Duracote or Ceracote

R

Roland Thunder

New member
Are Duracote and Ceracote the same thing? The gunrange/store where I go told me that the onsite gunsmith has been trained to apply duracote. They showed me a couple of the guns they they had done. One was dark green and the other was FDE. Looked pretty good
 
From what I have read, they are very similar products... but many gunsmiths give the edge to Cerakote because it is more durable, oven baked etc. Of course this means that Cerakote is harder to apply, takes some specialized equipment, and likely not something you are going to do at home. I believe Cerakote is more expensive to have applied by a professional.
 
In my experience they are both finishes but are very different. I have applied both and they yield different results for different applications.

Duracoat is an epoxy paint type finish that is a okay for lighter use or a firearm that you may want to change finish color/pattern often. It can easily be applied at home by someone who can follow directions and pay attention to detail. It will scratch with a little resistance and wear usually happens pretty quick, especially holster wear for a pistol that's drawn often.

Cerakote is a ceramic finish that is either bake cured or time/air cured and is a little to a lot tougher. I wouldn't really recommend it being applied by most people at home. It can be done but it's a long process and cutting corners will show every time. When done right it stands up to wear quite well.

Again, I like both of these for different applications. They both have their place. Hopefully this helps.
 
Thanks for the clarification. The gunstore at the range I go to does duracote. They are pretty good at over hyping anything they sell, so that's why I asked. I think I'll pass on it based on what I have read here.
 
I've opted not to finish any firearms with these product. Their price is much lower than other options, but from my research it seems the quality is also. They seems best for coloring a firearm, not protecting it.

Cerakote seems OK IF whoever installs it preps correctly, has some artistic skill, and doesn't cut corners.
 
Colt uses Cerakote for the tan colored United States Marine Corps (USMC) M45A1 .45 ACP handgun.

I think that's all any of us need to know.

If it's good enough for the Marines, it's good enough for you. Semper Fi. Carry on. :cool:
 
Colt uses Cerakote for the tan colored United States Marine Corps (USMC) M45A1 .45 ACP handgun.

I think that's all any of us need to know.

If it's good enough for the Marines, it's good enough for you. Semper Fi. Carry on.
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Ceracoat is proving itself to be very overrated, and under performing in real world use, also, the H version contains little or no actual ceramic, its just another epoxy type finish.

The Marine rail guns Colt's has been finishing with ceracoat that I have come across have all demonstrated a complete failure of the ceracoat finish, particularly about their ejection ports where ejecting .45 ACP brass takes the finish off right to the substrate almost effortlessly!

I tried to like ceracoat, the colors are of course enticing, however after APW/Cogan failed in three consecutive attempts to finish my Lightweight Commander with it, I have written it off altogether, I have no intention of ever having it applied again, professionally or otherwise! Its also grossly overpriced compared with its high rate of failure, I promise you, if you have it applied to your pistol, it will fail in short order, it comes right off...
 
I've used Cerakote and like it a lot. I applied it at home with a cheap air brush and a toaster oven. If its done right its very tough and abrasive resistant (from my experience), but you must follow directions.
 
respond to having a firm flatly muck up a simple refinishing job
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How many rounds do you have since finishing it? How much wear in a holster?

I am honestly interested. When I was researching it I tried to find pictures of guns with 1000+ rounds that were carried daily for 6 months plus. I wasn't impressed with what I found. No way to reliably make that search with many results though.
 
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