Cerakote Screw Up, Recovery, and Discussion

Pics of before and after doing the nerf bars. In the after pic you can actually see where the water drop hit. I unfortunately didn’t catch it until the next day. The third pic shows what it looked like by that point. These are from July 1st and 2nd, so it’s been around 7 1/2 months.

I’ll try to get a more recent pic of the nerf bars and the spots later, but the nerf bars still look great aside from the spots. Those have faded a good bit also. I tried several things to fix them, with no success. Cerakote recommended sanding, but I decided to just let it ride to see what happened.

All this to say and show that both a proper and improper application is going to hold up a hell of a long time. Nothing else I tried on the nerf bars worked more than a week or two, and we’re over seven months with Cerakote. Pending one of us trying sandpaper, I haven’t found a way to correct mistakes. I made this thread to help others avoid the few mistakes I’ve made with it.

 

Thanks! I didn't really think about taking it off first. that seems like a good idea.
Also, since the car is 15years old, i may just get a replacement (under $30) and then do it on that.

 

Does this product come in a matte finish?

 

That sounds like the way to go.

 

It only comes in one finish to my knowledge. It doesn’t stay glossy the pics show. Those were immediately after application. It cures to a dark black without much shine.

 

I went to their site to get some additional info. DON’T watch the video with the goat in it - you can’t un-see that stuff. Probably going to have weird dreams tonight.

 

Good comeback 2nd time around.
Maybe I'll try it on a plastic windshield cowl thats faded to chit.

My F1 got really dried out and I went with 2 coats of Marine top coat paint.

 

I'm going to try this stuff tomorrow on some trim and maybe on the Bakflip if I'm feeling brave. My grille is painted. Will Cerakote work on a painted surface?

 

I feel that it will work on paint, but haven’t tried it yet. I have a TRD sway bar coming in this weekend that I’ll be putting Cerakote on as a test. It will likely be a while before I know how long it lasts on paint, but I’ll at least know immediately if there are any problems putting it on a painted surface.

If you try your Bakflip, just make sure you have a lot of wipes. Take your time. Hopefully my experience will help someone else avoid the problems I had. It still doesn’t look great, but is holding up extremely well so far. The test spot I did on my other one last summer is still going strong also.

 

Do you just wipe this on or is there a certain technique needed? Id like to do my front bumper and mirror caps to start.

 

Just wipe it on. Make sure it’s completely clean and dry first.

 

Well, I had an interesting day with the Tundra yesterday. In short, the Cerakote looks fantastic. I hit the mudflaps, bedside covers, rear handle & wheel wells. I ran out of time before I got to the Bakflip. Unfortunately, during the wash I mixed up my soap and rinse buckets and scratched the hell out of my paint down one side of the truck. Son of a.... So, I don't know what to do. The truck has a ceramic coat that is a bit over 2 years old. I don't know if I can polish it up a bit without destroying or removing the coating. Damn! Anyway, the Cerakote stuff so far looks amazing.

 

Polishing/correction will remove the coating.

 

Unfortunately you’ll have to reapply the coating in the area you polish. This is why I don’t mess with the two bucket method. Too easy to make a mistake. I just do one bucket and a bunch of towels. I don’t re-introduce a towel to the paint until it’s been washed in the machine.

 

I did get Cerakote applied to the TRD sway bar. No negative effects to the paint on them. I wouldn’t recommend putting it on the body at all, but it may be helpful on pieces like the sway bar that won’t get washed often.

Now I just need to wrangle up a torque wrench so I can install it.

 

The Walmart I was in over the weekend had Cerakote on the shelf. Same quantity and price as Amazon. Just letting you guys know in case you want to check next time you’re in there.

 

I need about 50 packs. I pulled my roll up bed cover our and “caramba” it looks bad. I going to have to practice on some spots before I tackle that big of an area. Won’t be today, temp is pleasant, but on again, off again misty showers in my hood.

 

They make the "pro kit" with 50 wipes.

$80 CERAKOTE® Trim Coat Pro Pack - 50 Count Trim Coat Wipes

https://smile.amazon.com/CERAKOTE-C...16621764&sprefix=ceracote,aps,262&sr=8-2&th=1

 

Bought two ten packs last week. Really like how easy it is to use.And looks good. Thanks for the heads up War Machine.

 

At this point, I’m hesitant to recommend using it on a tonneau cover. Even after going back over mine, it still looks bad to me. Others who’ve looked at it don’t think it’s that bad, but I’m not happy with it. On top of that, I washed the truck last weekend and it wasn’t beading a ton on the cover.

I’m honestly confused, as the one spot I did on the other one 6-7 months ago is still beading like crazy. I don’t know if that first bad application on the new one is the problem or what.

 

If the product had been getting good reviews and production had to ramp up at a time when supplies up and down the production chain were getting hit while dealing with COVID issues, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit that there were some bad batches produced. In my world we were have trouble getting everyday stuff that for years are we’re as common as a popcorn fart. Some of the big manufacturers like Sq. D are still running behind on items that should be on a shelf somewhere.

 

Don't get me started on that. I’ve been fighting that for a year now. In case you haven’t heard yet, romex os the new item that’s gonna be scarce. Wire manufacturers are quoting 4-5 week lead time on it, and pricing will be based on day of shipment, not the day the po is placed. They’ve got all of us on allotments also, so we can’t order any more than we normally do.

 

There are so many "snake oil" products on the market that I was hesitant to try the Cerakote, especially when I saw it was 'wipes'. But, based on the respected reviews here I tried it and I have to say that I am super impressed. All my black trim that started to fade, especially the door handles that were almost grey, are now looking better than the day I bought the truck.
I even coated my key since it takes a lot of abuse in my pocket rubbing against other keys, pocket knife etc.; I think it might be a good test to the durability of the Cerakote.

 

Definitely interested to see how that key holds up! There’s plenty of products that will restore the black on plastic pieces, but none of them keep it that way long. Cerakote and is one of the only ones I’ve seen last more than a few weeks, and it’s ahead of the others by light years.

I actually haven’t seen it wear off on anything yet. Even the oldest spots I’ve done have only degraded slightly. Those spots where the water dropped on my nerf bars suck, but they’re a hell of a testament to the durability.

 

Holy crap, I knew copper was way up, but not to the point they are playing “price when shipped” game. I have been get worked over by suppliers that are having to live with blanket PO’s that we’re written a year ago and we are pulling 750 and 600 KCMIL wire.

 

Good idea on the key fob. I was thinking of doing it on my trash can to get practice on a larger surface. Kinda pricy practice, but since I have the cleanest truck in the neighborhood, might as well have the best looking trash can too!

 

Trash can will certainly be a good test for the product!

 

No kidding. That’s a great idea @Runway

 

I made a small booboo this weekend. I decided to go over the areas that I did last week (figured a second coat is always better, right?)
It would have been fine, except it was about 85 degrees and in the sun. Wiping the Cerakote on it did not cover; it streaked and made droplets, looked like it was sweating. Then I read the package and it said to apply in the shade and surface has to be cool to the touch. I was able to wipe most of it off and reapplied in the evening, but it could have been bad if it dried like that.

 

Yeah any imperfections are going to be pretty much permanent. Fantastic product, but no room for error.