ABOUT
CERAKOTE
SERVICES
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What is CeraKote?
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CeraKote technology is formulated on a proprietary ceramic backbone. The formulation used for CeraKote Firearm Coatings enhances a number of physical performance properties. Each of these properties is rigorously tested to guarantee that CeraKote products remain at the forefront of the firearm coatings market.
How Does It Compare To Other Firearm Finishes That Have A Long Standing
Presence In The Firearms Industry?
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To prove CeraKote is the leading firearm coating, NIC Industries, CeraKote'sparent company, hired an independent military testing facility to perform a blind side by side comparison between Cerakote and other firearm finishes. In every test CeraKote out performed both competitors products. All tests were performed in accordance with ASTM testing standards.
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Abrasion Durability
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Taber abrasion testing was performed by rotating an abrasive disk on the coated surface of a substrate to determine the durability of a coating. Test results indicate that CeraKote provides up to 7-1/2 times more wear resistance than other firearm finishes. One test had competitors' products failing between 500 and 600 cycles, where CeraKote did not fail until 8000 cycles. This test was in compliance with ASTM standard D4060.
Flexibility tests indicate that CeraKote can undergo a 32% elongation and withstand 160 lbs/sq in impact with no coating loss. This test was in compliance with ASTM standard D522.
What about its reliability in preventing corrosion?
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Corrosive salt spray testing was performed using a steel substrate to simulate real-world application on a firearm. Test results indicate that CeraKote can protect steel 50 times better than other firearm finishes. After 385 hours of 5% spray, theCerakote coated items had no corrosion, unlike the other finishes. This test was in compliance with ASTM standard B117.
CERAKOTE PROPERTIES
This is one area that can be incredibly simple or complex, depending on how much digging you want to do into the various testing methods. You can, for instance, look up what an ASTM D3359 rating of 5B means, which Cerakote earns proudly, or you can see that a 180 degree bend over a quarter-inch mandrel didn’t involve the coating coming loose or flaking off. Ball bearing impact tests are also done to apply 160 inch-pounds of impact force without cracking, or any sign that the coating is coming loose at all
Cerekote finishes are tested with a salt solution. This is very much alike one of those glock torture tests you see on you-tube and facebook, but with a very specific and scientific metric applied. There are generally two ways to perform this test. Either the part is hung and put under a constant spray a saltwater, which most coatings will tolerate on the order of thousands of hours, or they are dropped into a vat of the salt solution and left to soak. Let’s face it, you don’t want to drop your custom glock in a salt bath, so these folks have done the testing for you. In this kind of full immersion test, the coating will hold up against rust for hundreds of hours. Try that with a blued slide, the difference in the results is obvious.
Wear cycles are applied with a buffing wheel coated with abrasive material. Due to the lower coefficient of friction and the ceramic-polymer makeup of the coating, it’s been determined that Cerakote finishes can hold up well to over 5,000 wear cycles for every mil of thickness. Some series are even stronger. Think about how many bullets it takes on a stock slide before you start to see metal under the stock finish. Nuff said? Moving on.
One scientific test, the ASTM D3363, rates Cerakote coatings with a pencil hardness of 9H. It also rates them at a scratch resistance of 6H. While you wouldn’t want to run a nail across it under extreme force, these are actually some of the best test results you will see, on any coating.