I'm Done With Cerakote
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- Cerakote vs Powder coat? which is better? I tried to use Cerakote for a long time, but I am switching to powdercoat.
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Sounds and looks like your problem with cerakote is the operator not understanding it. Looking at the parts you showed, it looked to me like a lack of attention to detail as well. You mentioned doing two colors, and doing a “semi bake” we call that a flash cure, but you can also do a wet on wet application for added effects.
I do a lot of cerakote work (primarily weapons), if you need assistance, feel free to reach out, if I can help you do better, I will. I have never done powder coating, I would like to learn more about that process. I used to do anodizing but I dumped that process as it was very inconsistent.
I don't disagree! Cerakote is a skilled process, and that is my biggest complaint against it. Nothing I can do will take the skill out of the process, and that makes it really difficult for me to scale the business. I plan on growing past the point of it being just me, and I can't afford to hire someone, and have them spend 3 months practicing cerakote. I need a process that is reliable, and easy to teach a new hire. Powder works much better for that.
@@AudacityMicro if anyone can do it, then everyone starts to do it. Then that market becomes saturated and in order to stay competitive you must either lower your prices to where you are barely breaking even or give it up completely. I am the ONLY one that does cerakote in my area, but there are literally hundreds of powder coaters. If it doesn’t take skill, then you can’t charge for your skill.
@@Bigbeebeellc I definitely don't disagree there. It's a good way to start a coating business, if that is your goal. But I run a product development business, and at the end of the day my customers don't care if their carabiner is cerakoted or powdercoated. Sure maybe a few people like the name brand recognition of Cerakote, but 99% of people have never heard of it, and don't understand the differences. Powder coat holds up better in the environment I use it in, It's a more reliable process, and it's easier to train. There are 100% definitely times where Cerakote is a better process for a specific application, and it would probably be a better business to be in, but it doesn't' make sense for my business.
Absolutely want to degrease prior to blasting. New parts off the mill not a big deal but if you don’t clean first you risk driving contamination into your piece and a potential headache with your finish.
Ah, interesting!
The problem with your cerakote not adhering properly is the oven you’re using you need a convection style oven or the coating will not adhere properly based on the oven not moving any air around and keeping it a constant temperature throughout the entire oven the entire process.
So that is news to me, thanks for the tip! I'm sure I could get better results with better equipment.
At 20:20 you talk about orange peel. FYI: Be very careful on your shop with anything that contains silicone in aerosol form. LPS silicone spray eyeglass cleaner with silicone. Once airborne it can play hell with your surface finish and can be difficult to remediate. Speaking from experience at an industrial scale..........
Good to know! I'll make sure to ban it from the shop
Great video. My take if you don’t mind. I think if someone came from a background of automotive painting, cerakote would be a no brainer. Every con you mentioned for cerakote is pretty much common practice in painting with the exception of prep work. I think powder coat would meet the DIY standards. I would also love to powder coat items because they do have a place. Also I would have to disagree with the comment of the $15 HF gun working as good as the iwata lph80 that cerakote sells as their “production” gun. They’re night and day difference and if you give cerakote another try I’d try a better made gun that has more adjustability in it. But like I said great video filled with lots of information. I’m looking into cerakote myself but I also come from a automotive painting background 😂 yes I gave a biased opinion 😂😂
That's valid! I have basically zero painting experience besides cerakote, and I'm SURE that someone who knew what they were doing would get much better results than I was.
I own my own business doing custom coatings and gunsmithing. I use both cerakote and powder coat. I used Cerakote for years without certification, as well as used the same 12.00 dollar harbor freight sprayer. Getting NIC certified and picking up the IWATA LPH made a world of difference. Understanding the proper process saves tons of time and materials. One small bottle does several firearms for me. Honestly the only time I get powder coating jobs these days, is for wheels.
Also looking at cerakote myself also have full line up of cabinet spraying tools at my disposal... divelbliss guns pressure pots all kinds of shit 😂should be interesting to say the least
Besides temp cerakote is specifically great at acid and salt resistance. As well as pretty dang good at abrasion resistance.
But yah there isn't any mass produced parts that I can think of that would use cerakote as supposed to like DLC coatings which is also thin and high temp resistant.
Badass workshop.
The shop I work at uses all the cerakote guns and shakers. Seems to work well. However, I have a buddy who uses a harbor freight gun and a homemade spray booth with awesome results. I would say stay with it man, the first gun I sprayed with cerakote wasn't pretty. Takes practice
Part of my reasoning, is that I need a dead reliable process, that just works every time. I'm not doing one off projects, I'm doing a reasonable quantity of smaller dollar value items. 99% reliability isn't good enough.
@@AudacityMicro What metal and polymer prep method are you using. That's the part where I have seen that it will fail every time if not done meticulously. And with cerakote you can charge more for your product due to the quality finish that the brand is known for.
I did it all by the book. Following the Cerakote instructions to the letter. Sandblast, acetone degrease. Despite what Cerakote says, it's a less durable finish than high quality powder coat. It has specific niches where it's the best option, but it doesn't hold up as well on products that go in your pocket.
Great breakdown. We use a lot of anodize, but I have a powdercoater who does some of our products too. I've looked into cerakote but couldn't make it pencil out compared to the other two.
yeah, cerakote is a really cool coating, but doesn't make sense for a lot of applications. Anodization is also a really handy coating, but it doesn't give me the solid colors that I like
You should really work on perfecting cerakote. It's a better product over powder coat for sure. Don't give up that easily!
If you still want to derp around with Cerakote, I suggest using a decent (not harbor freight) air brush with a .8mm tip, the ones that allow you to dial in the amount of liquid with the trigger. Its great for small pieces. I do screw heads with mine.
I definitely want to give cerakote another chance, but I'm having a hard time seeing any advantage of it over powder. Powder has been more durable, easier to apply, and a more reliable process.
Hi guys, what would you do for a food safe coating?
As far as I know both cerakote and powder coating is not food safe.
I dont think powdercoat is the same use case as cerakote for a lot of applications.
This video should be required viewing to understand how both of these work. Nice job!
Thank you! That really is encouraging 🙂
@@AudacityMicro You did a great job! I'm definitely going to refer people back to this in the future!
Thanks man 🙂
as many people commented already ...great vid & very informative. Especailly for a newbie
Thanks! 🙂
Especially when FX color options are concerned colours are best with cerakote. When it comes to protecting the clients investment like engines internals, dive equipment etc Cerakote still wins. Cerakote is waaaaaaay better and requires technical knowhow and years of coating application experience to get right so most run for the hills.
There are definitely some applications where powder coating just won't work, like on engines and other things that get hot. I do have to disagree about the color option though, for every color of cerakote there are 100 powder coat options, and ones that are far more wild than the cerakote FX stuff.
I'll be the first to admit that I was certainly the weakest link in my cerakote setup, but I'm trying to build a sustainable business here, and spending years perfecting cerakote would be a huge waste. Especially since I would have to move out of that roll eventually and hire someone to replace me. I would then have to train someone else to handle cerakote, and they would have to learn for years. It's just wasteful when there is a better alternative that can be learned in just a day or two once you have the proper processes in place.
Thanks, that was very interesting
Best comparison ever!
I hope it's helpful!
Great video tons of information with pros and cons of both systems. I will be staying with my powder coating system after what I've learned thank you
I'm glad it was helpful!
Been using powder coat for a few years and very rarely will I use cerakote, it’s just too expensive and the powder coat is so easy
Agreed! It has it's time and place, but isn't ideal for a production shop
Great video, all info, no bullshit.
Thanks!
Cerakote vs powdercoat????? Application.... I use Cerakote (ceramic) on exhaust systems and powdercoat on non-heat related. Simples. All my exhausts (on motorcycles) are ceramic coated by Zircotech "Endurance Black". The link pipes and some brake calipers are Cerakote... Swingarms, foot hangers and other "cold" bitz are powdercoated. I'ts a no-brainer.
I appreciate the honesty and detail in this video. Such great information for either process.
I hope it's helpful!
You have a more assortment of light bulbs than Thomas Edison....lol
Lol, yes. I've slowly been replacing them all with the super bright X shaped things, but haven't gotten around to getting all of them yet.
Your videos are awesome man.
Thanks man! I seriously appreciate the kind words! 🙂
thanks for the info
I'm glad it's helpful!
cerakote has no bake now, unbeatable if you dont have an oven.
They had it when I was using it. The problem is that the cure time is really long, which is a problem for me, as I like to stock raw products, and then coat to order.
Great video.
Thanks!
How much HP does your compressor have? And do you find it’s enough?
This one is 5HP. It's more than enough for everything, except maybe sandblasting. It runs a little more than I would like when I'm sandblasting, but it does still keep up just fine. I don't foresee anything that could force me into a bigger compressor at this point.
The number one thing you should be looking at on a compressor is the cfm rating, doesn’t matter the size of the tank if your cfm is crap. The higher the cfm rating (20 and up)the faster your compressor will fill up. Also must be belt driven, anything else is garbage
Lots of great info! Thanks!
I'm glad it was helpful!
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