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What is H2O?


shootingsight

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The Cerakote model has phosphate beneath the paint job. The naming of the finish leads a lot of people to believe it is some special finish. Titanium refers to the color of the Cerakote, not some kind of special blend of herbs and spices suspending titanium for some benefit. 

The shop doing the paint work for Benelli likely roughed up the phosphate on the steel parts with blast media before painting it and oven curing the parts. On the aluminum receiver, I have not seen signs of the anodizing being removed prior to painting. I’ve polished off areas of the Cerakote around the loading port when doing port jobs and haven’t seen signs of the blasting beneath it. If they are, it’s really soft soda blast to remove oils and that’s about it. 
 


 

 

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10 hours ago, StrangerDanger said:

The Cerakote model has phosphate beneath the paint job. The naming of the finish leads a lot of people to believe it is some special finish. Titanium refers to the color of the Cerakote, not some kind of special blend of herbs and spices suspending titanium for some benefit. 

The shop doing the paint work for Benelli likely roughed up the phosphate on the steel parts with blast media before painting it and oven curing the parts. On the aluminum receiver, I have not seen signs of the anodizing being removed prior to painting. I’ve polished off areas of the Cerakote around the loading port when doing port jobs and haven’t seen signs of the blasting beneath it. If they are, it’s really soft soda blast to remove oils and that’s about it. 
 


 

 

With what is currently avaiable which is a better product?  Shouldmi save the money and use it to buy extras.  On another note my plan is to keep upgrading and improving over time, which finish would give me that ability.  2 or 3 years from now do I run the chance of not finding parts that match the H2O?  Buying the gun and adding the extras cannot happen for me right now $$$$$.

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You won’t like the price on a NP3 plated M4. I’d buy a black model and upgrade as you can. You can send it to Wright at some point and have it plated in NP3 if you want. It’ll be far cheaper than the premium they’re going for right now. 
 

The Cerakote H2O is a bit disingenuous in my opinion. Benelli bait and switched this one with a lot of customers. I’ve met countless buyers who assumed it was Np3 plated since it had the H2O moniker. With the Cerakote model, you’re buying the look, not the performance of the NP3 original model. 

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23 hours ago, StrangerDanger said:

You won’t like the price on a NP3 plated M4. I’d buy a black model and upgrade as you can. You can send it to Wright at some point and have it plated in NP3 if you want. It’ll be far cheaper than the premium they’re going for right now. 
 

The Cerakote H2O is a bit disingenuous in my opinion. Benelli bait and switched this one with a lot of customers. I’ve met countless buyers who assumed it was Np3 plated since it had the H2O moniker. With the Cerakote model, you’re buying the look, not the performance of the NP3 original model. 

Is there a way to confirm if it is cerakote or NP3?

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7 hours ago, StrangerDanger said:

Yes, the Cerakote models will have the regular black bolt carrier and receiver extension. 

Ah, sweet! Now I know what you are talking about the cerakote, similar to the burnt bronze cerakote.

I got the H2O last year and good to know it is Np3 coated. Going to keep this unicorn!

 

Capture.JPG

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9 hours ago, StrangerDanger said:

Yes, the Cerakote models will have the regular black bolt carrier and receiver extension. 

Doh. I jumped the gun and didn't read your comment properly. However, I think I did good compared to what others are paying. Plus it came with a RMR, case, surefirelight, full tube, extra 3-position tube, and other stuff

.

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Agreed. It’s no worse than a black regular M4. What it comes down to is NP3 is a very expensive process that takes three months to have done. Where as Cerakote is probably 25% the cost and can be done by many different shops with minimal equipment. 
 

You could sell that extra receiver extension for a pretty penny right now. 

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Yeah, I have no idea why my model with the solid PG stock came with the 3 position receiver extension, as well as why the pistons, and gas plugs, and almost all of the trigger group components were plated at Robar. I guess that I got lucky for once in my life.

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5 hours ago, StrangerDanger said:

What it comes down to is NP3 is a very expensive process that takes three months to have done.

I don't know when I'm going to see mine again.  Given the current prices I sometimes wonder if they put it back together and sold it for a premium on GB.  Then ordered another one for me in it's place.  LOL

4 months and counting with no end in sight.  It's like buying 2 suppressors and waiting for the stamps.

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5 minutes ago, Milspec said:

I don't know when I'm going to see mine again.  Given the current prices I sometimes wonder if they put it back together and sold it for a premium on GB.  Then ordered another one for me in it's place.  LOL

4 months and counting with no end in sight.  It's like buying 2 suppressors and waiting for the stamps.

Hope they’re not just waiting on reassembly. The M4 takes a solid 5-6 hours to put back together from its stripped condition. And that’s if you know what you’re doing. 
 

I have another one ready to go to Wright. Just waiting on a few small parts.

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1 hour ago, Vertigofirearms said:

Does a genuine H2O feel smoother than a regular black M4 (both brand new)?

Definitely. The whole action feels like it’s riding on ball bearings. Smoother recoil impulse. Less distinctive mechanical clunking as the bolt rotates, bolt carrier cocks the hammer, bolt carrier slams against the back of the receiver extension. Shell elevator articulates smoother. 

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19 hours ago, Vertigofirearms said:

If you were to get the internals NP3 plated, what parts would it be (on a M3 and M4)? I am not too keen on the two tone finish so I wouldn't do an entire gun. Bolt carrier is pretty evident that would benefit the most.

There are options where you can have the visible portions of the carrier Cerakoted black for cosmetics. The only areas on the bolt carrier that benefit from the NP3 are the rails, bottom surface that the hammer rides against, and inside the channel for the bolt. 
 

The Benelli is mostly a steel gun except for the receiver. Having the inside of the receiver done is a huge benefit since that’s where the bolt carrier rides. The more NP3 to NP3 surfaces that move you have together the smoother the action will be. A secondary benefit is the parts are nearly impervious to corrosion, so doing small steel parts throughout the gun would be a smart choice. Like the three piece handguard retainers are the front of the forearm hanger on the barrel assembly. You’ll never see them unless disassembled. 
 

For performance, I’ll roughly list parts from most important to least important from a performance perspective. 
Receiver Extension, receiver extension plunger, bolt carrier, receiver, hammer, magazine cap, breech latch, bolt cam, bolt carrier link, bolt carrier link pin, trigger group bushing, hammer spring cap, trigger frame, Shell stop, bolt head, trigger, Firing pin, disconnector, disconnector pin, barrel assembly (the channels the pistons ride in benefit), pistons, Argo gas cups, extractor claw, shell drop lever, carrier, trigger pins, Safety button detent, safety button, Argo plug bodies, Argo plug stand off and pins, Trigger group pin, trigger group spacer, trigger group snap ring, firing pin retainer, trigger bushing snap ring.

 

While you’re sending small parts, I’d send the internals of the collapsible stock, knock out and send the screws to your buttpad, the stock retaining screw and snap ring to the receiver extension, small pins in the trigger pack except the disconnector pin (It’s too small), front handguard retainers clips as mentioned, magazine spring retainer, extractor claw pin. I like to send the internal parts of pistol and field stocks as well. Getting them apart isn’t the easiest, but there are benefits to having the sling stay bolt and associated internal parts all plated.

 

Mark and bag your small springs. Telling the difference between a pile of small springs can be a nightmare if you don’t have one to compare against. Some of them are really hard to determine 3-4 months after you took it apart. 

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