Branson Cerakote is a factory trained and certified Cerakote applicator shop located in the Missouri Ozarks. John, the owner, is an Army Veteran, and our oldest daughter Olivia is currently serving.
We have been in business since 2013, and have coated hundreds of firearms, tumblers, sunglasses, etc. We can do projects big and small in our state-of-the-art shop. We design and sell high quality stencils cut only from Avery Dennison SF100-235 High Heat Paint Mask at our online store at BransonCerakote.com.
We started this channel to answer questions we get from our stencil customers, and to give helpful tips. Please feel free to comment on things you'd like to see or questions you may have. If you have specific questions you'd like to ask about a project you're working on, our contact info is on our web page. John always has time to help.
We have recently started a Patreon account to help with the costs of our videos. Patrons will be eligible for drawings for Cerakote projects.
Thanks for all the knowledge you share with us. Would really like to see a tiger stripe stencil pattern on ar from start to finish. Got a bunch of stencils from you, kinda nervous about trying it though. Thx agian
I appreciate that. We want our industry to be healthy, and the easiest way for us to contribute to that is by putting out good information. We have an older one on the channel. It still applies. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YWVag_2EYcs.html
Interesting, thanks for all your good information. Curious on the mc 161, i accidentally bought it instead of the 157, wander if be close to same results or not? Thanks again.
That will be fine. I haven't looked at the C clears in a minute, but I remember one set was better at UV, one was better at abrasion, and 156/157 was good at both. That's why we have gone with those over the years.
If the base coat is applied correctly, this usually isn't a problem. The brighter colors do sometimes cause the stencils to lift at the edges, but there are tricks to solve the issue. We use probably 40-50 feet of Avery a week, and rarely have issues.
The heat proof yellow stencil vinyl SUCKS. it NEVER sticks right. I use C series and cut my own stencils with painters tape. Never cones off. That Aslan vinyl lifts in minutes
We've been using the Avery vinyl for about 10 years. As long as the coating is applied correctly, we rarely have issues with curling, and it usually is with specific bright colors. Your issue is likely with your coating being thin.
Do you have a video on how to laser etch and what type of machine you use for that? I tried looking for a video but couldn't find one, though I know I may have just overlooked one of your many videos.
We don't really because it's such a broad topic. Lasers are great tools, but cover such a wide spectrum that one doesn't really do everything. The advice we usually give folks when they call the shop is, if you are only going to engrave metal and polymer, get a fiber. We went with the 30w from San Antonio Laser Engraving because of the training you get and the presets. We are going to be purchasing a second fiber this year, probably an 80w MOPA, but the settings do not transfer from machine to machine (that's a big reason to go to SALE. They train you on the machine you'll be using). To do any other types of materials like leather, acrylic, powder coated tumblers, wood, vinyl, etc, we recommend getting a co2. There are cheap Chinese co2 lasers out there, but in our experience, they don't have much in the way of tech support and are a bit clunky. We have one, but we only use it for large projects like cutting. For smaller intricate projects, we have 2 Epilog co2 lasers. They are made in Boulder, and have great tech support and readily available parts. Hope all that helps.
Thanks for the information. I've been teaching myself from videos like your and had pretty good success. Bought some of your tiger stripe rifle stencils for next project, gonna follow your suggestions and hope for the best. Thanks agian.
I absolutely love my skatblast cabinet from TPtools. One of those things I don’t enjoy sandblasting but it has to be done so why not make it as easy and efficient as possible. One thing I did have happen is the dust collector that came with my cabinet burnt up and I’ve been trying to decide what is some of the best options to replace it with. Any suggestions?
Ours did the same thing. I picked up a dust collector from Grizzly that is powerful enough to run both of our cabinets. Harbor Freight also has one. www.grizzly.com/products/grizzly-1-hp-canister-dust-collector/g0583z www.harborfreight.com/35-gallon-2-hp-high-flow-high-capacity-dust-collector-59726.html
@@MrCabovelas The problem would be the time involved getting the entire surface prepped with a laser vs just sandblasting. Honestly, even if it worked, it's not something we would ever do in our shop.
This answered a question I had. Since I wanted to coat a set of calipers most of the C series reds can hold up to the heat, so was going to use an H series with a C series bronze over top.
I mean the fact it didnt crack and flake is the win. Hardly anything could do that and not show a mark. No doubt the properties of the aluminum had changed once bent like that and it was bound to show.
Hello, thank you for your time in reading this. With all the equipment that you have, what would that need as far as electrical breaker box requirements? I don't think I heard that in the video but its my step one. Trying to figure out building requirements before I start.
I'm not versed in electrical systems at all, and hire folks to keep me from having to mess with it. I do know our shop has three phase service, and our panel has 42 breaker slots with a couple of them empty. We have a 200 amp service, and do not have issues with tripping breakers.
I've never dealt with Ion bonding, so no clue really. The clear is about as durable as any other C series. The pigment doesn't add or subtract any durability from the clear itself.
We DO KNOW that the USPS is ( as all agencies these days ) is now under the umbrella of the DHS? That single fact is the answer to a whole host of mysterious situations.
I watch all your videos and learn so much. Thanks for what you do! But you never wear a mask. You can’t breath Cerakote. That stuff is dangerously deadly to the lungs man!!!
And also when I order stuff from Midway or CMMG , a two ,maybe three day delivery from Columbia to Ozark. As soon as it goes through a certain sorter in K.C. ,it gets sent to Arkansas or Louisiana. Sometimes, my stuff , if it's marked from a firearms or outdoors place , it gets a better vacation then me and I get it a week and a half later, after I complain.
@@fineartonfire_5327 Shipping is just a PITA, but his local post office was just playing games with his business license. The ATF director apparently wasn't amused.
What about Brakleen spray can and a bristle brush? I've never sand blasted anything and then wiped it down and not had dust on the rag. I have sprayed 2k paint A LOT but am about to spray cerakote for the first time.
We've never done it. I'm always leery of adding a substance to the surface before spraying. We've been doing it with just a high pressure air blowoff for years, and don't have adhesion issues. I'd just give it a try and see if it causes an issue.
You can see the glue residue on the first 2 for sure u can see the glair of the glue on Avery side and hear ur finger sticking to it , I have had Avery leave glue at 180, I have worked with both materials for 25+ years I own a sign company. But Avery definitely is best but still leaves glue here and there.
We have. Spray a base of black, let it sit for 20 minutes. Spray the Guncandy mixed with H series Gloss Clear over the wet base. Let it sit for an additional 20 minutes. Bake.
@@BransonCerakote I grew up in southern and mid-MO and went to school in Springfield. Thanks for the video info about spraying Cerakote. The personalized logo is fun and funny.
We were using C series clear in this video. You have to bake the basecoat out all the way, let it cool, then spray the C series clear with the pigment mixed in. Let it sit for 5-7 days, and it's done. With H series clear, you spray the base, let it sit for 20 minutes, then spray the clear/pigment. Let that sit for an additional 20 minutes, then bake.
What did i do wrong when my Glock gets stuck cycling after cerakoting it? Too much cerakote or should i have taped the areas that are in contact with the handpiece when cycling?
Sometimes Glocks get a little bit of buildup on the front edge of the ejection port where the barrel locks up. When that happens to us, we take the recoil spring out. Turn the slide upside down, and use a nylon punch and a small mallet to fully seat the barrel. Turn it back over, and use the punch to tap it back out of battery. Repeat a few times, then reassemble. If it's still not functioning, repeat until the coating wears.
I know you aren’t a C series expert from the comments below, but do you know the re-coat time of c series if I wanted multiple coats? I’m think the 45 minutes as the spec sheet says tack free in 45-60 minutes. Also I saw your comment below on cerakote c series durability vs H and elite. I’ve been using it on golf club shafts and putter heads. Do you think I would have better scratch resistance with H or Elite vs C series? If so why even sell the C series? Thanks!!!
As long as it's tack free, you are good to go. I'd start checking an edge at about 45 minutes. Once it's tack free, you want to get the next color on within 30 minutes or so. There's a trade-off. H and Elite are more durable, but aren't that great at UV (some colors suck). C is great at UV, but the durability isn't as good. C is really good for heat resistance, which is what they market it for.
Nope. Simple Green is pretty cheap, and works well. We started out with Acetone, but switched over a few years ago. It does the job, and never saw a reason to try anything else.
So you pre baked the graphite black for 8 minutes then applied the 1st set of stencils then rebaked for another 8 minutes then applied the last stencils?? That wont mess with the ahesion from black to green??
Cerakote has different phases in the oven. It goes from wet to tacky to tack free to hard. As long as you get it tack free, but out before it starts to harden, you can layer several colors on top of each other with no issues (our max is 18). The 8 minutes is a guideline. The key is getting it all the way tack free, but then getting it out of the oven as close to right after that point as possible to give yourself as much "safe" time as possible. Knowing your oven and touching parts is the key to getting your parts in that zone.
@BransonCerakote wow interesting thank you so much for the quick and in depth explanation I have only done two colors black and white ( battleworn) it came out great but knowing I can do so much more is very helpful. Thanks again.
@@ehejke Glad to help. Once you get to the point where you really understand how the coating goes through the process, it opens up all kinds of possibilities for you.
