I decided to paint the selector switch rollmarks on my trusty Bushmaster M4gery. The "safe" and "fire" looked good, so I kept going and did the rollmarks on the magwell, including the snake logo. I thought it turned out pretty well, so I couldn't stop. I did my Mega upper and lower receiver on my midlength AR, then my spare Mega lower receiver, then I even did my USPF45 because the deep rollmarks were too good to pass up... I haven't used Testor's enamel since grade school. LOL!

It is so simple that it is embarrassing. Forget Lacquer Stix, forget crayons. Testor's model enamel, baby! I was staring at the thin Bushmaster rollmarks wondering how I could pull it off. The Bushy is my beater, so I wanted to experiment on it before attempting anything on my precious Mega receivers!

Stuff I used:

*Testor's enamel model paint, Flat Red and Flat White.
*Testor's thinner.
*2 "microbrushes" used for model painting (these look like itty-bitty sponges on a stick).
*A can of CLP (I think I actually used a Hoppe's spray---same purpose).
*A bunch of cheap shotgun bore cleaning pads.
*2 paper cups.
*An "oh, shit" rag.



All I did was put the paint in a cup, and added a little thinner. I took the microbrush and dipped it in. This gives you a drop of paint to work with. Because it is thinned slightly, it runs in to the rollmarks when you touch the microbrush to the surface. It almost filled itself!

I let it touch-dry (about 10 minutes) and then took the shotgun pads dampened with CLP and GENTLY wiped them over the rollmarks in a circular motion (wax on, wax off). This removed any paint residue from the surface without pulling paint out of the rollmarks. Finish with a couple of dry shotgun pads, and VOILA!

The Bushy went so well that the Megas got finished in half the time. I am very comfortable doing it now, and will do it again without hesitation. If you mess up, the thinner and CLP will clean the errors. Don't be skeered!!!

This works VERY well. I have seen some shoddy paint jobs, but I actually impressed myself with this. You Bushmaster owners know how thin and shallow the rollmarks are. Look at how the paint filled in so easily!



The fine Mega receivers turned out the best...

Thanks for this write up Supra!!!

I was thinking of doing the same thing with Testors paintsthe other day while at Walmart and chickened out. Now I aint skeered!!

I've thought about using paint. But I don't have steady hands at all, crayons are easier for me.

Don't be askeered, Bryan! I have looked at every "rollmark coloring" thread on the "other" site, and waited until someone showed me a GOOD photo. Sure enough, and beeeeautiful Noveske lower picture popped up. His method? Same as mine!





And I forgive you for your signature quote. Don't worry, my daily driver is a domestic...

Crayons didnt work for me. When things got hot, the Crayon melted away.

I speak of the fellas that love their Honda Civics. They are an economy car and will always be. A Supra was born a sports car and will always be.

Etho, you really don't need steady hands. The microbrush holds a drop of paint on the end of it. You just barely touch the rollmark with the drop of paint, and it runs right down the rollmark groove like water down a gutter. It's easy!

Crayons are for kids. I tried Lacquer Stix (same application method as crayons), and it was a MESS. The stuff smeared everywhere, and CLP only thinned the stuff out and smeared it more. I ended up using thinner and removed ALL of the Lacquer Stix. I did the Testor's method and look above for the results.

Use what works best, I guess. I was just looking for a more permanent solution that didn't require hours of labor to apply.

Really? I've never had mine melt before. Then again I don't use it on my pistols. Only on my Ar's and only the safety markings.

It looks cool but really it does have a good purpose. A few of my cousins like to shoot them but haven't been around them enough to retain and I suspect a lack of complete interest to remember which way is which from looking at it and those markings are hard to read especially the shallower markings. One red and one white makes them easy to read and the color codes are pretty universal to everything on/off in the world.

Crayons also got really dirty lookin after a while.

Supra, how well does the white stay clean? Does it dirty up easy?

Very nice, looks great.

Awsome job! I am gonna do all my rifles now like this.
Thanks for posting the tips!

Glad to help, guys!

Not sure how the white will hold up to dirt...I just painted them yesterday. However, once completely dry, the enamel should be pretty tough. Touch-ups are chaep and easy, too.

Remember:

1) Add just a little thinner to get the paint to run better. Don't worry about adhesion, as the thinner will evaporate and leave nice, smooth paint behind. Just get a droplet of paint on the end of the microbrush or toothpick, and touch it to the rollmark. You will see the paint run in to the rollmark like water down a gutter. The gun almost paints itself. Once you see how easy the paint runs in, you will get more comfortable and work faster. EASY!

2) Let the over-run paint/smears/excess mess dry for about 10 minutes before even attempting to wipe clean with CLP. If you don't, you will smear the paint and pull the wet paint out of the rollmarks. Don't worry if you let it dry too much, as anything on the receiver surface will wipe clean with some pressure.

Looks good. You did a good job on them.

I came into this thread ready with a smartass remark but I am flat out impressed!!! That looks great!

Those look great!

Looks nice!

I'm lucky if I have time to shoot and clean my weapons, so painting them up all nice and purty ain't likely to happen at the Louiestead.

That does look really good.
I may have to try that out... I previously used the paint sticks (crayons)

Kahuna, believe me, I was never a BIG fan of painted rollmarks. Maybe just the safe and fire text, but that's it. I have seen some gawd-awful attempts using crayons and sloppy paint, but I just wanted to see how clean my technique would work. The Bushy turned out a LOT better than I thought it would, so I did the Megas.

You know what I am doing next? I am building a 6.8SPC gun with FDE furniture, and I am going to find some FDE-ish paint to do the rollmarks. Pimptastic!