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Cerakote Specialist in Bay Area
I was just about to have my 1911 Cerakoted by the great Pete Swanson but he wrote to inform me that once he clears out his back-orders he's leaving the state! Now I'm in a bit of a pickle.
Aside from Pete, the Cerakote site lists two shops: D&B Custom Coatings: I have been in email contact with Mr. Cravea, but there are some elements of the exchange that have given me cold feet. His website goes to a GoDaddy dead link site, and he advised me to ship my 1911 via USPS Priority, which according to the ca.gov site is expressly forbidden. Echo Firearm Refinishing: Hasn't responded to my email (though I only mailed a few days ago and could wait until Monday.) Does anyone have any experience with either of these shops? Darin at D&B was quick and courteous in his response but I was more than a little thrown by the questionable shipping advice and a dead website is never a good sign. Last edited by Doctor Suarez; 08-30-2015 at 4:27 PM.. Reason: typo |
#2
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Yeah I was really bummed to hear he's out of the business too after he did a really nice job on a lower receiver of mine.
Here's a thread from another cerakoter that I was going to use before I found Pete. He's in San Jose and responded pretty quick to my questions. I think he charges a tad bit more than Pete....
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"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." |
#4
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I have heard mixed reviews about Darin's work. Please post review of final product. There are others I would recommend to stay away from. Seen the work. I have not seen Darin's work personally. Please let us know.
Anxiously awaiting because I have guns that need to be done. |
#5
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What are the negatives you've heard about Darin? He's easy to work with at least. My gun needs the coating so I'm not worried about losing aesthetic value. My chief concern is that the pistol won't function as well as it did before it was detail-stripped. Prior to cerakoting it had a bit of pitting but it worked perfectly. |
#6
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I had an email exchange with Pete. I am under the impression he will re-open shop once he relocates. Doesn't help if you didn't want to ship, but if you were a Pete Swanson fan it sounds like he'll still be doing gunsmith work. You'll just have to ship to him if you want him to work on it. I don't know any further details on timeline. He mentioned "in some number of months".. My guess is he needs to get settled and then re-apply for FFL, etc which will take him some time.
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UG Imports - Fremont, CA FFL - Transfers, New Gun Sales Closure Schedule: http://ugimports.com/closed web: http://ugimports.com/calguns / email: sales@ugimports.com phone: (510) 371-GUNS (4867) Crowdsourced 2A Calendar I AM THE MAJORITY!!! Amazon Links Posted May be Paid Links |
#7
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I've seen and heard of good results from RC Refinishing in San Jose. I've also seen them attend the Crossroads Gun Show at the Cow Palace. The work looked good, but was priced at almost double what Pete Swanson wanted. And all I wanted was to color some MagPul parts.
Ryan
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The following statement is true. The preceding statement was false. |
#9
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How did the Kimber come out? I have one as well, and am curious to see the work. Can you post a photo if you have it?
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Thank you, Doc. --------------------------------------------------------------- Walk softly and carry a big stick! |
#10
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Does he do the prep/bead blasting as well?
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NRA Benefactor Member |
#11
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Still in the shop. SHOULD be done in the next four days or so, but I imagine it'll be a little late. I will post pics here and on my instagram (@gungeekonthedl) when it's back in my mitts.
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#12
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#13
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not sure, perhaps you might want to call/text him at 650-288-1159. I only had him do cerakoting on a new gun that didn't require bead blasting or special prep.
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#14
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When you do contact him again, tell him John Breglia recommended you his way. Hope all works out... Cheers. John B.
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Napa, CA AES - NPC IDPA - USPSA -NRA |
#15
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I'm not sure what they charge, but I know that the guys at Spartan Rifles offers it also. I have had guns worked on/built there, but no refinishing, but have seen their work, and Victor does a great job, even compared to Pete, who's work I have had done. Their hours are sketchy since they are primarily gunsmiths, but if you are from the SJ area, they are worth a shot.
Jerry
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The inconvenience of poor quality lingers long after the thrill of a good bargain. |
#16
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Any one know if he is a CalGun member? I would like to support a fellow C/G'er.
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NRA Pistol, Rifle, CCW and Metallic Reloading instructor |
#17
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#18
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New kids on the block. Quality work from what I have seen.
http://www.thegunattic.com Located in San Jose.
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Joey "I.Y.A.A.Y.A.S" | "Defender. Avenger" | "None Shall Pass" | "Born of Freedom" | "Deter. Defend. Respond." ISO: M&P Pro 5", Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter & P320 (9mm or .40) |
#19
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"Mistaking consequence for cause, I call this reason's intrinsic form of corruption." - Friedrich Nietzsche |
#20
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Okay, finally got a chance to take the Kimber to the range, and I am very pleased with the results. Mr, Cravea did an excellent job and the gun runs incredibly smoothly. The coating is slick and perfectly matte-colored. It feels like a whole new gun and it looks much more stark and businesslike.
Here are some images: Shown here with my new Glock 17. No gun Balkanization in my house. Also as you can see I'm a huge Hogue fanboy. Thanks for all your help and I would not hesitate to recommend Mr. Cravea at D&B Custom Coatings for your next cerakote job. |
#21
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Darksoul also does cerakoting.. he's in SJ as well. Great communication and all around cool guy cool.
He recently did my 1911 and it came out looking great! I did nick one of my parts, so I need to have him refinish it. I definitely plan on bringing back more things for him to cerakote! |
#22
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#23
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When Pete did my 870 some time ago, he refinished the inside of the gun as a rust preventative. Does anyone else do this before cerakote in the bay area?
Jerry
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The inconvenience of poor quality lingers long after the thrill of a good bargain. |
#24
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Pete Swanson is still doing cerakoting. I shipped off my lower, upper, barrel, FRS-15 tube cover, 2 mag base plates, HK P2k slide and slide stop, from oakland to oregon. It was about $35 shipping. The total cost to Pete was $190 and that includes return shipping.
The turn around time from him receiving the parts was 1 week including return shipping time. He responds promptly, and the work he did was fantastic. He even pushed in my meprolight nightsights as a bonus. Pete also does laser engraving, so I went ahead and got my info engraved as well. His email to contact is 'peteswanson@sbcglobal.net' I'll post more pictures of the AR build in another post, but I just wanted to let people know Pete is still around and doing great work! [IMG][/IMG] |
#25
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Have you checked out Exolutions? I believe they do Cerakote coating in the Bay Area and East Bay. Here's a link to their page if you want to check them out: http://goexo.com/site/cerakote/
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#27
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Exolutions did my Sig in disruptive gray/graphite black, Mike did an awesome job. I highly recommend them. Last edited by 9kracing; 09-29-2016 at 5:42 PM.. |
#28
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I went to RC refinishing in San Jose, pretty big shop. It was a simple job, stripped raw lower cerakoted to FDE, came out real nice though and cost was in line with what I spent at Templar when they were still doing it.
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#33
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If anyone is considering going to d&b customs in Napa for cerakote I would not recommend. This was my first experience and will be my last. I'm assuming the cerakote was applied correctly, however the prep work and "tape" that was applied appears to have been done very hastily and rushed, there are uneven tape lines everywhere, one item that I requested to be media blasted to make sure an old crappy paint job was removed, was either not media blasted, or it wasn't media blasted. Overall the job looks terrible. The owner was friendly enough and very quick to return phone calls and the price was right, however, I would steer clear....pretty sure I could have done a better job with a rattle can and sandpaper.
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#34
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Just Cerakoted my AR15 at D&B customs Dec. 2017 and my exceptions was just a custom AR. That baby came out like a piece of art. Loved it. 30 days!
others have a 6 week waiting period, and have to ship out and in. And he also busy but still calls you back! |
#36
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@4rdzilla Shoot us an email at sales@goexo.com. Apologies if we missed an email or message from you!
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EXOlutions Hydrographics & Cerakote Applications | Brentwood, CA sales@goEXO.com 925-308-5051 www.goEXO.com | EXOlutions on Instagram |
#37
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Mac
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. .........??????????...... . ???Everyone's a Garand expert until the Garand expert walks in the room and I have only met 3, Scott Duff, Bruce Canfield & Gus Fisher . |
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