Edumacate me on Cerakote

[MillCreek]

I know very little about contemporary gun finishes.  I have a couple of Ruger EC9s pistols inbound. The metal parts are finished with a black oxide finish and I see many reports about how it accumulates lots of scratches and can be prone to rust just from normal gun handling. Other than appearance, does Cerakote have any advantages?  Would anyone have an idea as to the typical cost to Cerakote a small pistol?  I am in the wet part of the PNW and I do take care of my handguns, but I tend to buy stainless handguns for the corrosion resistance.  Since these pistols will live in handlebar bags, they will be prone to getting wet.  Would Cerakote provide enhanced rust resistance?

[Fly320s]

There are several finishes/coatings that are more durable than the standard black oxide finish.  Cerakote is one brand and Duracoat is another.

Basically, they are baked on ceramic-esque coatings which are harder than regular paint finishes.  They also seem to clean up easier because they are slightly slicker that standard finishes.  They will chip and scratch, but not as easily as the factory finish.

Coating your EC9 would be pretty cheap since it is so small and only the slide and barrel need the coating.  I would guess it would be around $100, but that is just a guess.

Here is a shop in Tacoma that does that work.  https://www.southridgearms.com/services  I don't know anything about them; they were just one of the first search results.

You can also DIY.  Some of the finishes are air-dry, not bake dry, so you don't need special equipment.

[bedlamite]

I've done cerakote a few times. The air cure are hi temp and for things like headers. The bake type are much more durable and better than durakote too. I have an old electric oven in the garage that I use. Toaster oven works for small parts.

Process is sandblast, soak in acetone, heat to drive out moisture and solvent, spray cerakote, let dry, heat in oven.

[Lennyjoe]

I cerekoted an AR several years ago in FDE and it held up well.  Was the spray on variety and I actually have stuff to do another AR here in the next week or so.  Best to strip the parts down and clean with Acetone to remove oils.  Need to tape off pin holes or you’ll have to scrape them out to insert pins.

[BobR]

I cerekoted an AR several years ago in FDE and it held up well.  Was the spray on variety and I actually have stuff to do another AR here in the next week or so.  Best to strip the parts down and clean with Acetone to remove oils.  Need to tape off pin holes or you’ll have to scrape them out to insert pins.

Just a random thought, wouldn't it be easier to fill the pin holes with something like modeling clay?

bob

[Lennyjoe]

Yes if I had it.   First time lesson learned….

[RoadKingLarry]

Just a random thought, wouldn't it be easier to fill the pin holes with something like modeling clay?

bob

A lot of modeling clay has oil in it that will migrate.

[Bogie]

I had some muzzle brakes duracoated. I didn't like it.
 
Let's see...
 
There is bluing, there is green or black parkerizing (I do some black stuff), there is black oxide (fragile) and black nitride (not, and what I'm going to use for the next run I do of flash hiders). Then there are several kinds of paint.