AR15 Refinishing Discussion Thread

[Stickman]

Stick,
Any special prep using Norells on blued firearms...will it adhear any differently than on a parked surface?
Thanx in advance!

Parkerized steel is the best, and its surface soaks it in. Bluing is hard to coat, and giving it a quick sand blasting would certainly yield better results. I want to say that the www.molyresin.com webpage talked a bit about coating over a blued surface.


http://www.molyresin.com/molyresin_tips.asp

Pretreatment: All Metals
The surface of the parts to be coated should be clean and free of any oils, solvents, etc. Best adhesion is a freshly abrasive blaster surface using 60 to 90 grit aluminum oxide at 60 to 80 psi. Best cleaning methods appear to be soap and water; however, a chemical cleaning with MEK, acetone, etc. is also acceptable. The dullest finish for each color is achieved by abrasive blasting before coating. This will give the best coat bonding and adhesion, as well as, uniform texture. Sandblasting removes minor scratches and metal surface imperfections. You may have varied adhesion results over a blued finish as some are too smooth to allow proper adhesion. If you rough up or totally remove the blued finish with sandpaper, you may have acceptable adhesion. Chrome or nickel-plated parts should always be abrasive blasted for best adhesion. After sandblasting, rinse parts off with soap and water to remove sand dust and oil from the air compressor. In regard to air pressure used to abrasive blast the metal, use low pressure of 40 to 50 psi for aluminum and 60 to 80 psi on steel.

[Uglyduck]

This may be a little off topic but...how durable is a holographic print "dip"? Lakota Ind.

[Stickman]

This may be a little off topic but...how durable is a holographic print "dip"? Lakota Ind.

I am unsure of what they coat the film transfer with, so I'm not sure. It would be interesting to find out.

[Lancelot]

Here was one of my first attempts. An A1 upper on a Bushmaster lower. I did the upper, not the lower.



Bigger size
http://coloradoshooting.org/v-web/ga...MT_CAR_021.jpg


I used flat black on this one. I picked up a cheap Testors brand compressor out of the model airplane aisle at Walmart for like $50. I cleaned it with whatever I had around. I put it in the oven to heat it up first. Then I sprayed it. Then I cured it in the oven.

Now my wife hates the smell, and I was almost single again for doing it. Now I do it when its warm out and she's not home. I just leave the kitchen doors and windows open.

Overall I'm happy with it. I did a CZ52 also just for fun, and a 20" AR barrel that had been turned down from an HBAR to a Govt profile. No pictures of those.

When people see it, they never assume I did the finish myself.

[groundnpound]

This may be a little off topic but...how durable is a holographic print "dip"? Lakota Ind.

Personal experience has shown that it stays around and SOLID for at least 5 to 7 years depending on usage. I have used it for a number of things around the house. It is EASY to apply - just apply it to something else first to get the hang of it.

I actually applied some to my son's rims instead of spending another grand on new ones and he gets more attention from the perceived "One Offs" that I think he would from new rims.

Just one word of caution - once you start - everything you see will look like it needs to be "dipped"!

Check out this vid for a better idea:

[Thermal]

I've used Moly resin once before and it turned out great. In regards to the thermal curing, does anyone have experience with coating Magpul products and curing them at a lower temp for a longer duration? I see one of the post here mention plastics but doesn't specifically talk about Magpul products.