Receiver finishes

[Slater]

The following was extracted from Bushmaster's FAQ on their website:




After I've cleaned my rifle, how do I keep my new Bushmaster's finish looking new?

The surface finish of the Bushmaster rifle - all mil-spec hard anodize on the aluminum or manganese phosphate on the steel parts - is slightly textured or "matte finished" so that it won't reflect light - a military necessity. Here are a few tips on maintaining this matte finish. FIRST: USE ONLY BLACK RAGS on the outside of your rifle. Black t-shirts are great for this. A white or red rag or shop towel will rub into the matte textured surface and leave blotches. If this happens, use a Teflon based oil to remove blotches. There is a clear nickel acetate sealant applied over the anodizing and the steel parts in the rifle are also final finished in nickel acetate. Some solvents in gun cleaning solutions will attack nickel finishes, so read the label on your solvent to be sure you won't damage that surface finish. SECOND: Get a non-drying motor oil. Any non-drying motor oil will do, as long as it doesn't have additives that might attack the nickel acetate sealant that we apply as a final protective coating. Believe it or not, non-drying motor oil leaves a great looking finish.


I just finished cleaning my rifle and now I have blotches on the receivers.

We get this question often. The receivers on our XM-15 are bead blasted before anodizing, and that means they have a textured surface. Think of it like sandpaper, about 800 grit. If you rub a white cloth on a black piece of sandpaper, the cloth rubs off, leaving streaks or blotches. For a nice black sheen, use only black rags and a non-drying oil like motor oil. For a matte finish, use black rags and Rem-Oil or "Break Free" with CLP. Either way, black rags will give you the look you want.




For the uninitiated, what does nickel acetate do anyway? And what motor oil would qualify as "non-drying"?

[markm]

This is why I could never be a dealer or manufacturor.

These RETARDED idiots and their cosmetic stupid questions would push me over the edge!
Christ! My receivers look like blotched ASS, and I never give it a second thought.

It's sad that these questions are "frequently asked". :rolleyes:

[BushmasterFanBoy]

Don't worry about it. Pray tell, for you to be concerned with this kind of stuff, is it an original XM16E1?

[markm]

You should call Blue Force Gear and ask how to keep the labels on the sling looking crisp and clear!! :p :p

[Slater]

My question (as stated) was on nickel acetate (what is it?) and the use of motor oil to wipe down the exteriors (does anyone really do that?). Reading that FAQ just got me curious.

[BushmasterFanBoy]

You should call Blue Force Gear and ask how to keep the labels on the sling looking crisp and clear!! :p :p

Geez, am I ever gonna live that down!:o

[Robb Jensen]

You should call Blue Force Gear and ask how to keep the labels on the sling looking crisp and clear!! :p :p

What you don't do is ever use it on a treadmill! :D





Bushmasterfanboy............you will never live it down. ;)

[BushmasterFanBoy]

My question (as stated) was on nickel acetate (what is it?) and the use of motor oil to wipe down the exteriors (does anyone really do that?). Reading that FAQ just got me curious.

This is actually funny, I was looking at the page and saw the same thing while trying to find some specifics on the MOA of a BM barrel.

The way I look at it is this: Neither motor oil, nor nickel acetate (whatever the hell that it is) comes near my gun. Thus, this doesn't even peg my care-o-meter, and shouldn't affect yours either.

And yes, motor oil is used on guns, mostly in place of better gun oil, and AFAIK, the people using it constantly as lube are not too concerned with its effects on the exterior of the weapon.

[Slater]

If I'm reading that FAQ correctly, anyone who has a Bushmaster has nickel acetate a plenty on their guns already :D

[BushmasterFanBoy]

If I'm reading that FAQ correctly, anyone who has a Bushmaster has nickel acetate a plenty on their guns already :D

Like I said, it doesn't come near my guns!:D I hear it wears off after you take it on a treadmill anyways.;)

[zgrins1]

http://www.americanelements.com/niac.html

[CHoffman]

When a part is anodized, there's a thin layer of oxide produced on the surface. Since this oxide doesn't conduct electricity, the underlying metal maintains contact with the solution by means of a series of pores in the oxide coating. If anodized aluminum is dyed , that's where the dye goes - in those pores.

Before the part is put in service, the pores have to be sealed, or the coating will fail a lot sooner. Dyed anodized aluminum requires sealing in nickel acetate, to prevent bleeding and to improve light fastness. Nickel acetate also offers better chemical and dirt resistance than steam or boiling water sealing which are other alternative means of sealing, although mostly for clear non-dyed coatings.

At least this is the information I recall when I was researching at-home anodizing. Was too much of an involved process for the limited parts I was going to do so I didn't pursue it much further.

[BushmasterFanBoy]

When a part is anodized, there's a thin layer of oxide produced on the surface. Since this oxide doesn't conduct electricity, the underlying metal maintains contact with the solution by means of a series of pores in the oxide coating. If anodized aluminum is dyed , that's where the dye goes - in those pores.

Before the part is put in service, the pores have to be sealed, or the coating will fail a lot sooner. Dyed anodized aluminum requires sealing in nickel acetate, to prevent bleeding and to improve light fastness. Nickel acetate also offers better chemical and dirt resistance than steam or boiling water sealing which are other alternative means of sealing, although mostly for clear non-dyed coatings.

At least this is the information I recall when I was researching at-home anodizing. Was too much of an involved process for the limited parts I was going to do so I didn't pursue it much further.

Wow. Thank you, turns out this thread produced some good info.

[Parabellum9x19mm]

My question (as stated) was on nickel acetate (what is it?) and the use of motor oil to wipe down the exteriors (does anyone really do that?). Reading that FAQ just got me curious.

i've bought some new stripped lowers that had some handling marks and dings and such. no biggie, they still work. you can always just dab them with a touch up pen to prevent any corrosion on the bare metal. with aluminum it is not a big concern anyway.

as far as motor oil, i use 10w-40 or 5w-30 motor oil for lubrication almost exclusively on my ARs. all my other guns i lube with CLP or Mil-comm TW25B.....but with a direct impingement AR, i don't think anything works quite as well as motor oil.

i don't wipe down the exterior of the weapon with motor oil, but i run my ARs really wet at the range, so i do wind up getting oil on the exterior of the weapon and it ends up getting "wiped in".