Refinish FN 50.63? [Archive] - M4Carbine.net Forums

fuatos

11-21-13, 20:50

First post, kind of tough...

This is one of those painful and embarrassing threads... I purchased a factory FN 50.63 from a person with impeccable ratings on multiple sites and I got burned. I had done a reasonable amount of due diligence, asking for pictures, clarifications, checking seller ratings, etc... When I received the rifle, it was clearly misrepresented and he refused to do anything about it. If you're really interested in reading the disgusting details, here is the complaint thread:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_7_109/1240667__1_for_kbar_04__has_NO_honor_or_integrity_.html

However, the real purpose of posting this thread is to ask if you'd refinish the rifle or leave it factory original, with its painful blemishes? My main concern is to stop the rust spots, at this point. I have contacted a very well regarded FALsmith for a quote...

Here are a few of the undisclosed blemishes I found when I received the rifle (to be fair, he did tell me that the muzzle device had some sort of coating on it, but he claimed it wasn't rust...):

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp345/fuatos/3398a86b-040b-4826-82b2-59daffda4d7e_zpsa70a5662.jpg
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp345/fuatos/IMG_2493_zpsdfe26acb.jpg
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp345/fuatos/IMG_2491_zpsa1ff4984.jpg
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp345/fuatos/IMG_2488_zps5a1ea7c7.jpg
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp345/fuatos/IMG_2487_zpsfb7dee3b.jpg
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp345/fuatos/IMG_2486_zps693c892f.jpg
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp345/fuatos/IMG_2485_zps496278d5.jpg
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp345/fuatos/IMG_2484_zps3e7b9c16.jpg
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp345/fuatos/IMG_2483_zps3bb184d1.jpg
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp345/fuatos/IMG_2478_zps559d5dcd.jpg
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp345/fuatos/IMG_2479_zps2ecf5c27.jpg

JoshNC

11-21-13, 22:51

I would personally refinish it in order to remove the rust and restore a protective finish. Sorry to hear your misfortune; that is a real shame.

RearwardAssist

11-21-13, 23:25

Azex in queen Creek Arizona is supposed to be top notch with fals. Maybe get a price from him. Good luck with it.

Here's his website http://azex.co/site/bb624355e7c54309927068153c7f3762/default?url=http%3A%2F%2Fazex.co%2FRefinishing.php#2632

1slow

11-21-13, 23:45

50.63 is my favorite FAL.
If you cannot get a refund, is this a meat axe or a display/collectors piece? Determine how much it is worth as is. If it is not worth much more than a DSA Para FAL, treat it as a working gun and refinish/paint etc... If it is still worth more $ than as a working gun clean it and leave it stock.

SteyrAUG

11-22-13, 11:22

scottryan

11-22-13, 11:39

Sell it as is and cut your losses and move on. I would also like to know the con man who sold this to you so I can blacklist him.

halmbarte

11-22-13, 11:59

With where most of the rust is I'd suspect it got shot with corrosive ammo and not properly cleaned.

What's the gas piston, inside the gas tube, and bore look like?

H

SteyrAUG

11-22-13, 14:15

Sell it as is and cut your losses and move on. I would also like to know the con man who sold this to you so I can blacklist him.

Follow the arfcom link.

fuatos

11-23-13, 15:15

What's the gas piston, inside the gas tube, and bore look like?H

Fortunately the gas piston, tube, bore, bolt/carrier and inside the receiver look good, with minimal to no rust or pitting.

HKGuns

11-23-13, 17:55

Wow, sorry to hear you got taken for a ride. I would not spend another dime on something I was burned on....Kind of like throwing good money after bad. I would part it out....There has to be some valuable parts on her that might help you recoup some of your lost money.

Please note: I generally don't agree with parting out a gun, however, the FAL guy said it was pretty obvious it was a parts gun......So, in this case that might be your best bet.

NongShim

11-28-13, 11:57

Seeing as how 57Strat correctly ID'd it as a parts kit gun and not a true 50.63 go the refinish route as it really doesn't have any collector value to destroy. I'd completely replace heavily rusted parts like the gas regulator rather than try and rescue them.

I hope you have outed this guy on FALFiles as well.

Looks like you have a FN "para shooter" that you paid more than market price for. I don't think you'll see a dime back and now that everyone knows what it is you'd be lucky to get 65-70% of your paid price on a resale.

That's what I'd do. You still have an FN gun, not a DSA, Imbel, or [gasp] Century. You'll never recoup your money parting it out. Refinish it and enjoy shooting it. I realize this is a tough pill to swallow. I just ordered a hugely expensive (for me) gun on one of the boards. HUGE leap of faith...hopefully I receive a hard to find gun next week. Chalk this up as several lessons learned, and enjoy the gun.

RHINOWSO

11-28-13, 12:16

Refinish it and replace required parts, then shoot it heavily like it was meant to be shot.

Larry Vickers

11-28-13, 20:11

Sorry to see you got stung - seller is definitely at fault here. My advice is to refinish the gun and use it as a shooter as you won't be able to recoup anywhere near your original investment by selling it as is or parting it out

With some parts replacement and a good metal clean up and refinish you will be surprised at the results

Good luck !!

LAV

Cagemonkey

11-28-13, 20:20

First, what's the bore condition like? If its VG to excellent, I'd say purchase a couple genuine FAL parts like a new gas regulator sleeve and flash hider, then refinish.

fuatos

11-28-13, 20:38

Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like I'll be refinishing it. I've got a line on a few of the parts needed.

tog

11-29-13, 10:21

I think it will make a fine rifle when you get it refinished and replace some of those parts. Will you post some pics of the refinish job?

fuatos

11-29-13, 11:02

...Will you post some pics of the refinish job?

I was planning on it. It will take some time to get the parts and cash...