Cerakote: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger?

Cheers for clearing up for me.

I’d like parts like derailleurs, chains, chain rings and crank arms coming coated in Cerakote.
Annodising rubs off in one rid at times, not really fit for purpose on parts that are subject to abrasion.

@johncoventry

Was that cerakote? Or duracote, guncoat or possibly zircotec

Cerakote is applied with an lph-80 spray gun but requires 100% dry air so compressed air ideally from a screw compressor running 3x filters then 2x filters plus a dryer. The bead blasting cabinet must get the same dry air and then there is the spray booth and the oven to cure it.

It could be done at home but the results could be great but possibly not as the preparation is key.

Other coatings are similar but don’t stand up to the same conditions cerakote can.

We did go overboard to make the best facility possible so we spent around 38k on the set up but it’s paying off already as we have been running 10 months and not a single return or unhappy customer to date.

Yes there are lots of places offering it and you are guaranteed quality and service if you check out your local approved certified applicator:

https://www.cerakote.com/find-applicator

We are at LA2 0PX

I can be contacted at Cerakote UP North for questions and pricing

Anyone is welcome to visit and see what’s involved in the process.

Cheers:
Matt – 07791 292683

Unite have switched to cerakote and increased prices about 40% over the same item when they had them anodised

The stem was £70 normal price earlier this year (I probably got one of the last batches on sale), now it’s £80. IIRC they did say something about energy costs for anodizing, so it might actually be cheaper now with Cerakote than it otherwise would have been.

Unite have been offering it on pedals, stems and other parts too. Be very interesting to see how the pedals stand up (from rubbing rather than impacts)

Would be interesting to run pedals with different coating on the left/right for a couple of months.

johncoventry
Full Member

I remember this stuff from over 20 years ago as a coating for exhaust manifolds.

You buy the kit to apply it yourself. Though I never tried it.

You can do but the process is pretty exacting, to the extent that DIY vs industrial isn’t really comparable.

Another advert?

Those cranks will be looking shiny in no time with foot rub. It’s tough but not indestructible

@cerakote_up_north – dont take it personally. You could be offering free paint jobs and a bunch of these miserable old sods would still find something to complain about. its just the way STW works! You learn to live with this ‘charm’ after a while.

So dont be put off, just answer those with genuine enquiries. 😀

@v7fmp Bang on! 🙂

I doubt it does chemically bond. That’s not a normal mechanism of adhesion to metals. Certain siloxane and phosphate groups interact. Whether I’d class it as a bond rather than an interaction is a question. Everything on the MSDS is marked trade secret so I doubt I’ll find out without an NDA. Ceramic is normally just used if the chemistry is inorganic. Silicone/siloxane based is really common (I’m not aware of any other major options but if it wasn’t mass market I wouldn’t know about it). Si coatings are nothing new. It offers advantages over vinyl/polyester types, PU and things like epoxy.

Most coatings that protect from corrosion do so through barrier properties or galvanic. Zinc phosphates passivate the surface (raise the pH) but I doubt that’s the method. I did smile when the test method was ASTM B117. The industry has largely moved on from that now but it still works. When I was doing off shore anti corrosives for steel the industry standard was Iso12944-9 (Norsok m510 rev 6). For steel oxidation is a real problem. For aluminium less so. In many specifications you don’t need to paint it and it can be left raw as the corrosion allowance is so low. It oxidises almost instantly but the oxide layer is tightly adhered and then protects the underlying metal. It chalks over time but is easily cleaned. Pretty much what anodising is but that is thicker and you can add colour.

Was your abrasion resistance a Taber abrader? There might be better tests for UK riders. We used to use a grit slurry or sand slurry. Coat a pipe. Put it off centre through a small drum. Rotate the drum for a few weeks. It replicated real world water treatment plants, ocean floor etc. There were also fender abrasion tests for boats. Certainly in the yachting world the oligarchs were concerned that the gloss would be loss through abrasion against fenders. You occasionally see them wrapped in a soft fabric.

Anyway love a paint thread (it is paint, just a slightly less common chemistry 😉 and some marketing ).

Looks nice though.

jonba & Mr Cerakote

What would happen if Cerakote was applied on blasted then zinc phosphated steel? Any benefits or would it just look worse for no benefit? I’m interested as I try to get things phosphate dipped prior to powder or paint as it gives some internal tube protection and cleans out any residual brazing flux.

Regarding the advertorial comments that have been floating around. It is appreciated how much time and patience you have put into answering questions, and it is right that you get some benefit for that. People are just remembering that STW has historically been much less tolerant of free advertising on the forum (and it is a recent feature of the website where a front page piece then automatically becomes a forum discussion topic – you wouldn’t have generated 100 responses to a front page article prior to that change).

Apologies if a single mention of another supplier is derailing things, and in fairness they have previously contributed foc to a forum project:

Happy Christmas STW story

@mick_r @bedmaker

I haven’t bothered replying sorry, I’ll leave any comments now. If people want to discuss it they can contact me or any other company that do cerakote. The only thing I would say is non certified companies may do a great job or may not!

WE DO A GREAT JOB WITH A GUARANTEE! If I’m not happy its 100% perfect it doesn’t leave the workshop and we do it again!

People will always find negatives and they bore me! Thanks for the great and positive comments, I personally have no time for negativity if I did I would watch the news.

We are Cerakote up north and we do a great job if you want a great job doing!

@mick_r

Thanks Mick, We have coated parts that have the internal and external zinc phosphated steel the Cerakote process will remove the external coating but has incredible corrosion properties itself so you would end up with internally and externally protected steel.

If i had not contacted Singletrack (the only magazine I have continually bought for years) and told them about the Cerakote process then this would not be something anyone would be talking abut now. I think it is a positive thing for people to learn about new ideas that benefit their hobby.

I have mentioned my business minimal times, I am a cyclist myself and thought this process that I do would interest other people, no one is becoming rich off a single forum post.

Without me answering questions the forum post would just stop and no one would learn anything about the process. I am here to advocate Cerakote as a good coating for our hobby, believe me I have not been inundated by work from it but I have enjoyed answering the questions and making sure people understand what it can and cant do! Keeping forums buzzing is what keeps people talking and keeps companies innovating new parts and processes, it is all positive for the industry and the growth of the hobby. You seem to understand that alot better than some. So your comments are appreciated.

Now Im off to buy a few MTB parts to coat, stick on my bike and further test them on some trails, its all in the spirit of innovation, education, research and development. Lol!!!

@cerakote_up_north.
Did you ever find out about coating a steel frame?

@finbar @singlespeedstu

Hi,
We have a coating that can clear coat polished aluminium without it allowing water ingress and protecting it from oxidisation and chemicals but i will ask Cerakote technical the question about if it can coat a polished steel frame. I am wondering if bare steel in the UK climate might be a bridge too far but i will find out for you. Cheers Matt

Cheers.👍

From what I can see H series goes straight onto polished firearms parts so should work.

@speeder

Cerakote is ultra thin only 25-40microns it has zero gap filling properties. Although if the frame was stripped and then bead blasted and cerakoted the cerakote would get into the gap and protect everything it touches.

@squirrelking

Cerakote is applied to media blasted parts using a fine 100grit aluminium oxide media.

H series needs this to key to the surface. For polished aluminium you use cerakote MC5100 clearcoat which is designed to coat polished alloy