Greeting all!

So, I just discovered this stuff through a very roundabout route that led to this thread from a few years back… John Norrelll’s Molly Resin - grayish-black colt issues……

Since it’s an archive thread, all the useful contact info was removed, naturally.

By any chance, does anyone know who it was that apparently made a special oven for baking ARs and has the proper sprayer and stuff to do all this? I’m working on a custom project that I wish was Colt gray instead of black, and I’d be willing to pay a fair price if somebody who knew what they were doing was around who could help out.

Failing that, does anyone know of anyone else who does this sort of thing? This molly resin looks like it’d do what I’d like, but you apparently need to sand blast the parts first, then bake them to the correct temperature, then use a cerakoting airbrush to carefully spray multiple layers, then bake it again to finish the process… ie., you need skills and most importantly, tools, that I lack.

Hence the willingness to pay somebody to do it. Preferably in SoCal if possible, but I could ship stuff if needs be…

Thanks!

https://www.ar15.com/forums/Armory/Norrells-Moly-Resin-in-an-air-fryer-/19-530219/

You can do it!  A harbor freight air brush will get you through a job.  The blasting is a trickier problem but there are red neck engineering solutions for 1 off jobs.  You only need to apply and bake once.  From blasting to spray plus 1 hour bake time you can completely transform a pile of parts in a few hours.

You can do it yourself. 99% of people building ARs can do it. You have to try pretty hard to mess it it.

I bought 2 8oz bottles. One bottle was like $39 plus shipping. Shipping was like half the price of another bottle. Two bottles were free shipping. So I bought Colt gray and Colt semi black. I figured I might want to darken the gray or I have other items I need to paint black. So two bottles were $78 to my door.

I never used an airbrush before in my life. I spent 3 days reading about airbrushes. I decided on a Paasche VL. They have been in business for over 100 years and still sell repair parts for airbrushes they first made. I went on eBay and ordered me a Paasche VL set with all three size tips and needles for about $45. An older set that came with the glass bottles. I use the middle one. .65mm maybe? I also run about 25lb of pressure. Way easier than rattle can. I bought a 100 pack of pipettes on Amazon for about $6 to put resin in my cup and to clean airbrush.
https://i.imgur.com/5PrTm7U.jpeg

I then went on Amazon and ordered me a regulator and moisture catcher for about $15.
https://i.imgur.com/o0CsTE2.jpeg

I have a spare room in my house that I have claimed a corner beside a window as my "gun building station". I have a folding table set up in the corner to work on. In one of the pictures, you will see a yellow bucket with that regulator hooked onto it. I hook an air hose to my pancake compressor in my shop and run it in the window. I hook it to that regulator. I paint most of my parts right there. Since I am a 70s / 80s kid, I have inhaled and ingested so many chemicals, I am immune to them now lol. It is actually not that much overspray with an airbrush. If you go on YouTube and watch the modelers, they paint inside too. Some do have a little Amazon airbrush paint booth they use but, there is not much overspray. No dust or bugs inside and it's a steady temperature.
https://imgur.com/a/P20HCO7

The way I do mine is, I have all my parts wiped down with acetone and on wires. I take a hair dryer and heat my parts real good. I then just dust them very lightly. Heat them again and dust them. I do this until I get a good 3-4 coats on them. The paint pretty much dries instantly as it hits the part. After I have all my parts painted, I lay a sheet of tinfoil on a cookie sheet and lay all my parts on it. I bake them in the oven at 300 degrees for 1 hour. There is a slight smell that's not bad for about 10 minutes but it goes away and no smell. I let them sit in oven till they cool down. That's it. That simple.

Here are a few I have done in the last month or so. This is what it looks like with the way I do it.

The upper is an H&R from back in like 2022. One of their very first runs of gray. The small parts are Moly Resin. I tried to get different shades of light on them.
https://imgur.com/a/D9FiZtG

The buffer tube was black anodized. I just scuffed it with a green Scotch Brite pad. The rear of the stock, I used one them $15 hand sandblasters on.
https://imgur.com/a/dxbldvE

The slick side upper is an H&R from first run back in like 2022. The anodizing was a tad darker on them. The A2 upper was black anodized from Thunder Tactical. It looked like black velvet before I took a Scotch Brite to it. Wiped down with acetone, heat, dust, heat, dust, etc. Three coats and in the oven.
https://imgur.com/a/oAeBGGX

Few more small parts.
https://imgur.com/a/7Hgn0Jb

I just did this one yesterday. You will notice that gray changes color in different light. Inside, outside, direct sun, indirect sun, etc. This one was bare aluminum. I tried to scuff it up with a Scotch Brite the best I could. Wiped down really good with acetone. 90% of painting is in the prep work. (This was my first ever 80% and first ever electro etching. Pay no attention to that mess lol)
https://imgur.com/a/FmRyIvU

I just snapped these pictures just now for this post. I just finished these up so they are not really cleaned up and ready for their pictures yet. Good lighting, background, etc but you can still get an idea of the color and how well it went on. The M16A1 upper and lower is H&R anodized. All small parts I painted. The 607 same. The M16A2 is all painted. The upper was the Thunder Tactical velvet black anodized. The lower was bare aluminum. Both painted with same paint, same way, same amount of coats, same heat, etc. but notice how they both reflect the light different. The base coat will change the way it looks too.
https://imgur.com/a/zE5hPa2


My tips are: shake the crap out of the Moly Resin. Before and during. You can't shake it too much. I think John said his resin cures about 270 - 280 degrees. That is why he calls for 300. To make sure its cured. The slicker the part, the shiner it looks. (See the A2 lower above) The heavier you put it on, the shiner. The cooler the part when you paint, the shiner. Heat will change the color too. Curing past 300 degrees, it tends to turn greener. I put a part in at 400 just to see. I have painted all you see and I have only used 1/3rd of an 8oz bottle. Thats an upper, lower, 3 buffer tubes, 607 stock, and all the small parts for 3 guns. It goes a long way using an airbrush. Well it does me. Not much overspray.

You can do a better job than mine. I was not going for a showroom look. I did not want new looking guns, I wanted a little battle worn look. That said, I tried to sand a few high spots on some things I painted to make it not look so new and worn a little. It was very hard to sand off. Harder than the anodizing it seemed to me. I like it. It's easy. It's fast. It's easy to set up and clean. It coats well. It seems durable. It covers well. Long as these hold up well, I will forever use Moly Resin with my Paasche airbrush. I feel I have definitely got my moneys worth.

I was intimidated by the process too until I finally just jumped in.

I bought an airbrush with motor off Amazon that was recommended either here or on the Reddit Retro group. Under $40 and has worked fine. I've done about half a dozen uppers and lowers now.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FYVSR19/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I used the kitchen oven to cure my first batches. Just bought a big toaster oven recently. I had some issues with it but reached out to John Norrell this weekend and he was very helpful diagnosing my issue. Turns out the toaster over gets too hot with an upper and lower element and convection setting. Even though my oven thermometer I put inside said 300 he said the way the toaster oven broils that parts can actually get much hotter than the air temp. He suggested trying again in the kitchen oven to verify that the toaster is my issue, or, only use the bottom element on my toaster oven. I can choose that option on my toaster oven so I'm going to try that. Worst case is I go back to using the kitchen oven when my wife is at work!

As far as prep, I de-grease my parts, and hit it with green Scotch Bright type pads. Nothing fancy.

The upper on my GUU-5/P was black anodized. I painted right over it. The lower was an older Nodak Spud gray anodized and it matches up pretty well.

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Last week I bought a HF HVLP gun and a used Goodwill toaster oven. I cleaned the lower receiver pretty well with acetone, filled the gun, sprayed the lower and then baked it for an hour. Nothing to it. It lays on well and looks good.

Moly resin is a pretty easy coating to apply.

Well, I don't have a spare room to dedicate to this, and I'm loathe to buy equipment that I'll use once and then have to store for the rest of my life in my already overpacked apartment.  And, I have no clue how to sandblast something.

So, I'm hoping there's someplace that does this for people.

I did mine on the back patio, then baked in my oven. Stunk the place up for a few hours.

I pre baked the parts hung with coat hangers from top of oven. Using an oven mitt quickly took outside and sprayed, then back into oven. I didnt bead blast first, just degreased.

Turned out ok

+2 on harbor freight hobby airgun

I do get that, but there's no sandblasting needed.

$38 dollar airbrush from Amazon, Scotchbright green scratchy pad, and your existing oven.

Sell airbrush and remaining moly resin here in the EE when you're done.

Great advice, examples, and encouragement all around!  This discussion should be a sticky.

You are correct, if you're changing colors on an already blasted part then you don't need to blast.  If it's a raw 80% then you will want to.

You don’t need to sand blast anything just use Brakleen and make sure it’s clean. If you really want to you can go over the lower with a little bit of sand paper

Get a cheap airbrush kit with mini compressor off of Amazon for like $30

Get a Sawzall adapter to put the bottle of moly resin into and shake the shit out of it for about 5 minutes (if it’s not well shaken it will have a greenish tint to it)

Use a heat gun to heat up the metal as you spray so that it flash dries

Spray in THIN coats otherwise it will be too shiny

Stick it in the oven at 300° for an hour then when it dries oil it to get the correct color because it will be a light grey right out of the oven, any longer or at a higher temp can also cause a green tint

The upper is original Colt grey anodizing the lower is Moly Resin





This is what it looked like prior to applying oil




It’s super easy to do.  Don’t overthink it A trained monkey can do it (I’ve done 6 or 7 lowers with it)

Works Great and remember that you must remove all plastic or rubber parts.  I did a Sig 556 and melted my rubber dust covers  Those are riveted in place and had I thought about it, I would have used a different product, but It completely slipped my mind.  I love Moly Resin used it for a bunch of retro stuff.

So…

Buy an airbrush and an air compressor.

Buy a Sawzall.

Buy a Sawzall adapter.

Buy a heat gun.

Find someplace in the courtyard to paint it late at night so the manager won’t bitch about me setting up an air compressor, a paint sprayer, a heat gun, or the fact that I’m spraying paint on gun parts. In fact make sure none of the other tenants sees the gun parts since they don’t need to know what I have plus they’d probably call 911 or something.

Anyway, after I find someplace to paint it, I can take it back up and see if I can cram an upper with a 20” barrel into my oven.

Seriously, if I can’t do a project on my kitchen table, then I can’t do the project. When I need to be able to torque something in a vice, I have to meet up with a buddy of mine who’s a handyman and has a vice bolted to the back of his truck.

And, buying a bunch of tools for one project and then trying to sell them all seems way wasteful.

While I dream of having a workshop full of equipment one day, that day is far off. Probably after I retire, move out of California, and can finally buy a house.

That’s why I was hoping to find someone that does this kind of thing that I can pay to do it.

They came black from the factory. No idea if anything’s ever been sandblasted before.

I just did thus one tonight after work. Green scratchy pad from the dollar store, not even real Scotchbrite, wipe down with acetone. I sprayed it in a Moe's take out box and baked it in a toaster oven. It started out black.

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Top one is a gray A1 upper from Shark Arms for comparison. That's after oil. First Pic above was right out of the oven, dry.

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I dunno about Moly, but Brutus Manufacturing does some nice cerakote work. I saw their stuff on Reddit and have been following them on IG. That may be an option if you really need to send it out.  

https://www.instagram.com/brutusmanufacturingcompany?igsh=aGZzZzE4NnFjNHE5

I'm not sure you're going to find an insurmountable problem that someone on the retro forum hasn't faced doing this.

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I'm happy for them!

I'm just not sure why you guys can't just accept that I can't do this in my apartment.

I am not going to be spraying paint in my bedroom.

I am not going to be spraying paint in my living room.

I am not going to be spraying paint in my kitchen.

I am not going to be spraying paint in my bathroom.

I'm not going to be spraying paint on firearms parts in any of the common areas where the manager or anyone else can see what I'm doing.

I'm not going to buy an air compressor for a single project.

I'm not going to buy a paint sprayer for a single project.

I'm not going to buy a sawzall for a single project.

I'm not going to buy a sawzall adapter for a single project.

I'm not going to buy a heat gun for a single project.

I'm not going to buy an oven big enough to fit a complete upper with a 20" barrel for a single project.

I'd have to sell all that stuff for pennies on the dollar, since I don't have room to store them.

Part of me appreciates all the "you can do it" support, but, guys... no, I can't.  If I had a house with a garage and a private back yard, sure, sounds like it wouldn't be too much trouble.  If I were willing to buy everything I'd need.

But I don't.

Y'all are gonna have to trust me on this.

Anyway, seems like no one knows who the guy on the post I linked to was, so, again, thanks for all the encouragement to do this on my own, but I had been asking if anyone knew who that was so I could pay them do it for me.  Since I won't be doing it myself in my current situation.

"I'm not going to buy an oven big enough to fit a complete upper with a 20" barrel for a single project."

You don't bake/cure the entire 20" upper w/ barrel etc. Just the resin coated upper, lower, and small parts. JS. If this thread stays active long enough, the original poster may see it and chime in. Also, someone that offers their resin coating service or knows someone in Cali. near you may chime in.

Oh, the barrels weren't gray also?  Well, shows how much I know.

If I am not mistaken, on all the older stuff, the flash hider & lock washer, barrel, barrel nut, weld spring, lock ring, FSB, front & rear sling swivels, front and rear handguard caps, front & rear sight parts, lower parts, forward assist, eject door & rod, screws, and pretty much everything made of steel was magnesium phosphate finished. The eject door spring and gas tube was stainless steel. The bolt carrier group was magnesium phosphate finished but chromed inside parts of it. Some BCGs were all chromed. Barrels were chromed lined. The upper, lower, slip ring, buffer tube, charging handle, magazine button, and trigger guard were the only parts that were hardcoat anodized type 3 in a shade of gray.

Still some good pictures still showing in this archived thread - https://www.ar15.com/forums/ar-15/0Colt-s-USGI-M16-series-variation-guide-edition-IV/123-241681/

Stunning job Liberty. Just beautiful in my opinion.

Sigh….  


You’re overthinking it my man.  

Most airbrush kits come with the compressor (you’re thinking a standard size air compressor it’s not a compressor to run an airbrush is small and quiet)

This comes with everything you need to spray it the compressor is the small black square



If you don’t have a Sawzall fine just shake the shit out of it.

Don’t have a heat gun? Fine preheat it in the oven.  It’s really not that hard.


If you don’t want to do it fine.  Contact Norrells I’m surprised since you knew about them you didn’t know they offer the service of coating lowers and uppers…

Thank you :)

They’re parkerized not anodized

Huh.

Nothing on their website mentions this service.  I'll shoot them an email and see if it's something they do but that they don't advertise...

Contact them they used to offer it

If they don't they may know someone who does. Especially if they sell in bulk to them.

I did link to a guy doing cerakote above too. I have gray cerakote uppers I can't tell from my original Colt gray. That is another option if you're sending stuff out anyway.

A lot of people went with Norrell's Moly Resin simply because John has been cloning M16s since the 70s. He was taking DOD destroyed lowers, rewelding them back together, and repainting them so well that the ATF confiscated dozens cause they did not believe him. They ended up having to x-ray them just to see he was telling the truth and returned them. He spent years making the perfect resin to coat them with. Color match, durability, etc. He was doing this way before most of us were. I just figure he has it right by now.
https://smallarmsreview.com/industry-profile-an-interview-with-john-norrell-class-ii-manufacturer/

I have heard many say Cerakote has a good coating and a color real close to the originals too. A lot are spraying Cerakote nowadays. More than Norrells simply cause Norrells seems to cater to just retros where as Cerakote has lots of colors. If that would work for you too, that would give you even more options.

I use a cheap Badger 250 airbrush and hook it up to my shop air compressor to apply Norell's Moly Resin.  Just add a glass marble to the jar to keep the resin mixed.  No need for an expensive airbrush to get excellent results.

I think Cerakote is so popular because there are so many colors. For years there were just a few Moly Resin colors. Now there are a whole lot more.

I did another lower last night. Pic is with it paired up with a cerakote supposed Colt gray anodized upper.  EDIT: had it in my head the upper was cerakote but apparently it's not, it's anodized. I think...

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That looks real good. This is the first time I have ever seen Norrells up against Cerakote. They look like a 100% match to me on my monitor.

That does look really good.

Makes me wonder if I should just go with cerakote.

Okay, I think I'm wrong!

This is one of the Shark Arms ones (yes, the ones that got tons of shit. I got a good deal on the EE and it's fine other than needing a spacer under the rear sight spring that the seller disclosed and provided).

For whatever reason I had it in my head that these were cerakoted but now that I was trying to confirm that maybe not. It looks like it is gray anodized and I'm just old and can't remember crap.

With that said, it is a near perfect match at least!

I spoke too soon! I'm dumb. I'm pretty sure the upper is anodized now. Sorry!

OP

Keep It Simple

No sawzall is needed just shake the shit outta the bottle!

Simple airgun kit is fine

Do a few practice runs with 100% solvent on cardboard before doing final spray. A few light coats between cookings is best.

You can preheat in your oven, no need to buy a heat gun.

Use gloves

Have heard some success stories using a thrift store toaster oven.

Any tips or secrets on getting good coverage in the FCG pocket and the other nooks and crannies...?

The modelers paint little 2" figures and little car parts with their airbrushes. Airbrushes are pretty good at getting in small places. I usually spray inside the FCG pocket, inside the upper, and in the nooks and crannies first. I just barely pull back on my airbrush button so as very little resin is spraying. Once I get in all them spots you normally don't see, I then hit all the high spots and high wear areas. That way they get an extra coat or two since they will be wearing first. Then I start coating the main part that will show.

Reason I popped on to post was I was getting ready to spray something and as I was shaking my bottle I thought of something. May help someone in the future that finds this in a Google search.

When I first got my bottles and went to shake them, I heard no rattle. I shook them for about 5 minutes or so and nothing. I thought they forgot to put marbles in my bottles or maybe they did not even come with marbles. I was even going to email Norrells to ask if they did in fact have marbles in the bottles. I was going to steal one from the kids and put one in mine anyways. The next day or two as I was working on something, I seen the bottle sitting there so I figured I would shake it up some more. After another 5 or so minutes it started to rattle. Someone mentioned these may have been mixed up and sitting for a while before they ship. I think when some of these people have color differences or problems, it is because its not fully mixed up.

And you would be correct

My attempt today with Gray-Black Colt Flat using a Badger 350 airbrush on an older registered receiver painted about 10 years ago.



Soaking in used motor oil and throwing in the pool should take its toll.

Cured at 315-325F for 65 minutes according to my cheapo Taylor analog oven thermometer.

errr... huh?

I just sprayed these tonight. I am making a XM4 and was trying to get the color similar to these - https://imgur.com/a/KxtGoR4 or https://imgur.com/a/j7BkW5c

I started spraying it with a 7 to 3 mix. 7 parts Grayish-Black Colt Flat and 3 parts Black Semi-Gloss but it looked a tad too dark to me. So I ended up spraying it with an 8 to 2 mix.

Soaking in motor oil will darken the color because once you take it out of the oven it’s going to be a very light grey and very dry.  The oil will soak into the lower and darken it up

Top photo is fresh out of the oven the bottom is after oiling (with an original mid 60’s Colt anodized upper)

Huh.

How long do you soak it?  What kind of oil? 10W-30?

What about that next line in the post I was responding to, "toss it in the pool"?

I assume from this picture that the parts we want gray aside from the upper and lower are the charging handle, trigger guard, magazine release, and slip ring?

I have gray H&R parts already for all of those except for the slip ring, but the XM177E2 gray upper I ordered should already have a gray slip ring on the barrel?  Or should I plan on either having one painted as well or buying one?

I apologize for that quip. It was intended as a gentler way of throwing down the driveway.

We have used WD-40, cosmoline, Mobil 1 grease, new motor oil, used motor oil, etc. rubbed into and off of the Norrell's. That and shooting often and clumsily storing, on purpose, lends to a used look and patina.

And yes, I have actually taken one or two builds into the pool.