Cerakote Durability

G

Gdawgs

New member
I just purchased this new Gen 4 Glock 19(first ever Glock for us) with a Cerakote flag graphic from Apollo Customs. My wife and I thought it looked cool, and I liked the fact that this is one of the US made ones.



So after one trip to the range and about 50 rounds through it, I noticed some areas where the Cerakote is wearing/flaking off on the underside of the slide, and the points where the barrel rubs when it cycles. Does anyone have experience with Cerakoted guns? Is this normal? I'm just worried what it's going to look like after it's a few years old with several thousand rounds though when it already looks like this after one use.
Here are some pics. The parts that have the whitish/grey color were black before it was shot.

Thanks.





 
I’m not sure about Cerakoating, however I think is is the trade named version of powder coating.......I was involved in the development of powder coating back in the 60’s/. We used technology we got from Italy, worked on it and perfect it at that point. Basically what it was, was a pretty good coating to eliminate the need for expensive and difficult spray painting...it worked great.....and I haven’t kept up with the development in recent years, but it sure seems the same animal.
 
Wouldn't that be something in the Hydro-dipped family of coatings, or whatever it's called? I know just enough to know that it's a superthin film that floats on water and gets attached by the pressure of the surrounding liquid. It's not what I call durable.
 
Cerakote is not powder paint. It's an epoxy based paint that is very tough- but it's still paint. It will wear, just not as quickly as other paints.
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Are you sure its Cerakote? Cerakote is sprayed on and then baked to cure. Thats awful detailed for a spray job. Not saying it cant be done, just a LOT of work.

Hydro-dip would be way easier to apply. More cost effective as well.

I have two slides that are Cerakoted. They are holding up fine, and i use them both hard. I had a slide hydro-dipped and didnt like the result. It made the slide more slippery then i liked. Cerakote did not make the slide slippery.

Is your slide more slippery than a stock slide? If so it might be hydro-dipped.
 
Sharkbite said:
Are you sure its Cerakote? Cerakote is sprayed on and then baked to cure. Thats awful detailed for a spray job. Not saying it cant be done, just a LOT of work.

Hydro-dip would be way easier to apply. More cost effective as well.

I have two slides that are Cerakoted. They are holding up fine, and i use them both hard. I had a slide hydro-dipped and didnt like the result. It made the slide more slippery then i liked. Cerakote did not make the slide slippery.

Is your slide more slippery than a stock slide? If so it might be hydro-dipped.
Click to expand...
Well, it says it's Cerakote on the website, and there was a form that came with the gun that says Cerakote on it as well. So I would assume that it is. I don't have a standard Glock to compare it to, but the slide doesn't feel abnormally slippery to me.

https://www.galleryofguns.com/genie/Default.aspx?item=ACG-00885&zipcode=

Do your slides show wear similar to mine? Did it last longer than 50 rounds? There were a couple of spots where I was able to pick off a little bit of the coating with my fingernail(in places where it was already wearing.)

So far, the wear/flaking/peeling hasn't made its way onto the outside of the slide. But it's just around that bottom edge, not too far away. So I fear it may not take long and it could make its way around the corner.
Pretty disappointing.

Maybe I'll have to make some calls/send some emails.
 
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CeraKote, DuraKote, Powder Coat, Paint, Hydro-Dipped are all different.

Cerakote is durable extremely thin and should last a good long time if properly applied and cured. If it is flaking and peeling, it probably is not CeraKote.
 
Gdawgs said:
I just purchased this new Gen 4 Glock 19(first ever Glock for us) with a Cerakote flag graphic from Apollo Customs. My wife and I thought it looked cool, and I liked the fact that this is one of the US made ones.



So after one trip to the range and about 50 rounds through it, I noticed some areas where the Cerakote is wearing/flaking off on the underside of the slide, and the points where the barrel rubs when it cycles. Does anyone have experience with Cerakoted guns? Is this normal? I'm just worried what it's going to look like after it's a few years old with several thousand rounds though when it already looks like this after one use.
Here are some pics. The parts that have the whitish/grey color were black before it was shot.

Thanks.





Click to expand...
i have a 17 gen 4, and i have had it since mid February, with now close to 2,000 rnds thru it.

mine don't look nuffin' like yours.

i'd have to "wonder" if the place that applied that flag paint job, stripped off all the original paint on the slide, so that thier primer and paint will stick better, than to the factory finish.

if so, then they are responsible for that problem you are having, not Glock. as such, Apollo would have to repaint it for you, Glock would not get involved, i'd imagine.
 
I've done a few rifles with Gunkote, similar to Cerokote. Prep is the key, all results will be based of the prep work, I have had small chips on corners, but I think that is mainly due to the sand blast on the corners was not up to spec. I have a Garand that was in a flood that I Gunkoted, even in the tab slot in the receiver it is wearing well. No finish will survive for ever in a friction bearing surface. But there are ones better than others. Spray paint, baked on paint is ok for the outside the gun. Parkerizing and blueing are nice as well but not resistant to being rubbed through. But a coating like Gunkote or Cerakote if done right are a very tough finish. But guys take a gun, spray it with brake clean and try to gte it to stick, wont happen. Read the instructions, read up on tips and after that it should come out well for you.
 
If you got it through Davidson's Gallery of Guns, doesn't it come with a lifetime warranty? You could either contact Apollo, or Davidson's.

This is the wear I would expect Cerakote to have: thinning and wearing through at hot spots but no flaking. https://rifleshooter.com/2017/04/cerakotes-big-fail-usmc-returns-cerakote-m45a1s-to-colt/
It's possible your pistol didn't have good prep work before the Cerakote was applied. Those are wear spots for sure where yours has lost finish, but the flaking took out chunks around it that it didn't need to.
 
All your photos are of normal wear points on a Glock and many other pistols. Any finish will start to come off in those areas. I have several cerakoted pistols and none of them have the appearance of discrete areas of "flaking" that your photos show. Cerakote will wear but in my experience, the worn areas have a more "graded" appearance, where the areas of highest wear will gradually transition to less wear, to no wear. Your photos look more like "paint flaking off". From your photos it appears to me that there is also a white underlayer just beneath the outside finish. You can see it the best in the second photo (of the underside of the ejection port). If you look at the two wear marks on either side of the forward part of ejection port next to the rails, you can see the transition from the outermost dark colored layer that appears to be flaking off revealing a white layer underneath. This white layer has wear marks that that appear to be revealing the steel underneath.
 
I only own one Cerakoted firearm, a Mossberg 590 Shockwave with a factory Flat Dark Earth Cerakote finish, but to its credit, it's extremely tough stuff.

Once while struggling to replace the stock polymer safety switch with an aftermarket aluminum safety switch, the screwdriver slipped off the stupid one-way screw and hit the receiver, leaving behind a what appeared to be a scratch mark where the finish had been scraped away, but upon rubbing the spot with my thumb the mark disappeared, meaning that the line was actually a bit of the screwdriver's head on the surface of the finish.

That being said, I'm no expert on Cerakote, but according to Cerakote's manufacturers, Cerakote is short for Ceramic Coating and while it comes in a few different varieties, the standard Cerakote is actually a baked on finish which literally coates the surface of the firearm with ceramic, hence why it's so slick/smooth not unlike a ceramic coffee mug. The problem is, Cerakote® is a Brand Name as well as the name of a specific finish, and Cerakote makes more than one kind of finish, ergo "Cerakote (brand) Spray On Finish" isn't related to the finish known as Cerakote Brand Cerakote Finish, but rather an epoxy paint finish similar to Duracoat, which is obviously very confusing.
 
I've been thinking about getting the slide to my LCP Cerakoted in H-190 Armor Black. I'm very impressed with it (factory? finish) on the CM9 slide, seems like a good product. But I'm not sure a local business will produce the same results. No signs of wear on the CM9, btw.
 
I have a Cerakoted PT92, and after several hundred rounds, I still haven't seen wear on the barrel, down near the muzzle. My blued PT92s show considerable wear in that area.
 
I emailed the dealer the gun came from (through Gunbroker), Davidson's, and Apollo. I heard back from the dealer pretty quickly. They said they haven't had any issues with any of the Apollo guns like I have. Then they said Davidson's or Apollo should be able to help me out.

Still no reply back from Davidson's or Apollo. I'll keep you posted.
 
I talked with Apollo Custom this morning. Long story short, the gal looked at the pictures and said that's definitely not normal. They are going to replace the gun with a new one(she gave me the option of a new one, or having my current one redone). Turns out Apollo Custom and Davidson's are sister companies. So I have to send my gun back to Davidson's, then they'll send out a new one. But it sounds like they need to make it first.
She said they'd put this at the top of the production list, so it won't take long.

I talked to two different gals(I think the second gal was with Davidson's), they were both very friendly, helpful and apologetic. Great customer service from both.
 
Preparation

I have somebody that is the main rep in Phoenix. I think it’s like anything else in application. Proper prepping. I have bought Sigs with side issues and this guy has done amazing work. Still is perfect.
 
Elite Archery cerakoted their cams a few years back. They didn't wear well. The take away to me is that it is not as long lasting as anyone would like it or expect it to be.
I wouldn't make it a major selling/buying point anyhow.
 
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