X-Squared - Before and After

[VTHokie]

Long time Oakley fan, referenced this forum many times, but first time posting. I recently purchased an X-Squared frame in need of repair/refinishing from forum member Steven Goldberg. Shipped fast, thanks Steve! Ordered a set of Deep Water Prizm lenses from Chris that just came in today… thank you Chris! Here’s some before and after pics. It was the first pair of X-Metals I’ve Cerakoted. I used H-146 Graphite Black, which is a satin black. Most of the rubber is from Linegear that I had as spare parts. I’m really happy with how they turned out and glad I was able to bring them back to life. Looking forward to doing some more in the future. I have an unserialized XX that I’m thinking of coating black next.

 

[Lopaka KaMars]

Nicely done. DWP is my favorite lens. Congrats.

 

[VTHokie]

Thank you! I only had DWP in one other pair of glasses (Straightlinks), but really liked them. I struggled trying to decide what to go with in the XS as I really like so many, but really glad I chose the DWP.

 

[Phil da Prototypist]

How user friendly is the cerakoting process ? Ive never played with it but i hear theres two types, one bake on and the other air dry.

 

[VTHokie]

How user friendly is the cerakoting process ? Ive never played with it but i hear theres two types, one bake on and the other air dry.

I find it to be very easy, but like everything, you need to prep properly. I got into it about a year ago after trying to get two slides Cerakoted. Sent away the first time and one came back completely the wrong color, then found someone locally who had them forever and when complete the colors were swapped. I just didn’t want to deal with people anymore plus I do a lot of metal work and needed a system better than spray paint cans, so I jumped in bought their recommended spray gun, a starter kit, and some other necessities. I already had a blasting cabinet. A friend of mine bought me all the swatch kits because he wanted me to coat a bunch of things for him. They’re nice to have. I really like it because a lot of the stuff I want to coat is small and you can easily buy, mix, and spray small quantities. As of right now I only have a toaster oven to cure, but I am in the process of building my own 6’x3’x2.5’ oven. In the meantime I have used their C Series (air cure) coatings for things that don’t fit in the toaster oven. I feel that is even easier since you don’t even have to mix it, but they are very limited on color options compared to the H Series. I have only used their C and H Series and have been very happy. In my opinion it’s been easy to apply and so much more durable and better looking than trying to spray with paint cans.

 

[Phil da Prototypist]

what media did you use to blast the frame ? Walnut or oxide ? we have a blaster at work i could go use for frames its just the painting bit. The booth we have is big enough for a truck but seems to be the sanding booth instead of painting lol

 

[VTHokie]

I use aluminum oxide (which is what they recommend to get the right profile for adhesion) to prep for the Cerakote. Sounds like a nice booth… lol. Definitely big enough for sunglasses. Just have to make sure it’s cleaned out so no dust from all the sanding lands in your coating! That’s something I’m still working on. Right now I just use a huge cardboard box, next to my open garage door, with a fan, and a led ship light! It works, but I’ll configure something better later.