I got this in the mail a couple days ago from APEX.



I want to convert one of these into a BFPU/BTDT looking rifle.


How do you all that have built a BFPU looking rifle get the finish wear to your parts? Tips & tricks please.

Also any guidance or pictures that could help a person pick points of natural wear would be appreciated. I've looked through the "Real Deal" picture thread & there are not many close up pictures to go by. Post your own pictures if you like.

I've said in the past that I could not prematurely wear a perfectly good finish on a rifle, but after getting this receiver & seeing the pictures of some of the other well used items that I'm buying from other forum members I am really anxious to get down to it.

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Finished pictures if anyone is interested in seeing.

Now if I could just find a worn seat belt sling.

I am doing the same thing as you but have only done this to a slip ring.  I wasn't able to find a worn slip ring but I bought one off the EE with some big dings in it.  (this was before the latest round of worn parts kits showed up!)  I bolted together some other parts with an aluminum (airsoft?) barrel to get the wear in the right places, the string takes the place of a gas tube.  I was surprised how hard it was to wear the anodizing off, I spent over an hour with gloves grinding backyard mud as hard as I could and it barely took any finish off.  I kept adding more sand from the gutter to the mud to get any kind of wear, I eventually broke down and used an old rag and worked it around the slip ring like I was polishing a crankshaft journal.  That polishing technique might work too good, it removed the finish but it ended up being shiny on the ridges.  (what would I expect, I was polishing it right?)  I'm happy with how it turned out, I can't tell if I should have done more, I'm thinking the slip ring will oxidize over time and the shine will turn dull  if I keep it oil free.  The hand guards on the jig are very low miles from one of the earlier parts kits, all my rubbing barely smoothed the fat end of the hand guards.  I've got an 80% lower I plan on having Victor at US Anodizing finish, I'll have to go through the same process when it comes back.  I recommend and will be assembling it into a complete rifle with a stand-in upper when I try to wear it.  If you don't assemble it you will get too much wear in places / along edges that would not get worn in regular service.  This time around I will try to use dry sand / gravel and see if it gets the job done faster, I think the lube effect of the mud made it too hard to wear.  I will be putting dents in before and during the process, my bronze one doesn't look quite right because I didn't put any dents in the lower before I started working on it.

slip ring before


slip ring after


Mismatch in dents between upper and lower if you don't dent it before you start wear

Nice!

I would call that a really good BFPU match. But you are allowed to be all picky about your own rifle.

According to some ancient 'experts', the accepted arfcom way to obtain genuine 'wear',

is to throw your rifle 'down the driveway'.





YMMV

Carry it every where you go for one year add in a few dives into ditch's, holes and other assorted places should do it for you.

I thought it was tie it to your Dogs collar & take him for a long walk down a logging road.

You can use a polishing wheel.

Has anybody tried to BFPU a rifle finished with norrels
Or Allumahyde?

I read the title, and the first thing I thought was "'throw it down the driveway'".

NT FTW, at least in this case.

Yes. Hard to do. Finish comes off too easily but stays dark.

Should have expected the "Throw it down the driveway" responses.



What does that mean?

HK:  I used a combination of things.  First was like 400-600 grit SP wet sanded with oil (CLP).  0000 steel wool with oil, and finally green scotch-brite pads.

The scotchbrite and finer grain SP put a very smooth gloss like polish on it.   It really is a "Try and see" procedure.

First I took the lower and tossed it around a while in large bowl of spare screws, nuts, washers etc.   Just to ding it up a bit.
Next I started rubbing the high spot areas with 150 grit sp.....gentley and tried finer grits to see just how much anodizing was being removed.  If it was too aggressive, I would
switch to a finer, less aggressive grit.  It takes a lot of elbow grease.  You just have to rub the snot out of it and get the cracks and corners.  It helps to look at other examples.

The finish touch to add some patina was this stuff ...slate black patina ordered direct from this place, the small bottle:

http://www.sculptnouveau.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=78&category=6

Use as directed and rub it down after it's applied to get a thinner browner patina.  Experiment with it on bare aluminum.  There are some vids on U-tube under
" slate black patina application".

Just start slow and you'll see how there wear process works.  Then you can go nuts with it.

My 601:  ETA:  The only parts harmed in this process was the lower.  All other parts were naturally worn by Uncle Sam.

Napoleon Tannerite.  He threw a lower down the driveway.

I love this More please

Never done to my ar, but when i refinished my ak, i didnt want it to be true bfpu trashed, but didnt want it to look new fresh black either. So i used scotch brite pads and just went at it nice and easy and slow. It works really well. Focus on high use areas, magwell, trigger and anything raised that would hit on things.  

Trying that right now.

It's a repro M1 bayonet, it's a pretty decent repro but is stainless and was painted jet black so I sandblasted it and shot it with some of my Norelles, it isn't a great match as far as the shade goes but it's a sight better than gloss black.

I'm using a scotch brite pad and very lightly removing a bit here and there, mostly focusing on the edges and high wear areas. It looks alright but if I apply any pressure at all it removes too much. I think I'd practice a bit before I try something like that on a gun. I really do not want to have to paint my upper a third time

On the bright side (or maybe not) the Norrelles doesn't seem to wear all that well, I've already got some shiny edges on my upper just from handling.

Edit: man my foot looks weird in that pic



Took a little more off, I'm pretty happy with it . Pics don't do it justice, I'm known for my mediocre pics

That is by far the best looking WASR I have ever seen... I could kick myself every day  or not buying any back it '09 when my LGS had stacks of em for. $379

That 601 could pass for a museum piece. Very well done.

Here's a middy I did using the same thing Hal used.



Here's a NDS that I BFPU'ed.



It is VERY hard to take the plunge! Once you get going the guilt diminishes a little.

Like has been said, before you take any finish off throw hand fulls of nuts and bolts at the beautiful pristine lower. I used assorted sharp and poky things to add character.

Then liberal amounts of elbow grease and I used a stainless steel scrubby pad and then a scotch brite pad.

I also used salt water and vinegar baths and exposure to the Florida rain. Used some ammonia to darken it back up after I went TOO light.

I kick myself for selling it every time I post this picture. I'll never find another early upper like that again.

Thank you~! Wish I could get a better pic of it, it's really prettier in the real life. It turned out well. But for OP.. another vote to go for it and make it what you want! And don't forget to post pics!

I think the most important thing you need to remember is to DING it up before you wear down the finish. Gravel works good. I also beat the lower with my bolt catch, as they both needed wear. That way, you will have darker dings that will look more legit. If you just wear down a smooth finish, it'll look, well, too smooth.

Oh, and wear the lower with the small parts installed. I didn't have the selector in mine, wish I woulda, it's a little too worn around it.......

Also, I used a big heavy wood rasp on the high edges and around the bottom of the mag well. Chips the finish nicely.

Here's my BFPU 605 clone as a dedicated 22LR.

The upper and lower were "aged" by Mike at NDS prior to shipment.  Then I created the faux brown bakelite with distressed green furniture.


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Nice, im ordering my norrels this week, I'm going to start in a broken 604
Upper, like to a worn look out of the norrels

Opinions of my progress.



Too dark on the serial # side of the mag well?

Maybe just a little bit more off the numbers Bro. Looking INCREDIBLE!

This. Great job! The nice part is, you don't need a pristine set of handguards for the build either - by the time they got to that condition, most had a couple broken teeth.

Looking Good !  No advice here.  Looks like you got it down.

You guys are crazy!...


I need to do a slight BFPU on an A1 or A2 lower for a 723 build...

My original plan was to build the 605 as a BFPU after seeing JT's fantastic 601 'town bicycle build', but Heatnbeat did such a mice job on the upper I haven't had the heart to scratch it up. Maybe I should take it to a carbine class and throw it on the ground a few times...

Looks good, I would concentrate on the front / edges of the mag well.  Look at the recent AR from Poland thread for an example.  It looks like the XM upper and lower have the same amount of wear and I think your lower should end up with a similar amount of wear.  The lower of the Hydra-Matic in Poland would be a good match for your upper too.  I don't think the upper on that rifle lived its whole life on that lower and we are seeing a mismatch in wear.  I like how many dings and scratches are on the edges of the magwells of both the XM and GM, I'm going to have to go for the same effect on mine.

That looks incredible.

 

THIS. Great job. I need to match my lower to my upper on the XM16E1 - just a little wear here and there, but am terrified I'll screw it up. My first try at this was on a lower finished with Norrells (for some reason I didn't notice that when I bought it) and it didn't come out great. Not bad, but not what I wanted. Figured I'd practice on that first, but the two finishes are very different - anodizing is much harder. I guess I just need to grow a pair and go for it.

Thanks for all the positive replies everyone.

Now just to find some pics showing how the rest of it (barrel, FSB, & FH) wear, & try to imitate it.

Turned out great I love the been there done that look and good luck on your sling hunt

For the dings and nick take your lower/upper, take some loose hand tools, put em in a tool box. Run a piece of duct tape around it for safety, get a buddy and play catch.

Pic for BFPU wear.  Wish the hand wasn't in the way.

Pretty much suspected the front of the lower would be worn/dinged but still guessing that the area above the back of pistol grip would have wear also.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/kanaka1000/368242851_zps9afca227.jpg