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Posted: 7/12/2004 12:12:19 AM EDT
I am really considering refinishing my RRA AR, my brother did his on his own and it looks REALLY good. Plus, it's nice to have that kind of an upgrade. Let's see your pics and hear your opinions.
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Wow, nobody!?!? With all the AR enthusiast I thought someone here would have done it for sure.
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My Lightweight Sporter preban lower came in the Colt grey and a black LE6721 flat-top tactical HBAR upper. I sent the upper/barrel to Wilson Combat for an Armor Tuff finish in grey like they use on their pistols. It is a very durable and attractive finish. They also AT the sight tower black for contrast. It looks REALLY nice and is a very close color match. WAY better than the old 2-tone look. I just got it back and hadn't had time to take any pictures yet. Best part was it only cost $100 and looks great, and wipes up very clean. You can get an idea of the color at Wilson Combat Several of the pistols there are two tone grey/black as well as their Green (ugh) finish
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I had my RRA varmint lauercoated last year and have a few pix I can email ya as I haven't got an account on any of the image hosts. email or IM me if you'd like to them.
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I have done a few, here is a pic of one that is two colors. The receivers and carry handle are Norrell Grayish Black and the barrel is Norrells SOCOM black (matte black).
I wrote up a "how to" guide, it is pretty simple to do quality work and still keep the price down. Refinishing Link |
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Nice write-up Stickman. |
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Thanks, I wish I had the ability to get the info out to more people. It is really a simple project, and for $50 or so, you can do a couple AR15s.
Glad you liked it! |
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interesting colors there...if it were my rifle..and I was picking out paint..I never would have chose those colors...but they look really good....I LIKE IT!
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Stickman, sweet thanks i had never done that before, but your instructions helped me greatly! will post pic, but its an AK !hug.gif
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Please do, and don't hesitate to PM/ email me if you have any questions on it. I'm a big believer in sharing knowledge (not that I claim to be the expert on anything).
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Stickman, How is the durability of the finish around the ejection port? I just got my AR and the finish is chipped all around the port and on the deflector. http://www.pbase.com/image/32540211/large.jpg |
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If you just got your weapon and it was test fired (most likely) then the brass deflector's finish isn't worn - it's just brass from the cases. A little mild solvent (like Hoppes #9) followed with a wipe of CLP should clean the brass right off. Can't forget to mention all these examples look great! |
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turbo2ltr,
Your finish looks like it wa shandled before it was finished drying/ curing. Who made that upper? The Norrells hides well, and is pretty resistant to chipping when done correctly. |
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Cool stuff, are there other finish options other than the ones mentioned.
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Do you mean other colors, or other companies with similar products? The asnwer for both is yes. |
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Lauers Dura Coat
Norrells Moly Resin GunKote Robar NP3 There are plenty more, but those are the ones off the top of my head. |
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Thanks for the info. I cant stand when my upper is off about 2 shades from my lower. Every company seems to have their own standard for finish.
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I just got this AR used. The guy at the gun shop tried to claim it had never been fired....riiight. There are no markings anywhere on the upper except for a "F01" then a circle with an R1, or RI in it, then "2" on the front sight...so I have no clue who made it. The lower is DPMS. |
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Stickman,
I read both of your step-by-step refinishing links on the Glock site - nice work and excellent write ups. A couple questions - you mention GunKote - have you ever used it? If so, how does it compare to Norrell's Moly Resin? Basically the same process to get a decent finish? Thanks, Spooky |
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I've used weapons that have been finshed in numerous coatings, including GunKote. I'm not sure that Norrells is a better finished product, though I seriously doubt it is worse. What Norrells has going for it is simplistic ease of application. On top of that, if the finish eventually shows signs of wear, it can be wiped clean with acetone or similar solvent, and recoated over the top of the existing Norrells.
Norrells, and many of the other coatings are highly resistant to chemicals and solvents. I've not used anything that has discolored, or caused a transfer of Norrells after it has cured. I wish I could answer your question better, but I've not applied GunKote myself, I've only used some of the weapons finished by it. Norrells has been outstanding for my uses so far in all areas. |
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hey stickman, great looking guns and writeups. i've ordered and received my first two bottles of molyfinish and am about to embark on redoing some older guns...
quick question how does it hold up to high temps on the barrel? ever seen it on a full auto gun? tia |
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Your barrel, even on FA isn't going to get hot enough to affect the coating. I can't remember off the top of my head what the heat rating is, but you don't have to worry about it.
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Thats STILL cool as hell |
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And it is STILL sans optics!!!! ARGHHH!!!
I got the YHM flip ups on it...and ive been shooting it like that....and i really like them BTW. Ive got a tripower and an M2 coming to me...the M2 is due here by wednesday, and i dont know about the Tripower....I cant wait to get it scoped up. BTW, thanks for the compliment Lumpy, means a lot. |
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First time poster, long time lurker here. I too am looking into refinishing a rifle. I seem to remember a member posting a really good write-up in the AR General forum about camo painting his rifle. I think he used some sort of spray-on paint. It turned out looking pretty good, and I'm considering doing the same to mine, maybe in a marpat style camo.
Does anybody have a link to it? I searched quite a few times and came up with nothing. I think the title was 'camo paint job for under $50' or something to that effect. |
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Just finished coating my old beat-up M4 last night and i have to say it is a success. it sure look a heck of a lot better. coated the barrel with grey-black and the receivers with flat black (socom) norells moly-coating per stickmans instructions. if i knew how to post a picture i'd attach....
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That's sweet! |
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Glad to hear you liked it, it really isn't that hard once you do it the first time. Most people want to do it a bunch after they see how nice it turns out. |
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Stickman,
I recently finished a couple of receivers with Norrels per your instructions...worked out perfectly. I prefer it to GunKote. At least for me it produced a more uniform finish. Have you tried any stocks or hanguards? I don't think they will stand 300d for an hour but perhaps some lower temp might be acceptable? |
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as far as i know, you can decrease the temp, but increase the curing time...and still turn out ok.
Stickman may know better. |
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I am taking this straight from their website Pretreatment, Application and Curing of Plastics. A variety of plastic parts are currently being used on firearms. Some for merely cosmetics reasons and others for weight reduction, toughness, or simply ease of manufacturing. Although these plastic parts do not rust, they may become discolored or scratched. In addition, they may not match the other parts of the firearm exactly in color. For example, the Colt M-16/AR-15 stocks are fiberglass with a black coating. If you scratch through the black coating the light colored fiberglass will show. If you want a perfect match of color between metal parts and plastic parts, Moly Resin™ has been formulated to adhere and cure on most plastics. Plastics that are unsuitable are clearly those that will melt, soften, or otherwise be damaged due to the curing temperatures needed to harden the Moly Resin. This is the risk you take in heating the plastic. I am trying to find the lower temp section, I think it is 250 degrees for 1.5 hours. |
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Ran about 300 rounds thru my 20-something-year-old M4 today, most of it on full auto after refinishing with molycoat per stickmans instructions. the finish is holding up well even on the barrel after cookiing it pretty good today. i dont know how to post a picture of my refinishing job, so if anybody wants to IM me who knows how, i can email you the pics of my gun and you can post for those interested to see...
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yup, the system works really good. JCKnife is going to post a picture of my M4 recently done via stickmans recommendations. i have an old 77/22 suppressed ruger rifle that is really in need of a refnishing job, and i'm going to coat it the colt grey/black moly color as my next project. it will certainly look a lot better. if you have an old beater that you want to get looking new again, its the way to go in my opinion.......
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That looks pretty good from what I can see in that picture. Do you have any before pics?
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Hey Stickman--my sling swivels (or rings or loops or whatever you call them) have some kind of rubberized coating on them. Maybe it's all tactical, I dunno.
Anyway, common sense tells me to scrape or cut this off first. That sound right? |
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That is a beautiful job, Stickman |
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