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V&C Industries

V&C Industries, LLC is a veteran owned small business located in Northern Virginia, and they provide a number of services including gunsmithing and Cerakote gun coating. I found V&C Industries on Facebook, and I contacted them about Cerakoting my Smith & Wesson M&P.

Cerakote

Since learning about Cerakote a year or two back, I’ve been wanting to try it out. I have some experience with other finishes, including DuraCoat (not my favorite) and Robar’s NP3 (highly recommended, but a bit pricey).

If you haven’t heard of Cerakote before, it’s a ceramic based coating that provides a durable, weather and corrosion proof protective finish that resists scratching, chipping, and abrasive cleaning solvents. The hardener and paint chemically bond into an ultra-thin coating that adheres to almost any surface.

Now I’m not a Chemist, nor do I pretend to be one on the internet, but my understanding is that Cerakote isn’t quite as good as NP3, since the former is a coating and the latter is an electroless nickel plating. Having said that, it’s a pretty tough coating, comes in many different colors, and is pretty affordable. Time will tell how well it holds up.

You can learn more about Cerakote Firearm Coatings on their website, and be sure to take a look at the test results compared to other finishes.

Smith & Wesson M&P

I sent my M&P to V&C Industries with decent idea of what I wanted – a snakeskin camo using Monderno colors, and in my opinion they delivered. V&C Industries coated the slide in Armor Black, and the snakeskin frame in Tactical Grey and Armor Black. Coating is preceded by blasting, and this also provided a little bonus – the frame now has a slightly textured (grippy?) feel that I love.

While they had my M&P apart, I thought it was a good opportunity to get the Apex Tactical Duty/Carry Action Enhancement Kit (DCAEK) and AEK Trigger installed. 10-8 Performance sights and a Storm Lake .40S&W to 9mm conversion barrel round out the changes to the gun.

The whole process was pretty simple – fill out an order form, approve the estimate, FedEx the pistol to V&C Industries, and roughly two weeks later, this is the result.

Wrapping Up

I love the way the M&P turned out, and I highly recommend V&C Industries’ work. If you’re interested in getting a gun Cerakoted, make sure you check them out, especially if you live in the northern VA area.

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14 Responses to V&C Industries

  1. Jason July 26, 2012 at 9:18 am #

    Dude that looks AMAZING! You gonna get that pattern on your other guns? Might even make the Glock look good LOL!

    • Brandon July 26, 2012 at 9:20 am #

      Thanks man, V&C Industries did a great job. I’m definitely going to get some more guns Cerakoted, starting with my AR15…

  2. Kirk July 26, 2012 at 2:47 pm #

    Any word on the shield failure. I was on the virge of purchasing a shield until your post and was holding off to see if it was a design flaw or a fluke failure that can occur with any mechanical device.

    • Brandon July 26, 2012 at 6:00 pm #

      Thanks for checking in Kirk – S&W has had my pistol for about 2 weeks now. I spoke with them earlier in the week to clarify the problem, so I’m guessing it should be any day now. I will post a follow-up (separate post) with what they find out.

  3. Triangle Tactical July 26, 2012 at 4:38 pm #

    Looks great! Have you found that the coating made the pistol more slick in your hand, or does it grip pretty well? My biggest complaint with my M&P is that the grip is so slick, it slides around in my hand, and I can’t get a nice purchase on it when drawing quickly.

    • Brandon July 26, 2012 at 6:02 pm #

      The grip is definitely less slick. I don’t think the coating did it though, I think it was the blasting process they do before they spray. So I guess indirectly the Cerakoting helped! I was going to stipple the grip, but it’s actually fine the way it is now.

  4. Psydr July 27, 2012 at 12:46 am #

    Looks groovy, and I’m excited for a follow up a few weeks from now. I’d be curious to know how the coating holds up to use and especially carry conditions. One last thing: Can you provide an approximate cost to cerakote your M&P? I haven’t seen any pricing available online… Many thanks, and keep up the good work.

    • Brandon July 27, 2012 at 7:58 am #

      I’ll definitely be doing a follow up. I’m curious to see how it holds up over time as well. From all reports I’ve heard/read, it should do really well.

      V&C Industries has all of their pricing on their website. I used two colors, so that’s $150, plus the stencil work which they quote on a case by case basis. I paid for additional parts and services (Apex parts and installation for example), so my advice is to email V&C and tell them what you’re looking for, and they will send you an estimate.

  5. Wendy Weinbaum July 27, 2012 at 1:13 pm #

    As a Jewess in the US, I can only state that NOW is the time for all REAL Americans to put our 2nd Amendment FIRST! Criminals like the slasher of Smith’s Market in Salt Lake City are stopped by FIREARMS, not kind words. And remember that America wasn’t won with a registered gun!

  6. Jamey July 27, 2012 at 2:44 pm #

    Wow! That turned out great! What an awesome bonus that it added a grippy feel as well. It would be awesome if you could do follow up posts on the additional changes (i.e. Apex components, barrel, and 10-8 sights).

    • Brandon July 27, 2012 at 2:48 pm #

      Thanks! Follow up posts are definitely in the works. I’m going to do a review of the 10-8 Performance sights, Apex components and Storm Lake conversion barrel, as well as a shooting review of the whole package.

  7. Shannon Highers March 8, 2013 at 5:59 am #

    Hello Brando,

    You Smith look’s great. I have a new 45Compact in the Smith FDE and can’t get used to the color. I’ve considered RIT dye (yep folks are doing it) to black or cerakote. I was hoping you would be able to post how it has worn when carrying or drawing from holster as well as powder stains or other. Thank You, Shannon

    • Brandon March 8, 2013 at 6:53 am #

      I had one corner of the slide that had some wear from coming in and out of the holster. Other than that, it still looks fantastic.

  8. Al A. Almeida April 24, 2013 at 6:22 pm #

    If i tried to do this at home, I wouldn’t know where to start, what base, what pattern, any tips, or just play it safe and send it to a PROFESSIONAL.