ultravista Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I picked up a M4 today, it has a lot of wear marks on the outside of the receiver. Not necessarily scratches, but on the corners where the finish has rubbed off. I tried gun blue but it didn't do anything. What is material is the receiver made out of AND is there any touch-up product that will clean the metal up? It is not a metal that reacts with the gun blue, that's for sure. Must be some crazy space-age metals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truckcop Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 New stuff. They call it "aluminum". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heckler&kochp2000 Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 It's Anodized ! The could strip it and re-anodize it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangerDanger Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Alumablack. Brownells sells it. You rub it on, and it turns the bare aluminum black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John P. Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Alumablack. Brownells sells it. You rub it on, and it turns the bare aluminum black. ^^^^^^^Yep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultravista Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 I've got a bottle of Birchwood Casey "Aluminum Black" that doesn't do a thing. I used a degreaser but the product did noting. Is Alumablack different? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultravista Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Is there a surface prep procedure required? I am not seeing any change in the color with the B.C product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truckcop Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I've never really found such materials to work very well, especially for spot-work. They either don't work at all or the color ends up not matching. Forget about it. It's aluminum and it ain't gonna rust. Think of it as having character. It's a workhorse shotgun. Take it out and shoot it. If it's really that important, send it off to a professional refinisher like Ro-Bar and get the whole thing done in one of their super-duper finishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultravista Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 (edited) I bought it 3rd hand, the 2nd owner didn't know what the 1st owner did with it. He must have let it slide around the bed of a rust try for a year or two. There are some minor stratches on the left-hand side of the receiver, towards the bottom. It was $900 so I got a decent deal. I would however like it to look a little better. Per Robar's website, a complete rifle/shotgun parkerized or black annodized is $175. That's not all that bad. The receiver only is $75. The barrel on my M4 isn't all that bad, and being steel, I can blue it a little. I'll give it a once-over and decide if I should only have the receiver done. What are other companies similar to Robar? Edited March 13, 2012 by ultravista Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc63 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Is there a surface prep procedure required? I am not seeing any change in the color with the B.C product. It works TOO well on some aluminum, creating a jet black veneer that flakes off like glitter. Then flawlessly on other aluminum types, perfectly mimicking the surrounding anodizing... all the way down to having little to no effect on resistant alloys, where it may just take a hint of grey. The only thing that OFTEN helps is to scuff the aluminum (might be tricky on tiny affected areas) in order to break through the self healing exo-skeleton that aluminum develops when it oxidizes after it is exposed to ambient air. Either way, the bare aluminum won't migrate on an anodized part. Now if it were plated, then you'd have big problems, which is why I'm leary of the H20 guns. Plating is great for steel, but have seen shotgun receivers with cavernous pitting under compromized plating of aluminum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BM4robbins Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 marc 63; Are you referring to Birchwood Casey? And if so, what do you use during the "scuff" phase you reference? Scuff pad, sandpaper, what grit? Thanks for the good info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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