Gunsmithing Grease from action while cerakoting

[flyfisherman246]

When gassing out in the cerakote oven I have trouble with grease coming out from the action around the recoil lug. Especially on the bighorn origins that have the little notch for the indexing pin to go into. I am using high temp grease on the action/barrel tenon to keep from galling. I usually have to gas out a few times to let that stuff drain out and it keeps coming. Am I using the wrong type of grease, too much grease? How do I cerakote barreled actions without grease running out from the action, since you need to grease the action to keep it from galling.

 

[E. Bryant]

Diassemble. Degrease. Degrease again, then bake. Degrease after it comes out of the oven. Coat and bake. Reassemble.

 

[flyfisherman246]

I like the idea of having the precisely cut shoulders to be touching and not getting any cerakote On these surfaces. How are you going about masking these surfaces off?

 

[hino895]

Don’t worry about the grease seeping out the Cerakote will cure before the grease affects it.

 

[iceng]

Before you cerakote it, do a bake cycle on it. Any excess will pre-ooze out. Clean, then spray and bake. Simple.

 

[E. Bryant]

I like the idea of having the precisely cut shoulders to be touching and not getting any cerakote On these surfaces. How are you going about masking these surfaces off?

Powdercoat tape and a lot of finicky trimming. Maybe I should try the assembled approach, but it's not like I'm doing any substantial volume.

If you're going to do the whole assembly, then at least do a bake cycle or two. If you haven't gone crazy with the anti-seize, that should be sufficient.

 

[Edds]

Why can't you assemble it hand tight and dry, coat it, disassemble grease and re-assemble?

 

[woodsy]

I've done quite a few of these and, yes, they can be frustrating. Coating the parts unassembled is the easiest way to avoid this but sometimes one wants to avoid all of the masking and worry about potentially marking the parts during reassembly.

Soaking and heating is the only way to get through this. I typically soak these types of assemblies in brake cleaner for days before starting the process but still have had to go through several heat cycles on some to get it all out . In a few cases I've taken a propane torch and heated the joint to speed things up a bit. Be careful not to get it too hot though; just enough to get the oil to flow.

You absolutely have to resolve the issue before coating. Yes, cerakote will harden over the bleed but will not adhere to the part. It will chip off at some point in the future. Learned that lesson long ago.

 

[iceng]

Any oil / grease run off will stain the cerakote also..