Cerakote on 1911

Hi all,

I recently finished building my new bullseye 1911. Everything is hand fit from the ground up. Unfortunately, I am now debating how to finish it. I am having a hard time finding someone that does hot bluing and I am very skeptical of Cerakote. I have done a great deal of research on Cerakoting a 1911, with tight tolerances, and have found very mixed opinions, to say the least. So I guess I have a couple of questions...

1 does anyone know of a Smith in Pennsylvania that does hot blue (I'm weary of shipping)?

2 do you have any experience with a tight 1911 that has been cerakoted?

Thank you for your help, and Merry Christmas to you and your families.

Even though you are worried about shipping, there is nobody that I can think of the does hot bluing better than Joe Chambers.  He also has looked over the builds of smiths like you and offers suggestions or will do the tweaks for you.  When the gun comes back it will be very special.  It's worth the worry while it's being shipped to Nebraska.

Lol, Joe is a fantastic guy. I have had a number of conversations with him. He has helped me a couple times throughout my build. Unfortunately, he is just a wee bit out of my price range. The guy is an artist though.

Call River Valley Firearms in Stevens Point, WI and talk to Scott Soik the owner.  He prefers to cerakote his 1911 builds.  The coating is so thin that it doesn't round off the checkering or the slide serrations.  Scott's work is quality and affordable as he's not famous yet.

Have you tried John Hallston in PA?

http://www.hallstoncustom.com/

Thank you for the responses. Jay, I tried looking at the website, but it appears that most of the site is under construction. Have you had anything blued by them before? Rob, have you by any chance had any 1911s cerakoted? Thank you again for both of your help.

No, my guns are both stainless, but a buddy just had River Valley build him a ball gun on Caspian parts and they cerakoted that.  The coating is so thin that the Caspian logo and stampings still appear very crisp and sharp--same with the checkering.

I received a tip from a friend in Iowa who uses www.craftguard.com for bluing and that friend reports that the work is excellent.

I have had good results from Craftguard, but it was years ago.  Under their system you do the dis-assembly and ship the parts you want blued.  They ship it back blued and you re-assemble.  Worked out great on a couple of shotguns.  I think they do some other coatings too like hard chrome.

As much trouble as goes into fitting a frame/slide combo, I would not want anything "painted" on those mating surfaces no matter how thin it purports to be.

I am not a fan of Cerakote, but David Sams showed me the results of the process he uses, and I must say, I was very impressed..His is super tough, and withstands amazing abuse..

Jerry, was it Cerakote?  Or something different?

kc.crawford.7 wrote:Jerry, was it Cerakote?  Or something different?

Well, it was my understanding it was..but, I could be wrong..I don't hear well, and get confused easily, you know..
Dave showed me a suppressor that had been subjected to some rough usage, but that coating looked nearly new condition..Dave is making some well engineered suppressors.
Give him a call and inquire..

Its all in the application, ive seen guns with it that are more durable than blued ones.

Check with Jim Garthwaite, and excellent gunsmith in middle Pa. Offers a number of finishes for 1911s.  Jim did reliability work for me on a 1911.  Excellent work, good price.

http://www.garthwaite.com/services/1911-custom-work.php

Thanks for all the help guys!