Question: Requesting advice. engraving on cerakote?

[Lonepine]

I've been given a basic JA industries pistol by a friend to engrave. its not planned on being the most complex engraving, but i wanted to ask those with more experience then me their opinion of engraving a cerakoted gun?
any advice appreciated, my main concern would be chipping, however i dont believe that should be an issue. thank you all for your input.

 

[wowilson]

do not.

 

[John B.]

Contact Cerakote for advise.
And also get a liability release in writing from your friend before cutting.
Even then, do a small test cut under the grips.

 

[tdelewis]

Don't do it. If you want to continue with it, the finish will need to be removed and a finish of 320 grit polish before engraving. Then finish in a traditional way. To me it is not all the time.

 

[tdelewis]

gunengraving.org/engravablity.shtml You may want to check this site. it may give you some information you are looking for.

 

[Matthew Evans]

.

 

[Peter spode]

I just had a gun action that had been ceracoated. It needed to be filed off , then papered up to 600 /800 grit, and then polished. It was only then in a fit state to be engraved. The whole job depended on the preparation. Afterwards it was professionally blued.
If your friend is not prepared for all this extra cost in preparation and finishing I suggest you follow the other engravers advice and decline the job.

 

[oniemarc]

Apart from the Cerakote, I would wait engraving any gun for the time being. As a "beginner" one would simply not be ready to engrave something like this. I count myself in that same category, so not trying to be rude. Simply saying, that 1 year from now, your skill level will be higher. You will be kicking yourself in the head by then. You will be looking back at older projects and know what needed to be changed to make it look better.
We should all be proud of what we can accomplish at any stage of learning, but we should also know our limitations...

Marc

 

[Big-Un]

I did this several years ago, requested by a very good friend/gunsmith for a client that wanted his father's shotgun refinished after a fire. The client understood it would be a simple tribute to his dad and would be Ceracoted quite thick to hide a lot of fire damage. I had to cut quite deep in order to work with the Ceracote. The value of the shotgun was of sentimental value, as the actual expense of finishing it was way more than any actual value would be realized. My suggestion would be to NOT DO IT! JMHO