ColoradoKote
Precision Cerakote ceramic coatings for aerospace, defense, and industrial components.
Three Stages of AM Post-Processing
Material-specific protocols protect fine AM features while transforming surface finish from prototype to production grade.
Contaminant Removal Without Damage
Ultrasonic cleaning removes residual powder, support material, and machining residues from AM parts. Frequency and solution chemistry are matched to the substrate material. Polymer parts receive gentle treatment to preserve thin walls and fine features.
Thin-Film Application Preserves Tolerances
Cerakote is applied at 0.5-2 mils, reducing surface roughness from Ra 8-15 micrometers to below 3 micrometers. Material-specific blast pressures create adhesion profiles without dimensional distortion on thin-walled geometries.
Dimensional Confirmation by CMM
Post-coating CMM measurement verifies dimensional tolerances remain within ±0.005 inches. Surface roughness readings are documented per customer requirements. A full Certificate of Conformance accompanies every shipment.
The AM Post-Processing Workflow
Additive manufacturing parts arrive with inherent surface roughness and limited environmental resistance. ColoradoKote addresses both challenges with a thin-film ceramic coating that improves finish quality while maintaining the dimensional accuracy that makes AM viable for production applications.
What Our AM Processing Delivers
Every AM part receives incoming dimensional verification, material-specific processing, and post-coating measurement.
Surface Roughness After Coating
Raw AM parts arrive with Ra 8-15 micrometers on polymer substrates. Cerakote post-processing reduces roughness below 3 micrometers, eliminating visible layer lines while adding corrosion and wear protection in a single operation.
AM Parts Per Week Capacity
Dedicated equipment and material-specific protocols maintain consistent throughput across polymer and metal AM substrates. Parts move through post-processing on schedule without waiting behind traditional machined components.
Dimensional Tolerance Maintained
Cerakote 0.5-2 mil thickness preserves tight tolerances that make AM valuable for production parts. Threaded features, press-fit interfaces, and close clearances retain functional accuracy after coating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers about our coating processes and technical capabilities
Cerakote adds 0.5-2 mils of coating versus 4-6 mils for powder coating, which translates to 60-90% less coating mass per unit surface area. On a single component the difference may be grams, but across an aircraft or vehicle program with hundreds of coated parts, the aggregate weight savings becomes meaningful. This thin-film approach preserves the weight optimization of topology-optimized and additive-manufactured designs that thick coatings would negate.
Passivation removes surface discoloration caused by free iron, heat tint from welding, and fabrication contamination, resulting in a cleaner, more uniform stainless surface. While passivation preserves the existing surface finish rather than changing it, the removal of contaminants often noticeably brightens the appearance. For parts needing specific colors or branded finishes, Cerakote over passivated stainless delivers hundreds of color options with Delta E 1.5 consistency.
Additive manufacturing eliminates tooling costs and minimum order quantities for industrial replacement parts, but raw AM surfaces do not meet production standards. ColoradoKote's post-processing transforms AM builds into production-quality finished parts at a fraction of the lead time and cost of traditional manufacturing plus finishing. The combined AM-plus-Cerakote approach is particularly cost-effective for low-volume industrial parts, obsolete components, and custom geometries where traditional manufacturing tooling cannot be justified.
ColoradoKote is located in Johnstown, Colorado, serving customers nationwide and internationally. Our central US location provides efficient shipping access to aerospace hubs, defense contractors, medical device manufacturers, and industrial OEMs across the country. We handle all logistics coordination for incoming and outgoing shipments and can accommodate customer-specified carriers and shipping requirements.
In many aerospace applications, yes. Cerakote delivers 3,000 hours of salt spray resistance (ASTM B117) compared to 336-1,000 hours for anodizing, and it eliminates the 20-60% fatigue debit that anodizing causes on aluminum substrates. It also works on titanium, Inconel, and composites, not just aluminum. We recommend discussing your specific specification requirements during quoting, as some programs require formal qualification testing for coating substitution.
Ready to Finish Your AM Parts
Send your part specifications and material details. Receive a quote with lead time and processing parameters for your additive manufacturing application.