Benelli M4 -- Refinish Time!

[StrangerDanger]

Hi all,

After 12,000 rounds, I figure it's about time to refresh my M4. I've been kicking around what to do with the M4 for a year or more now. I've finally determined to strip the weapon completely down, and send the following components to WMD Guns to be coated in Nickel Boron;

 

1. Receiver

2. Receiver Extension

3. Trigger Housing

4. Bolt Carrier

5. Shell Stop Lever

6. carriercomp Follower

7. Elevator

8. Hammer Spring Cap

9. Pistons

10. Trigger Pin Bushing

11. Carrier Drop Lever

12. Carrier Spring Plunger

13. Carrier Dog

 

Then the following parts are going to be top coated in Burnt Bronze Cerakote;

1. Exterior of the Receiver

2. Exterior of the Receiver Extension

3. Visible portion of the Barrel Assembly

4. Exterior of the carriercomp Titanium Magazine Tube

5. Visible portion of the Trigger Housing

6. The BLAM4 Mount

7. The Aluminum portion of the Collapsible Stock

 

 

The following parts are going to be top coated in black;

1. The visible portion of the Bolt Carrier

2. The visible portion of the Shell Elevator

 

Basically, I'm going for a two-toned black and dark brown finish with the added benefit of having all the internals Nickel Boron coated. This will aid in cleaning, reliability and maybe even speed up the action a little. I am not coating the hammer, disconnector or trigger since I don't want to mess with the sear engagement points.

 

I spent the afternoon disassembling the weapon. Tearing the receiver apart is troublesome, but not impossible. I had never taken the rear sight housing off before, it was pretty easy. The receiver extension is certainly the toughest part to remove.

 

I'm also doing a couple AR15's at the same time, including my 9mm pistol AR15 in the same color scheme.

 

I imagine this will take 6 - 8 weeks to get my parts back.

 

Place holder for what it currently looks like:

 

[StrangerDanger]

For an example of the color I'm going with:

[Hookster]

That's gonna look sweet SD!!! Looking forward to the pics!!!!

[Zeke]

I just got a chubby picturing that !!.... is it expensive??

[StrangerDanger]

Here is a mock up in photoshop I did.

 

 

If you're doing just Cerakote, you could probably have the whole thing done for like 300 bucks. However, since I'm having the internals Nickel Boron coated, that'll add more. For the M4, I expect I'll be laying out 450 dollars with shipping.

Edited February 14, 2013 by StrangerDanger

[BigHat]

Well worth $450.

[StrangerDanger]

The rarely seen naked M4 receiver.

 

 

[StrangerDanger]

 

[StrangerDanger]

 

[Zeke]

Schweeet Giorgia Brown.... that was pretty GD FAST !

 

I'm impressed.

Did all of those scratches (battlescars) disappear? The ones around where the shall extracts?

Looks good btw............

[StrangerDanger]

Zeke,

Those shots were done up in photoshop. I haven't even mailed the parts off yet.

[Case]

Very much looking forward to seeing how this turns out. I confess I'm not super keen on the bronze in the pics but I am guessing it's better in person.

That 9mm AR you built is my favorite build I've seen on the intertubez. It is superb.

[StrangerDanger]

Thanks.

 

The color is definitely different. It looks different under different lighting conditions. I think I'm going to color fill all the markings black for contrast.

 

 

I'm still looking for a company that will Cerakote my lights and optics. I'd like the entire M600c except the activation button to be done in burnt bronze. I have two Surefire X300 Ultra's that would look good if the body was burnt bronze. The activation switch and the plastic mounts would be left black. The two Aimpoint T1's would be done so the mounts and the body are burnt bronze. The LaRue release lever, adjustment and intensity knobs would be left black.

 

 

I'm doing a third rifle at the same time. It's a 16" Noveske NSR.

 

 

I was considering sending my MRP, but ran out of room in my box!

[XTrooper]

StrangerDanger: Personally, I think your M4 looks just about right now.

[StrangerDanger]

Thanks, I pretty happy with the way it is setup now. I like how lightweight it is.

 

The finish on it has been terrible since the day I got it. The anodizing appears to be burned on the receiver. I like the earth tones on weapons. It'll certainly be unique looking. The primar purpose for sending it in is for the NiB treatment. A friend had his Benelli M4's bolt carrier done in NiB last month. The action is significantly smoother as a result. There is less hang up on the hammer. When cycling the action, you can barely feel the bolt press the hammer down.

 

The pistons will be vastly easier to clean. I should just have to swirl them in my dunk tank to remove all the fowling.

 

Having select portions of the trigger group done will aid in cleaning and smoothness.

 

I'm expecting a marginal increase in cyclic action from the work. Mainly from the NiB coated receiver extension, less drag on the hammer and less friction between the bolt carrier's rails and the receiver. I've been known to double tap faster than the m4's action. Which leads to the dreaded hammer down condition with a live round in the chamber. Slowing down has been my corrective action, but if I have the follow up shot sighted in, why wait? It's like cheating with the Aimpoint T1!

[StrangerDanger]

I've been thinking about sending the forearms to be Cerakoted. I was thinking about having the Burnt Bronze applied inside the grooves of the handguard. I'd also have the IWC mount coated in Burnt Bronze. I think it would help break up the all black handguards. I'd have the inside of the handguards sprayed as well to clean up some of my cutting mess and aid in cleaning.

 

I figure I have quite a while before the bulk of my parts come back anyway.

 

My Aimpoints and Surefires are due back this week from the coater.

[BigHat]

Stranger,

Not too crazy about doing a disassembly to your level. Did you friend just mail off the bolt assembly to get NiB'd? Know what that cost?

[StrangerDanger]

The only thing remotely hard to get off is the receiver extension. With the right tools it is doable. It took me about two hours to rear down everything. The rear sight comes off surprisingly easily. I had expected trouble from it.

WMD didn't think it was possible to remove all the dissimilar materials from the receiver. It seems things like steel, aluminum and stainless have to be coated with a slightly different chemical mixture.

 

Coating the barrel would not be easy because of this. You have the ejector housing riveted into place with a captive spring in there. A detent and spring are also under the magazine cap. The barrel extension that enters the receiver is already nickel plated, so any benefit would also be rather minimal.

 

I believe WMD charged him about 100 dollars. They treated it like an AR15 bolt carrier group. We didn't do he bolt head since you can't get the extractor claw off without destroying the pin. Plus, it's already chrome plated, any benefit would be minimal. Applying a top coat will result in an additional fee.

[Reggie_375RGR]

Please post pics when you are done and let us know how the experience was dealing with WMD.i have a local guy who does really good cerakote but I am wanting them to NiB my bolt. If you could post pics of the bolt and finished work that would be awesome. Thanks

[StrangerDanger]

Reggie,

Sure thing.

I talked to the guys at WMD Guns today just to touch bases with them after all my junk got delivered. I wanted to make sure it wasn't just sitting on a shelf since I couldn't complete their order form. Most of my items didn't quite fit in the order form options.

 

They indicated that currently, their operation times are roughly 4 weeks. If Cerakoting is required, that adds about another week. I'll be happy to get my shipment back by mid-April.

[StrangerDanger]

My lights and optics should come in later today from the coater. I'm really interested to see how the Burnt Bronze looks in person under different lighting conditions. I finally got my other Aimpoint T1 from LaRue on Tuesday. I had ordered it in mid February.

 

Following parts are due in;

1. Surefire X300 Ultra (For the 9mm AR15)

2. Surefire X300 Ultra (For the Noveske AR15)

3. Surefire M600C Scout Light (For the Benelli M4)

4. Aimpoint T1, 2moa dot optic on a LaRue Absolute Co-witness mount (For the 9mm AR15)

5. Aimpoint T1, 4moa dot Optic on a LaRue low mount (For the Benelli M4)

 

Basic plan was to coat the bodies in Burnt Bronze Cerakote. The control switches, buttons or levers will remain black. Things like the elevation, windage and battery power knob on the Aimpoints will remain black. The fastener hardware on the mounts will be black over the Burnt Bronze.

 

The Surefire's will follow the same plan. I'm really looking forward to seeing the X300 Ultra's cleansed of the laser engraving. The plastic mounting hardware will remain black as well.

 

The coater was instructed to finish them with as matte of a finish as possible.

 

I'll take some pictures when they get here.

[StrangerDanger]

Brown truck of happiness came by this afternoon and dropped of some refinished goodness.

 

 

[StrangerDanger]

 

[StrangerDanger]

 

[StrangerDanger]