Advice on Coating Beretta M9A1

[kg5ie]

I have a Beretta M9A1 that I want to coat. I am thinking Armoloy for two reasons. Armoloy of Fort Worth is close, and I have a 1951 S&W .357mag that was armoloyed in the early 60's, carried daily for 33 yrs. by my dad for FTW PD, and it still looks great. My other choice would be Creakote. I know little about Creakote as to cost or wear. The Armoloy will cost about 200.00 but I have to disassemble the weapon prior to dropping it off.

That is my next question. I have watched the video of complete disassembly of the 92FS. Wow!. I think I can get it apart. Not sure if I can get it back together...but I am willing to try.

Does the gun need to be completely disassembled for Creakote? I know for a fact that it does for Armoloy.


Thanks for your suggestions.

[The Wall]

Do a detailed video of your disassembly. Make up a board and tape each part to it with labels in the order you removed it. Don't know much about the two processes you mentioned other than what I've read online.

[kg5ie]

Does anyone have creakote experience?

[The Annoyed Man]

I just picked up one of my suppressors from my son on Friday, who did a high-temp cerakote job on it for me. I ordered the paint directly from the cerakote website. They sell an air-dry version of the high temp coating, which is applied with an air brush. That version requires no baking, and it even more resilient than the bake-on versions. It had to air-dry for 2-3 days, and my son built a wire jig to hold the parts while painting.

I used their graphite black color, and the finished product almost perfectly matches the barrel color and finish of my SCAR 17S. I'll try to post a picture of it later this morning.

The paint came in a 4 oz bottle, and coating my 10" long by 1.5" diameter suppressor used about 1/5 of the bottle. The cost was something like $35-$40 for the product.

[The Annoyed Man]

Here's three pictures, so you can judge the color-matching and finish for yourself. I just checked my emails from Cerakote, and the price was $35.00:

First, the whole weapon with the suppressor:


The barrel and suppressor:


Closeup of the barrel color/finish to the suppressor's color/finish:

[rm9792]

TAM you may be confused. The HiTemp means just that, it is baked on. They have an air dry version as well. The Bake on part numbers start with H. I have been spraying it for a few years and definitely prefer the bake on. You can reassemble and shoot as soon as it cools down as opposed to waiting for days. It is very tough, when I screw up it has to be wire wheeled of or sandblasted. I jsut did anew color for me called Socom Blue and I swear it looks almost like high polish bluing. You dont have to disassemble all the way to cerakote but keep in mind that unless you tape it off everything gets sprayed. I use an HVLP brush for spraying, but Cerakote sells a one off little pressurized spray kit. FYI the air dry is not more resilient than the bake on, reason being the hi temps open the pores in the metal allowing the coating to soak in and grab better. Plus the heat lets the paint flow for a smoother appearance.

I did 3 full mag dumps (90rds bumpfire stock) and the suppressor I sprayed was smoking but the paint didn't change so your suppressor should work out fine.

[The Annoyed Man]

TAM you may be confused. The HiTemp means just that, it is baked on. They have an air dry version as well. The Bake on part numbers start with H. I have been spraying it for a few years and definitely prefer the bake on. You can reassemble and shoot as soon as it cools down as opposed to waiting for days. It is very tough, when I screw up it has to be wire wheeled of or sandblasted. I jsut did anew color for me called Socom Blue and I swear it looks almost like high polish bluing. You dont have to disassemble all the way to cerakote but keep in mind that unless you tape it off everything gets sprayed. I use an HVLP brush for spraying, but Cerakote sells a one off little pressurized spray kit. FYI the air dry is not more resilient than the bake on, reason being the hi temps open the pores in the metal allowing the coating to soak in and grab better. Plus the heat lets the paint flow for a smoother appearance.

I did 3 full mag dumps (90rds bumpfire stock) and the suppressor I sprayed was smoking but the paint didn't change so your suppressor should work out fine.

Nope. Not confused. Both are heat resistant. But the air-dry version resists high temperatures on parts like suppressors (which get CRAZY hot....MUCH hotter than a barrel or receiver) than the bake-on does. And the process is simpler and doesn't require commandeering your wife's oven and turning the house into a sauna. My son worked as a gunsmith for several years and their shop used the air-dry for its superior protection qualities.....even though it takes longer for it to set up.

[rm9792]

ok, was mixed up on terms. no worries. I knew the were all heat resistant.