Cerakote Finishing
As such strong proponents of hard coat anodization, why offer Cerakote at all?
What, if any, are the practical benefits of Cerakote?
Well, there are a handful, although niche, use-cases where Cerakote provides an actual benefit over other finishes or coatings.
Without getting into a history of the brand, Cerakote is a proprietary ceramic coating, typically applied with compressed air.
In most cases, it can be applied after most finishes & provides additional benefit over just Cerakote, alone.
Used extensively across a variety of industries, Cerakote naturally found a prominent place in firearms.
Restoration may actually be the most practical use for cerakote in firearms.
When properly applied, cerakote can cover flaws & produce a smooth surface upon finishing.
An example would be restoring grandpa’s old shotgun; after removing rust & attempting to smooth out pitting, a proper application of cerakote can cover the appearance of pitting entirely.
However, the most obvious application of Cerakote is to apply a more permanent color or pattern to a firearm or component, opposed to spray paint, or rattle can.
For example, brass handgun grips Cerakoted black for an EDC, where rattle can would wear off on the user’s hands easily & frequently.
Due to Cerakote’s viability across industries, they offer a variety of industrial coatings which are arguably beneficial in firearm applications, as well.
Cerakote offers various piston & exhaust coatings which may or may not aid in the durability of various components.
Recognizing their specific application in firearms, Cerakote recently introduced a NIR formula
When applied to firearms, NIR Cerakote patterns can hide signatures from night & thermal imaging completely, which is kinda important. To read more about NIR Cerakote finishing compared with Anodized finishes, make sure to check out part 1!
If you are looking to try NIR Kotes and enjoy Multicam patterns, we partnered with WeaponWorks to release our own limited run of Multicam NIR Gen II All-Rounder Carbines. We have extremely limited inventory remaining up for grabs. If you don’t care for the benefits of NIR finishes, we have a different line up of Multicam JAG rifles exclusively bundled with the Promethean LP-1 Optic this month for Black Friday.
