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Cerakote finish to replicate RS Glock GEN3?


NonEx

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OK....

 

I got the parts back today. I think anyone who knows me can anticipate what is coming next...

 

da fuq :|

 

Not satisfied.

 

The finish does not look what I expected it to. The craftmanship is sub-par to what I had expected. The quality and durability is worse than I had hoped. Does not look much like old GEN3 style Glock finish to me.

 

But anyways, here are some pics and comments;

 

RS Glock 19 GEN3 referense picture #1;

 

Crimson%20Trace%20at%20IACP%20Miami%2020

 

RS Glock 19 GEN3 referense picture #2;

 

4467132-glock-19-9x19-2.jpg

 

 

Just a quick note about my photos. Shot with my Nikon D600 DSRL, 50mm 1.8 lens. Exposure and white balance calibrated and corrected. But only using a single desk work-light as source.

 

My Stark / VFC Glock 19 GEN3 prior to Cerakote job

stark_vfc_glock_19_cerakote_02.jpg

 

 

After Cerakote job

stark_vfc_glock_19_cerakote_01.jpg

 

 

To be honest. It looks and feels like the finish on one of the very first aftermarket metal slides I ever owned. It was the "HK" metal slide for my KSC Taiwan version Glock 19. And that's not a good reference because that was one of the ugliest finishes I have ever seen :P

 

It feels kind of caked on, glossy and strange. I dunno, maybe it's just me being me, but let me show some more pics.

 

Cerakote at the bottom

stark_vfc_glock_19_cerakote_03.jpg

 

stark_vfc_glock_19_cerakote_04.jpg

 

Notice the gunk and blotchiness on the ejection port. Definately did not look like that before ... :|

stark_vfc_glock_19_cerakote_05.jpg

 

Cerakote on the left

stark_vfc_glock_19_cerakote_06.jpg

 

 

Again strange blotches and gunk on the top of ejection port. Also notice the wobbly and rough finish texture. Looks like my INO steel 1911 up close. Moon crater finish...

 

stark_vfc_glock_19_cerakote_07.jpg

 

 

Again looks like gunk/build up/dripping on the front of the muzzle, back-end of picture. Also, unfortunately I dropped the outer barrel during the installation, onto a "soft" hardwood floor. And the finish just chipped away on the edge. I thought it would be more "bonded" than that. Kinda backs up my thought of it being caked on the parts.

 

stark_vfc_glock_19_cerakote_08.jpg

 

Notice how "undefined" and "rounded" the Cerakote (bottom) appears

stark_vfc_glock_19_cerakote_09.jpg

 

Off angles, Cerakote left

 

stark_vfc_glock_19_cerakote_10.jpg

 

stark_vfc_glock_19_cerakote_11.jpg

 

 

Overall it doesn't look as flat, defined and matte as the pics you other guys have posted.

 

I don't know if I got a bad Cerakote job done or if I am just over reacting or having my OCD play tricks on me, but what da fuq...

 

Good thing I have another stock slide available to fall back to.

 

I am not sure what I was expecting but this was not it.

 

Let me know what you guys think...

 

 

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Not Cerakote related, but my Stark magazines pimping;

 

stark_vfc_glock_19_magazines_01.jpg

 

stark_vfc_glock_19_magazines_02.jpg

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I'm not saying that the cerakote applicator did a bad job, but I sense the parts weren't stripped of paint / sand blasted prior to painting. On real guns parts it's generally not necessary since the RS OEM finish is hard anodized or melonite finished. On Airsoft parts, the parts tend to have cheap easy chipping finishes. So when you go over the cheap finish with a high quality but thin finish like cerakote it won't necessarily improve the strength/hardness of the finish exponentially. And that's in large part because the cerakote bonded with the underlying paint, not the metal itself.

 

As for the outer barrel, that looks like a bad paint job.

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Yeah was kind of afraid of that.

 

I kind of asked if they did those pre-processing procedures when sending in the items, as in in "I assume I don't have to specify that you do this", they are certified Cerakote applicators after all. But, again, 55 GBP for slide, outer barrel and extractor, I think they might not do it as well as they do with RS guns. Which is a shame really.

 

Also, something which would indicate this is that there was still epoxy glue residue where the front sight was at. I would think a good sand blasting would take that off.

 

Also, I have to say, I looked at it now under some different light and I think that the light I built it under and photographed it in was the worst possible. I'm not saying I am happy, but I think I can live with it. I will give it a few days of tinkering with it before I give my final judgement.

 

But yeah, something seems off. You can definately tell by the way the trademarks looks that they probably just ran the Cerakote on top. And considering how "pourous" the original finish is, looks like, if they did that, I can see why it would turn out sub-par.

 

So, the follow up question would then be. Where can I go from here. Who and what will give me the most RS like GEN3 finish with the best quality withouth spending thousands of dollars ?

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So, the follow up question would then be. Where can I go from here. Who and what will give me the most RS like GEN3 finish with the best quality withouth spending thousands of dollars ?

 

By taking up meditation /+ yoga to take the edge off the ocd. 

 

*sorry couldn't resist :P 

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I'm no expert on Cerakoting, but most jobs I've seen on aluminium kits or receivers of quality aluminium turned out fine.

 

But I was warned beforehand about slight flaws in cheaper metals or kits will become more visible after sandblasting and re-coating.

I have a Hurricane Tactical Entry II kit getting Cerakoted at the moment, and to be honest I'm expecting a few slightly visible flaws, as the metal quality of the Hurricane kits aren't great, despite their great value for money.

 

To be honest I think your VFC/Stark G19 looks fine, considering they are probably made very cheaply, so maybe not the best candidate for Ceracoating, probably like my Hurricane kit - but I'm willing to take the chance anyway ;)

 

I have some photos of my Kimber Warrior I had done a while back on the 1911 thread, I know for certain the Hurricane kit will be more miss than hit, but here's hoping.

 

PS - well done on your magazine pimping, straight to the front of the class ;)

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I would start by sand blasting every piece that is to be painted inside and out down to the raw material. Reassemble everything. Work the slide action multiple times to see if any wear is occurring. File/sand accordingly. When everything is buttery smooth, then send it to the cerakote expert for a graphite black finish. That'll give you the strongest and most realistic possible finish for your Airsoft replica.

 

The results we're seeing with your experience is either (or a combination of) inconsistent paint application, or making contact with parts before they're fully cured. Which is relatively unprofessional and rushed work. Cerakote is not meant to be applied thick. It's supposed to be an extremely thin layer of coating. And you have to wait for it to fully cure before applying any other colors or more layers (which isn't necessary).

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Barrel is badly done - that's for sure.
It's hard to determine if it wasn't sandblasted, but they couldn't ommit removing the old paint. I can't even imagine that, specially if job is done by certified applicator.
But honestly - apart from things mentioned above, I believe You shouldn't expect that ANY painting, even using Cerakote is appropriate way to replicate electrochemical  finish on metal. And another thing is many times I was looking at pictures of real and cerakoted firearms, quality of coating was often no that great, as we could expect from factory finish. And LWRC guns are the first coming to my mind on that subject.
Another example - Stickman's picture of some BCM gun:
9631986618_f0b0632fc0_c.jpg
And that's what I managed to achieve my Larue receiver with Cerakote Graphite Black, and I believe it's closest similarity to anodized/phosphated/etc. finish we can get using paint on bare metal. I did some finishing dry spraying over previous layers of paint - in single spraying before baking.
8844071731_f6a24ce800_b.jpg

So basically, my point is painted things, are just... Painted things. Nothing more. I don't think You can get what You want, without spending some serious amount of $$$$.
 

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On real guns parts it's generally not necessary since the RS OEM finish is hard anodized or melonite finished. On Airsoft parts, the parts tend to have cheap easy chipping finishes.

It doesn't have to be the case - G&P or King Arms parts I was working on, seem to have some colorless anodized finish, most likely for better preparation of the surface for powder coating or spraying. And it seems to be crucial in many different metal spraying techniques - the same about Cerakote of course.

I would risk the statement, that Cerakote could be sitting better on another deep matt paint coating, than glossy bare metal - by creating some kind of baked shell around.

Anyway it's absolutely not how it meant to be used.

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Alright. Thanks for the feedback and input. I will be having the gun out over the next few days and see how I feel.

 

I am not so keen on sending in more things to get Cerakoted as I was before getting these items back, that's for sure :o

 

Will try to get some naturally lit photos when I have the chance. Sun is setting so damn early this time of year I don't see the sun much :P

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You can get stuff anodized with Elite shooting center, but only if its CNC'ed stuff. Its the same price as cerakoting. I think with cheap cast metal your always going to get pitting and imperfections as the OEM paint is used to smooth out any pitting etc, I still think it looks ok though. Any thing I have sent to Rifle Craft has turn out amazing. 

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Alright. Thanks for the feedback and input. I will be having the gun out over the next few days and see how I feel.

 

I am not so keen on sending in more things to get Cerakoted as I was before getting these items back, that's for sure :o

 

Will try to get some naturally lit photos when I have the chance. Sun is setting so damn early this time of year I don't see the sun much :P

Have you spoken to riflecraft about it mate? I only ask as I've met mark on a number of occasions and know his work ethic and attitude towards what he does is top notch.

I'm not saying there hasn't been a mistake but as has been said if the starting material isn't great then a thin layer of paint is only gonna magnify it.

 

Personally, I didn't see the flaws you outlined in your pictures but then an iPhone isn't the best for detail ;)

Bottom line. If you're dissatisfied then if speak to them directly and see what can be resolved if you're happy to have then redone. :)

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Nah I did not contact them because I have learnt from past experiences that I tend to get fired up and hate everything new I get and then as it settles in it's not so bad.

 

As is the case with this item.

 

It's not what I wanted, i.e. the teflon glossy/sparkly charcoal black Glock GEN3 finish. But it does kind of look like the semi-new Glock finish they used on the GEN3s for a bit, not quiet the teflon black, not really the GEN4 gray, but somewhere in between.

 

Also, when looking at more pictures, I can find RS Glocks that kind of look like this does, so yeah.

 

Also, I guess you are right about it not going to be perfect on a pot metal cast airsoft slide etc.

 

The little imperfections on the barrel and whatever, I can live with that.

 

Also, again, the light used to build the slide together and photograph under is probably the absolut worst to make anything look good. In referense the stock slide doesn't look that great either in the pics compared to how it is in real life.

 

So yeah, I don't want to come of as trashing Riflecraft or Mark, it's probably more that I had different and extremely high expectations, as always. My OCDs fault.

 

:o

 

Thanks guys!

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I have sample paint chips for every single Cerakote color offered. There isn't a single paint color they offer that exactly matches the tennifer/melonite finish on real guns since as others have pointed out tennifer is a chemical finish, not a paint finish, and as such has different hues and reflective qualities etc. That said, Graphite Black is about as close as you're going to get out of Cerakote's off the shelf colors. You could probably have an expert color mix a slightly closer finish, but it'll never be the same.

 

Personally, I can accept that the slight color difference isn't the exact same as the real deal, my main concern would be hardiness and longevity of the finish. WE/HK3P and many other OEM Airsoft paint finishes tend to chip and scrape away all too easily. Cerakote should not, be it applied to pot metal or hard plastic. That would be my sole concern if I were in your situation (IMHO).

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True true.

 

Well the chipping that happened was an unfortunate accident. I dropped the outer barrel from 2 feet up straight down on the front edge of the barrel and there was a minor chip. It's not too bad and I doubt this finish will have problems from normal usage.

 

I can say one thing and that is that there is no marks what so ever on the outer barrel from cycling the slide so far. Where as the stock barrel lost alot of finish when doing the same.

 

So yeah, I am coming to terms with it now and I think it will feel alright in a few days :P

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