Fresh, New Paint Jobs - Joshua Tree Custom Cerakote, LLCThe Firearm Blog

If you have cannonballed into the firearm industry like most people reading this, one thing we all love to do is customize our weapons. Whether it is with laser beams, red dots, flashlights, a fresh new finish, or all of the above. I, personally, have fallen into the latter category where I took a once beat-up Glock 17 Gen4 9mm and traded out almost every part on it for something new. While some might call it a Gucci Glock, for me it serves the purpose of being an everyday carry (EDC) at my gun shop, it is my sidearm while hunting, and I carry it while ranching with cattle. It looks pretty slick now, but it was a lot more subdued for the longest time. The improved appearance is from a recent visit to Joshua Tree Custom Cerakote with paint practitioner Josh Matthews.

Why Cerakote a pistol?

The elephant in the room I have been tip-toeing around is that this pistol (in my supremely biased eyes) looks incredible now, but it still serves a purpose. The Cerakote finish is a stronger coating that is more apt to not show wear or be harmed by the elements. On any given day I might get sweat on my pistol, blood (which is acidic to metal) from hunting, and/or a good friendly tongue lick from an Angus beef. While I like to have good-looking firearms as much as the next guy (nobody wants an ugly hot-rod), I still view them as tools. So, performance has to far exceed looks at all times and after having my pistol back for the last month it still looks fresh off the desk of Joshua Tree Custom Cerakote, LLC.

finding a Cerakote shop

So, how did I stumble across Joshua Tree Custom Cerakote, LLC in the first place? Well, I did the predictable 21st century thing and Googled Cerakote places near me. Not much ironically came up near the Minnesota hick woods I live around. Step #2 by any tech savvy, gun-toting guy is to place my trust in complete strangers on the internet: I hit up some firearm Facebook groups. After poising the question I kept hearing the same company over and over again being Joshua Tree Custom Cerakote.

Unfortunately at this time, they do not have a website, but I reached out to them and they said that is in the pipeline for this year. Also, they do not have a price list to speak of because everything is done one-by-one, by hand. So, your firearm you send in is not being bulk done with 12 other guns and getting very little attention; it is the exact opposite. Every gun is invoiced and inspected for size, surface area, difficulty, attached accessories, etc. To get pricing for a piece you are contemplating, shoot them a message on their Facebook page or send them an e-mail for a quote.

Glock jigsaw puzzle

The only thing you need to do as the customer is send in your firearm or pieces you want Cerakoted as bare components. So, for my Glock 17 Gen4 9mm I had to strip it down to the essential bare metal slide and plain plastic frame. From there, they did their thing and sent it back to me for a fun afternoon of what I called the “Glock Jigsaw Puzzle.” Some people might gripe you have to disassemble your own gun and ask “wHy CaN’t ThEy Do It FoR yOu?” Honestly, I didn’t mind taking my gun apart and putting it back together because it only reinforces comprehension of your weapon system and I have never fully cleaned my gun since I bought it. So, it was a perfect opportunity to do that upon re-assembly.

Joshua Tree custom Cerakote, LLC

From start to finish of me communicating with Joshua Tree Custom Cerakote, LLC and getting back my finished Glock it was a couple days over 2 weeks. I thought that was freaky fast and appreciated the speedy service. While Joshua Tree Custom Cerakote might be a small business they definitely impressed me. The owner shares some cliffnotes about the company below:

My name is Joshua Matthews, owner of Joshua Tree Custom Cerakote. I am a self-taught Cerakote applicator, and black rifle builder. We are in our sixth year of business. We operate out of Atomic Tactical located in Savage, MN.

Right now I don’t have anything else on my docket that I am looking to get Cerakoted, but after the quality work on my Glock, I am almost inclined to dig through my safe and find something else. For anyone who also is searching for a reputable Cerakote applicator, all of their contact information can be read below. As always, let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.