Cerakote Durability Issues

[ToyotaDude22]

I decided to get a couple new AR builds cerakoted at a local shop known for cerakote.

The 300BO was ready for pick up yesterday and since I had planned to deer hunt this morning, I was hoping to make good use of it right away. They told me they had issues getting it to cycle earlier in the day and I mentioned the adjustable gas block (which I’m surprised wasn’t their first place to troubleshoot) but they called back a couple hours later and said it was cycle just fine so I picked it up. They ultimately said it just didn’t like Winchester white box ammo…

The cerakote itself looked great, but I was surprised to see a number of tooling marks from when they assembled it. Besides the fact that it still isn’t cycling with multiple types of ammo, the cerakote seems super soft. I carried it on a single point sling and just the fabric on my orange vest put a bunch of scratches on it. This seems like an application issue to me but wanted a sanity check here before making a fuss about it.

What do y’all think?

 

[BIKER13]

hmmm?? appears to be a bit soft would check back with cerakote guy

 

[Allsmiles]

Cerakote done right is some tough stuff. That doesn't look right .

 

[ToyotaDude22]

I should add that it cost $575 per rifle for the cerakote, which seemed really high, but I wanted to support a local business.

 

[300_whisper]

That’s not right. ALL my rifles are cerakoted. I had one bad Cerakote job and the guy didn’t prep the rifle properly so it was soft and peeling off. Fatal_Bert fixed it.

There is 100% an issue. But I can’t tell you what that issue is.

 

[300_whisper]

I should add that it cost $575 per rifle for the cerakote, which seemed really high, but I wanted to support a local business.

My most intricate Cerakote jobs were $300 max. Single colors were about $100 to $150.

 

[BIKER13]

 

[Gunanddoglover]

WOW!

 

[Spikey]

Sounds like hardner ratio was off , not enough . But Fatal-Bert for the solution . Oh. And no offense , but you got hosed !

 

[Hiland Arms]

Cerakote will definitely scratch, but it shouldn't scratch that easily. It's typically metal on metal contacts that will scratch it like where your charging handle drags across the top of your receiver. Same wear points you would see on your typical factory anodized parts you'll see the same type of wear with Cerakote.

Your vest or plastic buckles shouldn't scratch it like what's pictured, I'm not sure what is going on there. My best guess would be they didn't mix the hardener right.

Not sure why they would even be firing it, 8 years in business I've never test fired an AR after Cerakote. It's just not something that's necessary, and I've never had a customer report back that their gun was having issues after Cerakote.

$575 is pretty steep for that job. We would be about $200 less for that same style pattern. Another concern is what's going on with the buffer tube here? Like why is it partially covered in green like it wasn't disassembled prior to coating?

You wouldn't be crazy or wrong to reach out to them for explanations.