Traditional Blue, Phosphate or Chemically Blackened surface treatments which have been used for years in the Firearms Industry are easily worn off and are not all that resistant to corrosion, this will leave metal surfaces, bare and unprotected from the elements.
At Roedale Precision we use one of a variety of Modern Coating Methods to ensure our Custom Rifles are protected against harsh environments and hard wear.
PVD (physical vapour deposition)
A modification of the ARC-Technology is used in the coating of our weapons systems. The modification optimizes the application of thin hard coatings.The PVD Technique is advantageous because the temperature of the coating process lies between 200°C and 500°C therefore below the tempering temperature of steels used in the manufacture of Firearms. Hence there is no loss of temper or deformation of the steel nor is the microstructure of the steel affected negatively, this means there is no loss of accuracy. Situated in significant positions inside the high vacuum PVD chamber are electric arc vaporizers. An electric arc vaporizes the coating material (e.g. titanium) into highly ionized metallic vapour. This metallic vapour is accelerated with electrical energy onto the surface of the rifle part (substrate) that is to be coated. Adding reactant gas (i.e. nitrogen) applies a very hard and thin coating on the firearm surface.
PVD is used in the manufacture of items including coated cutting tools for metalworking, fabrication and special smaller tools mainly for scientific purposes. We use this process in the manufacture of our Custom Precision Rifles.
GunKote (KG Industries)
KG Gun Kote was developed for use on military weapons. There was a need for a material that would hold up under extreme adverse conditions. The coating needed to withstand 500-hour salt spray tests and still meet the military machine gun firing requirements... Gun Kote does this and its application has grown from Firearms to other Industrial applications, being used on heads, cases, barrels, oil coolers, radiators and engine blocks.
Gun Kote is a one part, thin, hard bake-on coating that will give excellent protection from abrasion. Gun Kote does not attract dirt or dust, has excellent impact resistance and can be formulated to be non-reflective. Gun Kote comes in two formulations; 2400 Series which use molybdenum or PTFE as a lubricating base and the 1600 Series which have a high concentration of PTFE. The 3400 Series Boron based coatings and the 4000 Series cold phosphate pretreatment (K-Phos) are also available.
Cerakote (Micro Dyne – NIC Industries)
Cerakote is a Ceramic based 2 part bake-on coating similar in properties and usage to KG Gunkote. Many colours are available.
DuraCote (Lauer Custom Wappenry)
Duracoat is a 2 part chemical cure coating, developed for use on firearms, stocks, scopes etc. similar in properties and performance to Gunkote and Cerakote. Available in a multitude of colours, lending itsself well to custom cammo finishes.
Water Transfer or Immersion Coating ( Colour Vision)
In the immersion coating process, the rifle part (substrate) is dipped into a bath of the coating, which is usually of a low viscosity to enable the coating to run back into the bath as the substrate emerges. This process is frequently used on porous substrates, hence wooden stocks can be coated. Application of decorative patterns such as realtree cammo, carbon fibre, wood grain and marble, as well as many other decorative or graphic patterns to numerous objects are possible.