Melonite or Cerakote??

[goosendmax]

I am getting ready to have my first custom rifle built. I have everything decided except for the finish. The finish is going to be on the entire barreled action, and I have narrowed it down to either melonite or cerakote. I have done several searches on here and there is plenty to read about meloniting the barrel but nothing about finish. In fact one momber got his barrel melonited and then cerakoted the outside. My fear is that the extreme temperature that the metal has to go through will stress the bolt or action and cause problems in the future.
Any and all feedback from those of you that have had expieriance with either finish or both would be very helpful. Pro's and con's please. How does it wear, how does it look, how well does it protect? I have never had anything but factory blued rifles so I don't have anything to go off of.
Thank you all for your time in your responces.

 

[427Cobra]

Re: Melonite or Cerakote??

I would recommend Melonite the barrel and then Cerkote the barreled action, but don't waste your money on Melonite for a 308

 

[lennyo3034]

Re: Melonite or Cerakote??

Any reason why it's a waste on .308? I've been considering it myself.

 

[427Cobra]

Re: Melonite or Cerakote??

A 308 barrel usually goes 10k rounds, get into the overbores like 243 and the increase in barrel(which is a big maybe) and Melonite makes more sense

 

[goosendmax]

Re: Melonite or Cerakote??

I am actually not concerned about the inside of the barrel. What I am looking for is an exterior finish. This is going to be a tactical rifle and I have never had a finish other than regular blue. Does cerakote hold up well to wear, scratches, etc.? I have seen video of the melonite process and I am a little concerned about the bolt and action turning brittle and breaking under recoil.

 

[3-0-hate]

Re: Melonite or Cerakote??

The melonite process shouldn't cause any issues. If it did, they wouldn't melonite anything that sees stress.

Personally I would skip both, give Birdsong a call and Black-T everything. I have a pre-Springfield XD9 (HS2000) and they didn't melonite, just used a bluing finish and I had a rust issue. I had Springfield (they still warranty the HS2000's) service it and send it of to Birdsong. The finish wears really well and the action is slicker than ever. Looks fantastic also.

 

[Onemoretime]

Re: Melonite or Cerakote??

I went with Cerekote. Check out this video.
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[locolife]

Re: Melonite or Cerakote??

Be careful with nitriding. Its fine for barrels but may not be a good idea for other parts as the temperatures necessary for Melonite/QPQ will negatively affect the heat treatment of some parts. Also remember that nitriding does not build up or alter the dimensions of the metal while Cerakote will.

 

[ryoxf]

Re: Melonite or Cerakote??

definitely cerakote. if your just considering if as a finish. with all the color options and its durability, cerakote is hands down the choice

 

[goosendmax]

Re: Melonite or Cerakote??

I am just considering it for an exterior finish. I have read some bad stuff about melonite here in the forums, and then I have read some very good stuff about it too. But I haven't heard anything bad about cerakote. AT ALL!! I was just really hoping for some hands on feed back from anyone who may have either action. Are cerakoted actions still nice and smooth when you cycle the bolt? Or does it have that rough painted feel? I am either going to melonite everything or cerakote everything.

 

[ryoxf]

Re: Melonite or Cerakote??

while the rifle I had that was cerakoted didn't have the bolt coated, they do offer a coating called microslick which is supposed to be a dry lubricant coating.