As I previously posted here I bought a new .308 Tikka T3X in Wideland Veil cammo from Braces of Bristol in May 22. Back in September, I became concerned by the loss of Cerakote from just inside the receiver and along the bolt raceway (see below). I took the rifle back to Braces and they kindly returned it to GMK for inspection.
On 21st October, I received the following reply:
This rifle was purchased brand new only 4 months previously and had at that stage fired less than 100 rounds! Moreover, where the start of the loss of Cerakote occurs in the receiver it is only in contact with the bolt whilst it is being fitted or removed as can be seen from the position of the bolt stop. I respectfully asked them to reconsider, receiving the following further response:
This rifle comes with a 2-year gurantee from Tikka which was extended to 3 years. As a professional chartered mechanical engineer familiar with high tech coatings routime applied in the aerospace and weapons field in which I have been employed for the last 46 years GMK's response is frankly bull****. As you can freely read across the Internet, when correctly applied Cerakote is amongst the most durable and hard-wearing of surface coatings. A couple of reports can be seen here:
Why Choose Cerakote Coatings For Your Guns?.
Zeus Cerakote.
Noting the 8000 cycle to failure quoted in the test report there is no way a rifle used weekly could experience that wear in only 4 months! I then took the liberty of contacting the very helpful support team at NIC Industries in the US, the inventors and worldwide manufacturer of Cerakote products. As you can see from the email exchange below (and from a telephone conversation not recorded) there is an issue with the application of Cerakote on this rifle but for obvious reasons they do not wish to be involved and refer the consumer straight back to the supplier/manufacturer. They are however willing to work with the manufacturer to solve Cerakote application issues. Sadly, this was the response I was expecting and I can fully acceopt their position.
There is a quality issue with the application of Cerakote on this rifle. After my initial posting on SD, I was contacted by others on this forum who are experiencing the same loss of Cerakote in the receiver and in one instance, around the moderator thread too. Of note, I also have a Sako S20 which utilises the same D18 barrel and the S20's receiver is also Cerakoted. I was fortunate to acquire the S20 at the beginning of the COVID lockdown and it is probably amongst one of the earliest in this country. Like others, it is also very well used! This shows absolutely no signs of Cerakote wear, as is to be expected from the extensive wear test reports available on the properties of Cerakote.
So, to the point of this posting! I like the T3X Lite Wideland Veil very much! In .308 it is a light, compact rifle that is very pointable. With its Wideland Veil stock and bronze Cerakote its is quite pleasing on the eye and its quickly become one of my favourite rifle to stalk with. In my case, the loss of Cerakote is not visible with the bolt fitted but sadly, I know that its there. Others with loss of Cerakote elsewhere may no be so fortunate. NIC Industries acknowledged that there is an issue with Tikka's application of their product but they will only deal with Tikka and not the consumer. My real issue is with the statements made by GMK which are patently incorrect - how can a rifle with loss of Cerakote after only 4 months be considered as fair wear and tear? I am grateful for the support of Braces for returning the rifle for inspection but the issue is not theirs to solve, it is for the supplier GMK or manufacturer Tikka (aka Sako).
Sadly, I like Tikka and Sako products and over the last 30 years have owned 4 - I still have my first C/F rifle a 75 in .243, I had (and hated an 85 in .308) and now have the S20 also in .308. The Wideland Veil is my first Tikka but as many others know, the T3/T3X are great rifles. Unfortunately, in this case, there's undoubtedly a quality issue which is not accepted by GMK.
Caveat Emptor
On 21st October, I received the following reply:
This rifle was purchased brand new only 4 months previously and had at that stage fired less than 100 rounds! Moreover, where the start of the loss of Cerakote occurs in the receiver it is only in contact with the bolt whilst it is being fitted or removed as can be seen from the position of the bolt stop. I respectfully asked them to reconsider, receiving the following further response:
This rifle comes with a 2-year gurantee from Tikka which was extended to 3 years. As a professional chartered mechanical engineer familiar with high tech coatings routime applied in the aerospace and weapons field in which I have been employed for the last 46 years GMK's response is frankly bull****. As you can freely read across the Internet, when correctly applied Cerakote is amongst the most durable and hard-wearing of surface coatings. A couple of reports can be seen here:
Why Choose Cerakote Coatings For Your Guns?.
Zeus Cerakote.
Noting the 8000 cycle to failure quoted in the test report there is no way a rifle used weekly could experience that wear in only 4 months! I then took the liberty of contacting the very helpful support team at NIC Industries in the US, the inventors and worldwide manufacturer of Cerakote products. As you can see from the email exchange below (and from a telephone conversation not recorded) there is an issue with the application of Cerakote on this rifle but for obvious reasons they do not wish to be involved and refer the consumer straight back to the supplier/manufacturer. They are however willing to work with the manufacturer to solve Cerakote application issues. Sadly, this was the response I was expecting and I can fully acceopt their position.
There is a quality issue with the application of Cerakote on this rifle. After my initial posting on SD, I was contacted by others on this forum who are experiencing the same loss of Cerakote in the receiver and in one instance, around the moderator thread too. Of note, I also have a Sako S20 which utilises the same D18 barrel and the S20's receiver is also Cerakoted. I was fortunate to acquire the S20 at the beginning of the COVID lockdown and it is probably amongst one of the earliest in this country. Like others, it is also very well used! This shows absolutely no signs of Cerakote wear, as is to be expected from the extensive wear test reports available on the properties of Cerakote.
So, to the point of this posting! I like the T3X Lite Wideland Veil very much! In .308 it is a light, compact rifle that is very pointable. With its Wideland Veil stock and bronze Cerakote its is quite pleasing on the eye and its quickly become one of my favourite rifle to stalk with. In my case, the loss of Cerakote is not visible with the bolt fitted but sadly, I know that its there. Others with loss of Cerakote elsewhere may no be so fortunate. NIC Industries acknowledged that there is an issue with Tikka's application of their product but they will only deal with Tikka and not the consumer. My real issue is with the statements made by GMK which are patently incorrect - how can a rifle with loss of Cerakote after only 4 months be considered as fair wear and tear? I am grateful for the support of Braces for returning the rifle for inspection but the issue is not theirs to solve, it is for the supplier GMK or manufacturer Tikka (aka Sako).
Sadly, I like Tikka and Sako products and over the last 30 years have owned 4 - I still have my first C/F rifle a 75 in .243, I had (and hated an 85 in .308) and now have the S20 also in .308. The Wideland Veil is my first Tikka but as many others know, the T3/T3X are great rifles. Unfortunately, in this case, there's undoubtedly a quality issue which is not accepted by GMK.
Caveat Emptor
