

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  • lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,673
    Any ideas on pricing for cerekoting? I’ve been looking at a Ti A2 or linear comp for my AR and the only problem is my only choices for what I am interested in are raw Ti.

    I’d rather black. Or maybe OD green to match my handguard. Either way, not raw Ti.

    That said, I don’t think I care about it enough to pay more than maybe $20 to have it coated.
     

    Cornelius

    Trust Me, I Sell Cars
    Mar 5, 2019
    152
    MD
    I have also had Hanover Armory Cerakote a piece for me. they did a great job. The wait was a bit longer than I'd hoped for, but the end result was worth it.
     

    Shamr0ck

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 6, 2011
    2,505
    Frederick
    How are the job times running at some of these places? Hafers commits to less than 6 weeks.

    I’d like to give him a job for my daughters rifle but she has a really tight timeline.

    Anybody else do impeccable work and have a shorter turn around? We live in Frederick so distance is a factor too.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    clandestine

    AR-15 Savant
    Oct 13, 2008
    37,031
    Elkton, MD
    You guys need to be careful on who does your ceracote. If they get the coating into the bores of the upper and lower it will cause reliability problems. If they don't mask off the bores or gauge things out you can turn a reliable gun into a turd in short order.

    Seen it many, many times. It's better to have a functional gun than a pretty one.
     

    Jollyllama

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 9, 2012
    1,457
    Carroll county
    Can’t speak to Bollinger on cerakote, but I had been a patron there for a while. Called ahead and asked if they could swap some 1911 sights for me, and verified they would do it “the right way.” This is prior to me having a sight drifter.

    Apparently “the right way” is using a delrin punch and a hammer to smash the rear night sight out, which destroys the tritium tubes of course. By the time I intervened it was too late. Ham-fisted would be an understatement to describe what I observed. Two sets of heine sights ruined.

    Brandy is sweet, the eggs are great, they have some good deals, but juice ain’t worth the squeeze.
     

    clandestine

    AR-15 Savant
    Oct 13, 2008
    37,031
    Elkton, MD
    Can’t speak to Bollinger on cerakote, but I had been a patron there for a while. Called ahead and asked if they could swap some 1911 sights for me, and verified they would do it “the right way.” This is prior to me having a sight drifter.

    Apparently “the right way” is using a delrin punch and a hammer to smash the rear night sight out, which destroys the tritium tubes of course. By the time I intervened it was too late. Ham-fisted would be an understatement to describe what I observed. Two sets of heine sights ruined.

    Brandy is sweet, the eggs are great, they have some good deals, but juice ain’t worth the squeeze.

    I'm not slicking up for Bollingers. Several of my students have been burned by them.

    I will say that a punch is actually is one the right tools for the job, but its only one aspect of the job. The punch has to be contoured to hit at the bottom of the dovetail, NOT the middle or top.

    Proper fitting has to be done before the sight is driven in. The sight should be able to go in at least halfway into the dovetail,by hand before a punch is used. Brass punches that are taped off bounce less and can be less damaging then a nylon or delrin punch.

    Using a sight pusher is great for adjusting sights and can us used for installs too, but the same fitting is required. Seen lots of cracked slides, and ruined sights by people trying to use pushers to force a sight in.
     

    INMY01TA

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 29, 2008
    5,815
    Scotts Gunsmithing has a cerakote guy (they did last year anyway) he did my Remington 700 and it came out very nice.
     

    jrhzn

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Aug 17, 2017
    280
    Negative on Bollinger. They misplaced my rifle for three months and completely forget it existed.

    Odd - Adcor ships their rifles there for cerakoting because they do the best job. Sucks that you had a bad experience, mine has been nothing but perfect.
     

    calicojack

    American Sporting Rifle
    MDS Supporter
    May 29, 2018
    5,348
    Cuba on the Chesapeake
    Negative on Bollinger. They misplaced my rifle for three months and completely forget it existed.

    lol - exactly the same thing happened top me.

    The Bollingers (a couple) are a nice family with 2 girls (last I heard, which was a long while ago). They live on an old farm with a very cool old farm house. I would say they are as pro 2A as anyone here.

    That being said, I had 2 items done by them and they are hit or miss. The rifle was lost for weeks;it took a long time, and they did not totally understand what I wanted, as I realized when I picked it up :banghead:

    The hand gun (a semi-auto 9) looks really, really nice; but I discovered later that the mag catch needed to be adjusted (loaded mags fell out).

    Actually for any of these outfits, do a thorough functions check before you leave so you can settle any issues before you pay; mags, safety levers, no missing detents, etc.
     

    PorP

    Active Member
    Mar 11, 2016
    197
    I’m putting together a new AR and was looking to have the lower, upper, and handguard cerakoted. I’m leaning towards OD Green but haven’t made up my mind for sure. Does anybody have any experience or seen work from any local shops within 1hr-1 1/2hr from DC??

    Freds outdoors did mine.

    I had nearly every part of an AR done including the barrel (with their warning it might not hold), buffer tube and quad rail fore grip in desert tan for under 200 (I think)

    I thought their work was fine.
     

    Jollyllama

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 9, 2012
    1,457
    Carroll county
    I'm not slicking up for Bollingers. Several of my students have been burned by them.

    I will say that a punch is actually is one the right tools for the job, but its only one aspect of the job. The punch has to be contoured to hit at the bottom of the dovetail, NOT the middle or top.

    Proper fitting has to be done before the sight is driven in. The sight should be able to go in at least halfway into the dovetail,by hand before a punch is used. Brass punches that are taped off bounce less and can be less damaging then a nylon or delrin punch.

    Using a sight pusher is great for adjusting sights and can us used for installs too, but the same fitting is required. Seen lots of cracked slides, and ruined sights by people trying to use pushers to force a sight in.



    No precautions that you describe were taken. I’ve since done all my own sight installs on pistols and rifles using proper punches and pushers. I’ve learned to size the sights properly with a file/ stones prior to install. None of that was done. It wasn’t even a consideration. It was a large mallet and a huge delrin punch with brute force.

    I don’t have anything against the Bollingers personally, but I think some of the techniques used in the gunsmithing side of things is less than graceful.

    Again no idea about their cerakoting other than what I saw when I have been there several times. The jobs looked good, but I didn’t inspect anything. I have also received some great deals on accessories they have laying around.

    Just relaying my experience. Hope the OP gets some good work done wherever and reports back on the results.
     

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