Not sure about this Cerakote finish.

[Bigkrackers]

I have never had something Cerakoted before. I have seen various guns in stores and at gun shows with Cerakote and I'm a little concerned about my lower. It's Stelth grey but the finish has the feel of something parkerized. I can also scratch the surface with my thumbnail. I can wipe the surface with a wet cloth and it buffs out but you can still see where it was scratched. Now, I'm not building a show piece at all. My concern is that the Cerakote was not applied correctly. If what I'm seeing and feeling is the norm then I'm good. I have already contacted the seller and they said they would do it over if I'm not happy so, that's not a worry for me. I just don't want to waste their time and mine if it's all good.

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[Skyyr]

Use a strong cleaner and see if that removes the "scratch." That looks more like embedded nail/skin than it does a scratch. Matte finishes will show embedded material from contact with almost anything, unlike glossier finishes.

It may very well be a scratch, but try using a solvent first (if you haven't already).

[Bigkrackers]

Thanks Skyyr. I will do that. All of the Cerakote finishes I have seen were a bit glossie. Like a semi-gloss. The Matte finish threw me at first but I guess that's alright depending on what you want in the finish.

[GH41]

What Skyyer said. I'll bet if you hit it with a toothbrush, soap and water it would go away.

[3M-TA3]

For the oven bake Cerakote a hardener is added. The more hardener, the higher the gloss and vice-versa. A matte finish uses the minimum amount of hardener though it is still more durable than other finishes. If your finish is scratching easily it means that the whoever did the work didn't use enough hardener and will need to redo the work from the ground up. I personally prefer the matte finish.

Air dry Cerakote does not use a hardener so it can't be adjusted this way.

[Fletch10]

For the oven bake Cerakote a hardener is added. The more hardener, the higher the gloss and vice-versa. A matte finish uses the minimum amount of hardener though it is still more durable than other finishes. If your finish is scratching easily it means that the whoever did the work didn't use enough hardener and will need to redo the work from the ground up. I personally prefer the matte finish.

Air dry Cerakote does not use a hardener so it can't be adjusted this way.

I'm seconding this.

My first experience with Cerakote was very much like yours. The end result was a very matte color that felt "gritty" for lack of a better word. It scratched easily and flaked off when the action cycled. I sent my Colt off to a licensed applicator and the finish is MUCH better - it's somewhat glossy and smooth to the touch. However, the Cerakote is staying mostly in tact after about 2,000 rounds.

I spoke with the owner if the second company about the process of Cerakote, and he confirmed that the reason it didn't turn out the first time was too little hardener and prep.

[Arch]

I've had a couple of factory Cerakoted LWRC, and thought hte finish was pretty durable. It's still paint (no matter what marketing says) so it will wear and scratch, but I found it to be much more durable than Duracoat and some other finishes. Honestly, heat cured spray-can Aervoe is pretty tough too. The Aervoe surface will wear, but the finish will stay intact. Cerakote seems to come off to the base material.

[tigershilone]

Cerakote (like all finishes) is 90% about surface prep and 10% finish application. If the finish flakes or chips off instead of scratching then the surface prep was improper. Nothing will stop a deep scratch,including cerakote or even hard anodizing but they are the hardest suface treatments except plating you can do. So a deep penetrating scratch should be a small shiny line.

With that said the pics look like there is texture. Cerakote when properly applied should be a smooth surface even with the matte shine finish (less hardener). If there is a texture feel like 240 grit sandpaper or rougher then there is a problem---either the blasting etch was done incorrectly (wrong size/type of media) or the finish was dry-sprayed. Dry spraying is unfortunately easy to do and I've had to redo a few jobs from step one to fix them.

The ideal depth of spray is .001" and requires some skill with a quality spray gun that you can control droplet size and spray pattern. A preval spraypak from the local hardware store isn't going to the job well.

The bald spot inside your receiver endplate hole isn't the end of the world but should have been covered better than that. Do you have complete coverage on the rest of the part including the inside? You are going to have at least one unpainted area where the part had to be held in some sort of holding fixture (I use a threaded rod into the pistol grip screw hole) but an applicator with skill should have pretty even coverage inside and out.

Like others have said clean the area with a solvent thoroughly, you can't hurt cerakote with solvent. This will probably leave a haze, take couple drops of gun oil and lightly coat the area. If the scratch is still visible after doing this the there is a problem with the finish.

[Arch]

The pictures look nothing like the factory applied (LWRC) cerakote I've had. As described above, it was very slick surfaced and had sheen.