So i wanted to cerakote my ak but dont really wanna pay to have it done any one have experience on it any help would be great and if any one can recommend a kit Thanks guys!
DIY cerakote
- Thread starter ramair6speed
- Start date
I dont know about a kit, But you need some basic shop tools. You need to be able to sand blast the parts, Spray gun to paint, and an oven large enough to bake the barrel/reciever.
If you have a compressor, then a simple blast setup and spray gun are pretty cheap from somewhere like harborfreight. The oven is likely in your kitchen, just make sure nobody else is home and you open some windows. Cerakote flows out really nice when properly mixed, you can use an airbrush or detail gun for application. I wouldnt bother if you dont at least blast the metal with some sort of media.
If you have a compressor, then a simple blast setup and spray gun are pretty cheap from somewhere like harborfreight. The oven is likely in your kitchen, just make sure nobody else is home and you open some windows. Cerakote flows out really nice when properly mixed, you can use an airbrush or detail gun for application. I wouldnt bother if you dont at least blast the metal with some sort of media.
Good post. I would NOT recomend the kits they sell with the aresol can and the little glass jar where you can shortcut it. I ended up with a kit given to me and decided to try it out. The spray pattern was way too thick.. I ended up throwing it away and breaking out the spraygun. All I have ever used is the harbor freight little spray guns (not the airbrushes) and they work like a champ. Clean them till they give you trouble then get a new one.. If you dont want to bake it, you can use the air dry.. It has a very flat finish. The heat fure stuff looks great though and is a bit tougher. I ahve never had any finish failure issues with either one, and have run alot of cerakote. Good luck.
From LowCountryCamo http://www.lowcountrycamo.com/index.html
If you are attempting application yourself:
TOOLS AND MATERIAL:
STRATEGIES AND TACTICS:
»Acetone 1 Gal minimum (20 min soak is essential)
»Sandblaster
»Aluminum Oxide (120 grit) Grainger carries 50lbs. for $85
»SandBlasting Booth or be ready to loose blasting media quickly
»Air Compressor powerful enough to keep up with sandblaster, blower, and hvlp within the same afternoon (I use a Saylor Beal 2hp vertical and It is sufficient)
»HVLP, Air Compressor Filters/Dryers, Nitrite Gloves, rubber stoppers, parts hangers
»(optional) Ventilated and filtered Spray booth (I use one)
»Oven that will reach 250 Degrees and hold for 2 hours
»I spent months preparing, gathering tools/material. However, I was preparing from a professional point of view.
»Don't ruin your weapon. If you are not certain of your capabilities or preparation do not attempt. The cost of a professional job is far less than materials and tools needed.
»Cleaning is essential. Not removing all grease and oils will contaminate your blasting media. Therefore completely soaking parts in acetone is a must. Blasting with Break Kleen in NOT ENOUGH!
»Practice using your sandblaster and HVLP gun before attempting work on your weapon. Those tools require feel that must be learned.
»In my opinion the "flat" mixing ratio is way too flat, almost chalky. Use "satin" if you want flat, or "semi-gloss" if you want satin.
»While spraying parts, paint must go on fully wet, or the cerakote will flash, or dry too soon. Parts must be well coated. If spayed too dry, finish will look poor.
»Prepare to reblast and recoat your first real attempt. I did despite all my efforts. I under sprayed my first gun, but could not see the defects until I was in the sunlight, after oven cure was complete.
»Open element ovens can damage polymer and metal parts as parts close to the elements will be much hotter than other parts of the oven.
If you are attempting application yourself:
TOOLS AND MATERIAL:
STRATEGIES AND TACTICS:
»Acetone 1 Gal minimum (20 min soak is essential)
»Sandblaster
»Aluminum Oxide (120 grit) Grainger carries 50lbs. for $85
»SandBlasting Booth or be ready to loose blasting media quickly
»Air Compressor powerful enough to keep up with sandblaster, blower, and hvlp within the same afternoon (I use a Saylor Beal 2hp vertical and It is sufficient)
»HVLP, Air Compressor Filters/Dryers, Nitrite Gloves, rubber stoppers, parts hangers
»(optional) Ventilated and filtered Spray booth (I use one)
»Oven that will reach 250 Degrees and hold for 2 hours
»I spent months preparing, gathering tools/material. However, I was preparing from a professional point of view.
»Don't ruin your weapon. If you are not certain of your capabilities or preparation do not attempt. The cost of a professional job is far less than materials and tools needed.
»Cleaning is essential. Not removing all grease and oils will contaminate your blasting media. Therefore completely soaking parts in acetone is a must. Blasting with Break Kleen in NOT ENOUGH!
»Practice using your sandblaster and HVLP gun before attempting work on your weapon. Those tools require feel that must be learned.
»In my opinion the "flat" mixing ratio is way too flat, almost chalky. Use "satin" if you want flat, or "semi-gloss" if you want satin.
»While spraying parts, paint must go on fully wet, or the cerakote will flash, or dry too soon. Parts must be well coated. If spayed too dry, finish will look poor.
»Prepare to reblast and recoat your first real attempt. I did despite all my efforts. I under sprayed my first gun, but could not see the defects until I was in the sunlight, after oven cure was complete.
»Open element ovens can damage polymer and metal parts as parts close to the elements will be much hotter than other parts of the oven.
I have used the air cure kit and it worked fine for me. You can buy the cerakote directly from NIC and save a couple of bucks. The hardest thing to come up with was the aluminum oxide in a certain grit. If you have any more questions, post em up.
yeah AO media is a bit expensive but it is the best for the product..
A heat box can be easily build.. ours is a wooden box lined with foil sided foam insulation.. A cheap $9 Harbor freight heat gun supplies the heat.
the box is long enough for a barreled action plus a few extra parts.
darn thing will get to 450 if you let it.. we regulate the temp ( use a cheap meat thermometer) by opening or closing holes in the lid.
lot's of ideas on heat boxes if you goggle around.
it's not rocket science. we've been doing it for years.
any inexpensive finish spray gun will work fine.....just clean it well with the acetone...really well !!
the air cure black is a Very dull finish verses the 2 part Graphite black but, you can cover it with their air cure clear to get what ever gloss finish you care to have
one of the nice things about the two part is that by verying the % of hardener in the mix you can control the gloss to some point.
another trick is that if you buy alot of it, keep it all in the Refrig...it will last much longer that way..same for Duracoat.
Don't use the wife's oven...due to the chemicals in the mix...also use a good paint mask.
A heat box can be easily build.. ours is a wooden box lined with foil sided foam insulation.. A cheap $9 Harbor freight heat gun supplies the heat.
the box is long enough for a barreled action plus a few extra parts.
darn thing will get to 450 if you let it.. we regulate the temp ( use a cheap meat thermometer) by opening or closing holes in the lid.
lot's of ideas on heat boxes if you goggle around.
it's not rocket science. we've been doing it for years.
any inexpensive finish spray gun will work fine.....just clean it well with the acetone...really well !!
the air cure black is a Very dull finish verses the 2 part Graphite black but, you can cover it with their air cure clear to get what ever gloss finish you care to have
one of the nice things about the two part is that by verying the % of hardener in the mix you can control the gloss to some point.
another trick is that if you buy alot of it, keep it all in the Refrig...it will last much longer that way..same for Duracoat.
Don't use the wife's oven...due to the chemicals in the mix...also use a good paint mask.
when have we ever used a paint mask?
A tad off topic but isn't that mixed with ammonium nitrate to make the tannerite targets?
Thanks for all the input guys im gonna take a different direction and forget the kit
