SUPERIOR — Finding a solution to the slow the wear and tear of sporting and recreational gear sparked a new business for Paul and Gina Ramsey.

Superior Ceramic Coatings launched at 619 Ogden Ave. to offer custom coatings for golf clubs, fishing lures and reels, and hunting gear. They’ve even customized the occasional beverage tumbler, and high temperature coatings allow them to protect exhaust and engine components for motorcycles, automotive and snowmobiles.

The business opened in March 2022, located with Superior Guns and Ammo.

“We are a separate entity from the gun shop, but we kind of collaborate back and forth,” Paul said.

The business applies a thin-film ceramic coating to a variety of metals, plastics and polymers to improve strength and protect against corrosion.

“It got started because I didn’t want to wait for bluing to be done years ago,” Paul said. “I’m a competitive shooter and so a couple of buddies and I were building a couple of handguns for competitive shooting and didn’t want to wait eight or 10 months, or longer, for bluing, and the bluing doesn’t hold up that well anyway. It rusts and stuff, and this is anti-rust for the most part.”

Ramsey found Cerakote about 12 years ago by doing an internet search for different types of coatings that could be used to protect metals from rusting. Initially, he said he was self-taught on the product’s use, but in 2021, the couple attended Cerakote training in San Antonio to become factory-certified applicators.

Gina said they learned it can be used on bicycle frames, golf clubs and more. Some of the projects they’ve been able to take on weren’t even advertised as services available on their website, she said.

Jed Carlson / Superior Telegram

“We did a light saber for someone who’s a Star Wars fanatic,” she said.

However, firearms—rifle, shotguns and pistols—are the products they work on primarily, Paul said.

Jed Carlson / Superior Telegram

“We had a big run on shotguns toward the end of summer last year,” he said. “They’re nasty looking. They’ve rusted. They’ve beat the heck out of them—dragging them in and out of gun cases and boats. They’re a utility, a tool to them. And when they see the benefits of Cerakote, they say, ‘I’ve got try this.’”

With more than 200 colors to chose from, Paul said they can offer a combination of colors and patterns to create distinctive, one-of-a-kind pieces for their customers. One rifle Pauls said he is currently working on will have a cow pattern on it, but he’s also done a number with camouflage patterns.

“A lot of people just like the variety of color,” Paul said.

In preparing the items for the coating, they go through an ultrasonic cleaner to remove all the oils and grease from the surface. Then it goes into a sandblasting cabinet to get an etch on the surface so the paint will stick to it.

The couple said when they started, they planned to operate the business in the evenings after work, but soon realized they needed someone there during the day, so now Paul does construction part-time and runs the business full-time.

The business is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information, call 715-919-1366 or visit

superiorceramiccoatings.com.

Jed Carlson / Superior Telegram

Shelley Nelson is a reporter with the Duluth Media Group since 1997, and has covered Superior and Douglas County communities and government for the Duluth News Tribune from 1999 to 2006, and the Superior Telegram since 2006. Contact her at 715-395-5022 or snelson@superiortelegram.com.