Inexpensive Cerakote setup

kombayotch

kombayotch

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This didn't start off with the goal of getting an inexpensive Cerakote setup... it just sort of happened. So, I thought I would share it in case there are other home DIY'ers that are interested in having the capability.

I bought this 20 gallon air compressor in the spring because I needed a new one. I bought it with the intention of just using it to blow away chips when machining.



It was on sale at Home Depot for $140 (and is again right now!). It came with the hose, an impact wrench and a ratchet.

I started to get the urge to want to sand blast some of the parts I was machining to remove the tool marks. I had access to a blasting cabinet at the last place I worked, but didn't anymore. I ended up getting a small cabinet from Princess Auto while it was on sale for $125. It leaked a little around the door, but a bit of weather stripping fixed that problem. The compressor seems to keep up with it ok for what I'm doing. I added a fitting to attache the shop vac to it to clear the dust.



Then I got thinking that it would be nice to blast barrels in it. The only problem was that it was only about 20" wide. So, I came up with a way to get a longer barrel in it... well, half a longer barrel in it (then I flip it around).



A rubber plug I got at a pool place keeps the tube from filling up when I'm not using it. It can also be removed.

The next problem that came up was water sometimes building up in the hose and getting fired through the sand blaster. Air gets heated when it gets compressed and when it cools, the water comes out. So, I created piping system to cool the air and trap the water, and installed a filter/dryer to remove any water or moisture that got through it. I got the filter/dryer at Princess Auto for $100.



Nice dry air after that!

Well, I have a couple of actions I am building up and four barrels for them that need to get coated. Actions cost $150 each to Cerakote and barrels are $100 each... which adds up pretty quickly. Since I already had the compressor and the blasting cabinet, all I needed was the spray gun and Princess Auto had those on sale for $18. Sweet!

Unfortunately, my plan to use the oven in the kitchen to bake the parts got nixed by the wife... after I had the Cerakote in hand! :( So, I had to find an alternative way of baking them. Fortunately, I read online that people use things like toaster ovens and meat smokers for this purpose. A toaster oven is too small, but I found this smoker at Cabelas on sale for $200:



It has digital temperature control (read PID), a timer and an internal height of +26". I can can even fit a 32" barrel in there diagonaly. Going to make a jig for that...

I painted an 18" Kidd 10/22 barrel tonight as a test run. It turned out great!



It wasn't till after that I realized how little it cost me for my setup.

$140 Compressor
$125 Blasting cabinet
$100 Filter/dryer
$200 Smoking oven
$18 Paint gun
$75 for pipes/fittings/etc...

$658 total (+tax) for all the tooling needed to sand blast parts/barrels and cerakote them. Yeah, I got everything when it was on sale, but these items seem to go on sale pretty regularly. The compressor is on sale right now, and so it the smoking oven. It can obviously be done for even cheaper if you don't want to do full length barrel (toaster ovens are $30 new), and if you already have some things like the compressor.
 
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That is pretty slick. I was looking at the princess auto blast cabinets for the same thing when I redid a pair of 870's, but I didn't think of modifying it like that. The wife wasn't too keen on all the sand on the garage floor when I was done lol. I may have to go pick one up when it's time to redo the long guns.
 
The stock is a B&C that I've been modifying. Its going to be painted with Duracoat. Duracoat is better for stocks because it goes on thicker and hides imperfections. Cerakote is thin, so everything shows. And you would have to use C Cerakote since you don't want to bake a stock, so it doesn't have any advantage over Duracoat when you can't bake the part.

I just got the cheap portable sand blaster from princess auto for blasting the stock. I just use it in the back yard over a garbage can. I probably retrieve 80-90% of the media.
 
I love these types of do-it-yourself threads.

I tried to build a cerakote oven out of a disassembled toaster-oven and an old filing cabinet. It was just turning into way too much
fooling around for what it was worth.

My wife replaced the old cruddy appliances in her rental townhouse with new ones so I stole the old oven before it made it into the dump pile.

I did a bit of modding to it and it now works perfect as my cerakote oven. I can use the rack inside the oven to hand small parts, actions, bolts
and bottom metal. I've sprayed a whole barreled action and hung it in my oven extension. Worked perfectly.

Next project for me is to build a collapsable spray booth that vents outside.




 
Yes, I need to build some kind of spray booth as well. Just need to find a good way to get the vent tube outside without letting winter in...
 
Great looking set up!
Does you copper pipe 'ladder' cool the air and drain the moisture with a cracked valve at the bottom? Anything out of sight of the blasting cabinet?
Regarding you P/A spray gun, what size nozzel is suitable for the cera kote, and where is the best pace to get a suitable amount for a pistol slide?
Regards,
John
 
ceracote is easy to use but i wouldn't want to spray it in my house. i use a sata mini jet with a 2oz pot on it. 2 0z goes a long way.
 
I may or may not have a mini paint booth in my basement. 2x4 frame. Vapor barrier for walls. I used stick on velcro for the door flap. Added a cheap bathroom fan. Took a piece of pink rigid insulation, put the vent tube through it and cut it to tightly fit in my open basement window. Taped up the window around it just to make sure, as it's in a window well.
I have been leaving it in the window, no noticeable draft, the inside of the paint booth isn't any colder than the rest of the basement so I just leave it.
 
Good idea.

I was thinking of building a frame out of PVC pipe and using either a cheap cut up tarp or some vapor barrier for walls.

I sprayed my stuff when the weather was still pretty nice out. In my new house I'm going to have a heated garage but have
to figure out a vent system.
 
If your house is well sealed you will have trouble blowing to the outside, if you don't have trouble doing this then it means the obvious. Cerakote has zero VOC's, some new type of solvent. I bough an Iwata spray gun, the difference between this and a cheap gun is huge. I use the cheap gun for primers only now. My cure oven is a plywood box insulated with Roxul with a PID controller, the outside does not even get warm, works great. Cerakote is good stuff.
 
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