I bought some of the FDE Cerama-Coat from Wheeler Engineering last year & coated some small parts.
They've held up beautifully so I decided to coat the receivers on my 6.5 Grendel build.

Anyone else do their own coatings??


*a couple charging handle from last year.

















Out of the oven & cooled down

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GrumpyBiker,

Kitchen oven? How do you support it?

quote:

Anyone else do their own coatings??

Yup but mostly Cerakote and for some items Gunkote.

I don't, but that looks great! I think I remember you posting pics of the charging handles before, dry nice.

I’ve used Gun Kote with a sprayer in the past. IMHO most of these types are just “okay” finishes, and not that durable. The surface has to be prepped correctly and anodized aluminum can be especially tricky. The key with these seems to be proper prep plus a few very thin layers.

I’ve done Duracoat successfully.... and less so. Prep is pretty key. But I had time and no oven availability so I just allowed it to air cure.

quote:

Originally posted by SigJacket:
Kitchen oven? How do you support it?

I have a larger toaster oven in my shop for small parts.
And a smoker that was used twice before it was replaced with a larger one in the garage for larger items.

I support the items in the toaster oven with old wire hangers cut & bent into shapes that support & free stand in the oven.

quote:

Originally posted by striker1:
I’ve used Gun Kote with a sprayer in the past. IMHO most of these types are just “okay” finishes, and not that durable. The surface has to be prepped correctly and anodized aluminum can be especially tricky. The key with these seems to be proper prep plus a few very thin layers.

Gunkote while a decent coating it is not nearly as durable as Cerakote.
I only use Gunkote for AR Carriers using the PTFE black and for tiny touchups on handguns.
Gunkote is much easier to use than Cerakote and works very well for the touchups.
Cerakote for everything else like complete guns or even parts like mags.
YMMV

I've used Cerakote a handful of times. I used an electric smoker to cure it.

The oven I've been using.
Moved a couple of the side rails to the top so I can hang longer parts.
Nothing special & zero issues with this product in this setup.

You Ceramacoated a wooden duck??

Looks good. How much does it change dimensions like the pin holes? No big deal or do you plug them from the inside?

quote:

Originally posted by GrumpyBiker:

I do three Thin coats so I've not noticed any issue.
I hate the heavy , thick look of coatings laid down heavier than needed.

This product requires :30mins between coats.
Perhaps that's why some seem to go heavy.
Maybe they get impatient.

Coated the rail this afternoon while cleaning up my shop .
I ordered the matching billet upper receiver last night so I'll shoot that once it arrives.

Your work turned out very nice, when wet, orange peel is evident, but after it dries, the orange peel is gone.

Spraying from aerosol cans is not precise.


Any other colors offered by Wheeler?

Yup, Black, FDE, OD Green & Foilage Green.
But I noticed that there's such a variation in shades to FDE I wasn't sure how it'd match up to Magpul FDE.
Actually it's pretty close.

quote:

Originally posted by GrumpyBiker:
Yup, black, FDE, OD Green & Foilage Green.
But I noticed that there's such a variation in shades to FDE I wasn't sure how it'd match up to Magpul FDE.
Actually it's very close.

Appreciate you replying. I may try the black on a Makarov I have.

The matching Billet Upper arrived today.
Figured with the storm upon us I might as well get it coated.

Grumpy, you make it look easy!

Haven't read Wheeler's pre treament metal prep instructions, but wonder if sandblasting promotes adhesion, as many spray on finishes stipulate?

Sunset_Va , there's a video on YouTube from the company showing their step by step process.
There's not much to it which is why I bought it for small parts.
But after putting it to use & seeing how it stood up, I figured I'd give it a try on some larger parts.

NOTE - however, all the parts I've coated with this have been brand new out of the box.
If I were to attempt to coat an old part I'd run it thru my media cabinet as described in CeraKotes directions for prepping parts.



With the rail, dust cover & receivers done I'm waiting for the scope rings to arrive & be coated before I'm actually done with all the coating.
But I'm getting close. Still waiting for the parts kits to arrive .

Here are the billet Noreen receivers together.
And remember, this is out of a rattle can !!

Nice work! I cant believe you have an AR that is not black! All your ARs look nice. I mess around with Cerakote and I too use a smoker. I sold my 30 inch and bought a 40 inch on sale.