My Cerakote Nightmare

Nate.308

Nate.308

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Hey Guys,

I really hoping someone out there in CNG land can help me out. I recently had my AIAX.308 Cerakoted. It wasn't done by a certified guy but he is a professional gun smith so I have faith in his ability.

Before sending the rifle out I partly disassembled the rifle, and then sent the rifle out for coating. Upon return I reassemble and went to the range, much to my dismay I could not get the rifle to shoot like it was before the coating. The rifle would group for a few shots then the POI would shift low right and this was happening continuously. I thought maybe something was up with the scope. I send my scope into Nightforce and they did some testing and it came back that the scope wasn't faulty. I retuned to the range and was still having the problems with the moving POI. After some more time shootingI think Ive isolated the problem to the barrel or barrel screw. The barrel seems to be loose and the screw can't be tightened enough to hold the barrel in place or only holds the barrel for a few shots then vibrates loose. This didn't happen before the work? Maybe something happened to the barrel tightening mechanism while the action was being heated in the oven during curing? I can't explain whats going on and at this point in out 8K anyone have any experience or thoughts?

Nate
 
No advice or experience with that. But I will say it really sucks and is indeed a nightmare! Better send it back to that smith.
 
Sorry no advise for what to do after the fact....

1000% (yes one Thousand) if I send something in for work, paint or anything for that matter. It is sent Assembled and proved functional (the best I can). This way there is no dispute if something goes wrong or it’s not assembled properly.

Bad luck on this one, hopefully your gunsmith will take ownership and fix the problem.
 
Cerakote cures at temps between 150 and 250 C. I think you can even get air-drying versions too. Not hot enough to warp or damage heat-treated steel.
I think you might have a glob of cerakote in the screw hole, or the coating was too thick and is causing interference with the fitting of parts.
 
I doubt the Cerakote paint is the problem, however only the "applicator" would know if he went too "heavy", was the rifle disassembled further at the shop? That may be a place to start, and if you think there is too much paint in the barrel hole run a tap in there, however that should have been "plugged" or the applicator should have gone "light" there. Are you torqueing the chassis to 65lbs?
 
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By barrel screws do you mean the action screws? If they are coming loose during firing, that is a big problem. As already stated check that the screws thread freely into the action with the action out of the stock and the bolt out. If they are tight or stop you need to run a tap in there to get the paint out.
 
dfarrell said:
By barrel screws do you mean the action screws? If they are coming loose during firing, that is a big problem. As already stated check that the screws thread freely into the action with the action out of the stock and the bolt out. If they are tight or stop you need to run a tap in there to get the paint out.
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AIs are bonded into their (proprietary chassis). He means the barrel screw that allows you to quick change barrels.
 
Is it possible that you are using the wrong screw to hold the barrel in place? Does the rifle have more than one length of action screw and you have them mixed up?

If the action screw hole was left open when the gun was coated there may be coating in the threads that is interfering with the proper depth or tension.

Also, how thick is the coating on the front of the action? Could it be that the barrel is not seating correctly against the face of the action and this is causing the action screw to not properly tighten the barrel in place?
 
Yes the problem I’m having is with the quick barrel change screw, I labeled everything when I disassembled and I have to owners manual, and reviewed it for this project. I quite probably something as simple as this but I can’t figure it out
 
And at this point the only customer service I received was deing directed to blue lock tight the barrel screw..I did connect with him on CNG
 
As if it's the cerakote applicators problem. Proper torqueing and application of a suitable thread locker if so directed by the manufacturer should solve your problem.
 
Did they cerakote in the threaded hole of the barrel retaining screw? I would pull the screw out and make sure that the paint hasn't come off threads when the set screw was installed and you have a bit of gunk between the screw and barrel. When I had my chassis done the threaded holes were tight to get the bolts back in. After running the bolts in and out a few times it made the clearance they needed.
 
Shooter1971 said:
As if it's the cerakote applicators problem. Proper torqueing and application of a suitable thread locker if so directed by the manufacturer should solve your problem.
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If the rifle worked perfect before the coating it’s hard to reach other conclusions..
 
This doesn’t seem to be a torquing problem I used the owners manual to provide that info and it also doesn’t seem to be any paint in the hole or threads of the screw, the locking mechanism doesn’t seem to hold the screw in place just wiggles out..
 
Was the correct bolt put back in for the quick change mechanism?

Loc Tite is not the answer so don't do that. Pretty sure some folks still don't undertand the issue you are having.

You could contact Tom Irwin on SH. He is the AI guy for the US and is quite helpful.
 
I contacted Wolverine and I will have them take over the diagnose of this problem, my smith is on board and together we are sorting this out. I will keep you all posted
 
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