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Posted: 3/7/2012 8:14:30 AM EDT
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Getting a lower from Nodak and assembling with my early A1 upper. I would like to make it look like the battlefield pickup with worn finish. Can anyone describe the process or technique?
Thanks! jps32 |
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I know this is a tech thread & all, but you could still just tie a rope around the barrel/front sight base & subsequently drag it (by hand) down a sandy &/or gravel roadway...
Just saying it would put the "wear" in roughly the right spots...check progress as you go & repeat as necessary. 
ETA: & you also might want to have a five-round mag installed when you do it so as to keep the magwell fairly free of debree, while still allowing the magwell's lip to get "scuffed up"... Lightly "sand-blasting" certain spots with "soft" media like crushed walnut shells or rubberish "sand" works about as well, just be careful not to hold the blaster too close to the reciever or you could strip off the actual anodizing itself... 
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Here's my 605 upper & XM lower that Mike from NDS "aged" for me. You can also see it on their website.
It was just what I was looking for. 
This rifle has since changed from these pictures. It now has a complete set of mottled furniture & PG, worn "no-tick" selector and almost a bronze color charging handle. A little teaser of the buttstock... 
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Thanks for all the advice, having Nodak give my upper and lower the battlefield look, I will try the scotch bright method on the barrel and pins/selector to match the rest. Still deployed so It will hopefully all come together in May when I'm back home.
Still have a few other parts to swap out like my E Buttstock for a "D" type and a chromed bolt. JPS |
I really like all the suggestions. However, it hurts my soul to see a good rifle abused.  Given my track record with my current retro rebuild, I will just be happy to get it finished. I used a NoDak upper and lower. They are great stuff. The rest of the parts were the hard part. 
Doc |
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Quoted:
Here's my 603 retro battlefield look :D http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v676/BillinVA/riflemount.jpg The perfect fucking rifle rack. 
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| I way over did it on this build but I really had very little into it and just wanted to see how it would turn out. I would have to agree that best results are from a combo of scotch brite followed by steel wool. My best advice would to first have NDS do it for you and second to GO SLOW!BFPU |
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Greetings from a new guy.
I've weathered a few builds and have a trick that works good for me. I assemble the rifle, carbine, whatever with everything that shows from the outside. Next I buff out the high spots with a scotchbrite pad. That way the scuffs and wear marks flow from one part or area to the next instead of each part looking like it was done seperately. This way it's easier to get the "look" you want as far as how bright or dull the overall finish is. Once the finish is where you want it, break down and completely clean the weapon to get rid of all the scotchbrite dust and particles, then assemble and lube. Another good source is as many pictures as you can find of ARs or M16s in service. You can see where the finish is missing or thin from the way they've been handled. You can also get a good idea of ways that weapons have been "personalized" by the individual soldier. Here's an AKMS-47U (sorry for using a bad word) I did recently. A couple of months ago it was a brand new in the box Draco AK pistol. http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb346/Jones762/DSCI2648.jpg |
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Quoted:
Getting a lower from Nodak and assembling with my early A1 upper. I would like to make it look like the battlefield pickup with worn finish. Can anyone describe the process or technique? If you want the real battlefield pickup look, whack the handguards a few times with a hammer. Especially at the top to break off some of the fingers. Make sure you have some nice cracks in the fiberglass. Then make quick & dirty repairs with some dirty green duct tape. Rub mud on the whole rifle, then brush off. That should look exactly like almost every rifle I ever saw that had been in the field more than a month or so. |
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