Engraving finishes

rmgreen

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Sep 3, 2009
Messages
338
Location
Washington
For engraving that sees lots of outdoor exposure I have used several products with limited success. Everything from waxes to build up finishes of lacquer and other clear coat finishes. I have recently tried and think to date this is the best of the lot for appearance, protection and durability. Cerakote makes both a gloss clear coat #MC-156 and a matte clear coat #MC-157. The pictured Browning Superposed has had applied background blackening of Rust-oleum matte enamel and a top spray coat of 50%Cerakote Gloss and 50%Cerakote Matte. The build up is around 1/2 thousandths when dry. I use a ratio 75:25 clear:matte on color case hardening. I think I would like a little more gloss than what is pictured here and will try a 60:40 ratio the next time for coin/greyed finish engraving.

IMG-0751.jpg
 

papart1

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May 23, 2015
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1,308
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Michigan
looks sweet..........................another please...............
 

AllenClapp

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Aug 7, 2019
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377
Location
Raleigh, NC
Neat idea. I looked on Cerakote's website for applicators near me and, lo and behold, I found one in Raleigh NC that only does firearms: https://dirtybirdusa.com/. There is a neat chart on the site showing the relative times of various finishes in a standard salt bath, with Cerakote coming out multiples of times longer than traditional finishes. They even have a price sheet on the site.
 

rmgreen

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2009
Messages
338
Location
Washington
Thanks for the information about Cerakote. I didn’t know it, I‘ll try to have my motorbike‘s exhaust manifold coated.

Cheers

Ralf
I am unsure of its high heat resistance. I would experiment on non-important application to find the answer or contact the company. I found them to be very helpful and very willing to discuss applications questions. You live in some beautiful country.
 

rweigel

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Dec 22, 2017
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203
Location
France (north of Alsace, close to Germany)
Roger, thanks for the praise for France. I came there 24 years ago for a job, and stayed. Meanwhile I work again in Germany, still live in France, and try to combine the best of both countries. The Alsace is a very beautiful region, so are many other regoins of France. I like the South a bit more than the North…

Cheers

Ralf
 
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