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!

Okay... You're just out of control now...

But I bet it'll look good. We expect to see pics...

that does look like it turned out very well.

thanks for the tip.

Luckily I have two lowers that are awaiting uppers so I can try this....

Three of my ar's have the roll marks done one with crayons and two with paint

Thanks fot the tips! Those look great!

Great info everyone. Now, I have a further question. Is there a trick to putting a nice finish on the upper and lower assemblies after adding color?(or even if you dont add color) I see some very nice looking AR's. I'm talking about the satin finish that some have. Ive even seen some very glossy ones but really dont want that. A suttle satin finish looks nice though.

Unless someone has a receiver refinished by an outside source after purchasing it, the satin finish you mentioned is done at the time of manufacture. If you look at my pictures, the Mega receivers are coated by Mega with a Teflon-based finish, which gives them a deep black satin appearance. The Bushmaster is...well...a cheaper finish. It is duller and not as black.

Have you used or heard of an aftermarket product that can be used?

I am going to do one myself more than likely this weekend, got my paint and brushes last night, but the rest of them I am going to wait until they pay a visit to Walter Birdsong. I have one of my Rifles here he has already finished with Black T so I will do that one after I experiment with the ones not refinished.

I would recommend the Cerahyde "House Black" finish from CCR. Should be satin in appearance.

http://www.ccr-refinishing.com/rifle.htm

I looked at the website but couldnt find where they sold the stuff for do-it-yourselfers. So I emailed them and asked if they sell it to consumers.
We shall see

If you want to do it yourself, and you have access to spray equipment, you may want to try the Duracoat stuff from Lauer. I think they have a Satin Black available...

Lauerweaponry.com

This post has been edited by Turbo Supra: October 17th 2007 6:10 PM

They emailed me back and its a no go. They did politely offer to do it for me though.

Those look awesome!

+1.

http://www.ar15armory.com/forums/rebirth-D...308-t21282.html

If you're talking about this kind of black (just scroll to the bottom pics) it took all of a half hour to strip, degrease, and paint. An hour in the oven at 325 degrees, and the finish is as tough as the original parkerizing.

Brownells link: http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/cat...=754&p=4798



if I did that right, it shows the spray finishes they carry. Baking lacquer (never used it), Duracoat (needs an airbrush and mixing, long cure time but tough as nails), Gunkote (awesome product--easy to use, easy to prep, almost as durable as Duracoat) and Teflon Moly (same as GunKote, but even more awesomer due to the lubrication properties and it's just as easy to use)


Prep involves stripping the firearm down (or not--I've done it both ways. I just prefer the results when there's no masking effect on the pieces-parts. I rarely remove the barrel from the upper, or the buffer tube from the lower. I strip everything else unless I can't easily get 'em out) Degrease the ever lovin' snot out of the firearm with brake cleaner or acetone. Warm the part with a heat gun, or stick it in the oven for about 10 minutes. Degrease again--this gets all the trapped oil/grease out of the pores in the metal. Rough up the surface of what you want painted with a sand blaster....if you don't have a sand blaster, scuff it good with 400-600 grit sandpaper. Paint--it helps if the parts are just warm enough to be uncomfortable to hold. This allows the paint to dry on contact (or much faster, anyway...depends on how thick you lay it on) Let dry for 30 minutes. Transfer your parts to the oven for a 60 minute bake at 300-325 degrees. Reassemble. Viola.


The rougher you blast, the more matte the finish. In the case of Wulfy's DPMS, we used ultra fine aluminum oxide; 1000 grit...it's only slightly coarser than talcum powder. I normally use it for frosting stainless steel and glass. If we had used play sand it would have come out much more like a parkerized finish.




once you have the rifle refinished, you can easily achieve excellent results with the Testors paint technique because the Brownell's products go on very thin....still plenty of roll mark to put the thinned paint in.

The gray or black color?


If so just depends if the person doing the anondizing knew what they were doing. Some are better than others.

Very nice. I've done the adjustment marks on my EOTech and the safety selector markings with crayons, but with "tactical" colors. As "tactical" as crayons get. Doesn't look great but I can see the markings better, especially on the EOTech. I could never do what you've done, Supra!


TS

I tried one last weekend, needless to say I am sending it to Birdsong anyway after the first of the year and let the pros do it.

That looks really nice... the Mega rollmark just screams to be seen. But for me white is just too bright. I thik I will try mine in some low-vis scheme, like gunmetal or olive drab... when then thing actually gets here.

Damn 10-day waiting period!

Nova, I have another lower for a build I am doing that will be running FDE furniture. It is actually a lower with a skull and crossbones logo. The skull and crossbones will be white, the "safe" and "fire" will be white and red, but the remainder of the text will be a tan color that is close to FDE. It should be a little bit more subtle...