Question about BCM keymod rail

[ABNAK]

If you have a permanently attached muzzle device (like on a 14.5" barrel) can the rail itself be removed to Duracoat or Cerakote the barrel? I know the barrel nut can't be taken off with a perm-attach device but can just the rail?

[Serpico1985]

Yes, you can remove just the rail on the KMR as well as any other free float rail.

[bowman57_2]

yes it can

[ABNAK]

Thanks guys.

Reason I asked is that obviously a FF handguard cannot clear a fixed FSB, which in turn cannot be removed with a perm-attached FH. However, I guess a low-profile gas block would make it through just about any of 'em.

Is it difficult to remove the rail, or pretty straight-forward? I saw instructions somewhere recently and while I didn't read them all the way through it seemed fairly complicated (?).

[bowman57_2]

i dont have a kmr but everybody on here says its pretty easy

[SteveL]

Thanks guys.

Reason I asked is that obviously a FF handguard cannot clear a fixed FSB, which in turn cannot be removed with a perm-attached FH. However, I guess a low-profile gas block would make it through just about any of 'em.

Is it difficult to remove the rail, or pretty straight-forward? I saw instructions somewhere recently and while I didn't read them all the way through it seemed fairly complicated (?).

I think removing the rail is pretty straight forward, but you may need to put some heat on it to get the rail to slip off the barrel nut.

[GH41]

Heat will be necessary. A hair dryer will provide enough. Just asking... Why do you want to cerakote the barrel? How do you intend to do it with the upper assembled sans the rail? How will you clean, blast and cook it?

[ABNAK]

Heat will be necessary. A hair dryer will provide enough. Just asking... Why do you want to cerakote the barrel? How do you intend to do it with the upper assembled sans the rail? How will you clean, blast and cook it?

Good to know about the hair dryer. Didn't really want to put a torch on it. Will heat be needed to put it back on?

It will likely be Duracoated. My buddy does it professionally, i.e. he went to Lauer's class (is certified) and bought all the equipment to do it including the tall oven. I mainly want corrosion protection and just about all my long guns are coated. He's pretty good at taping off the areas that will be different colors if he can't disassemble them: black for all aluminum parts like the receiver, Colt Gray (perfect match for parkerizing BTW) for all steel parts like the barrel and nut. The FA and dust cover he will remove to coat Colt Gray also. He won't blast it as a fresh phosphate finish (like from the factory) is an excellent base for Duracoat. It will be degreased beforehand in his solvent tank.

I'm not into camo patterns or the like. I have my rifles coated the same color as the metal beneath. It is mainly two colors, black and Colt Gray. That way if there is a scratch it doesn't show much as the underlying color is the same. He can control the "sheen" of each color by adding a little more hardener. This is helpful when doing things like HK weapons, which usually have a more glossy black to them. He's really quite good. He did my James River Armory M-14 in all Colt Gray and it looks exactly like a fresh park job.

[BooneGA]

I only needed heat to install the rail the first time. It has been on and off twice since then without any added heat.

Rick

[shadow93]

If you aren't changing the color then why even bother cerakoting it? Any decent gun should be corrosion protected as long as you do your part to take care of it, ie not leaving it in a closed container with no desiccant in it and unoiled. As far as scratches go, if it isn't a safe queen it will get scratches on it, or at least normal wear in which case I could understand THEN cerakoting it, but otherwise it just seems like a waste of time and money to do IMO. What am I missing here?

[ABNAK]

If you aren't changing the color then why even bother cerakoting it? Any decent gun should be corrosion protected as long as you do your part to take care of it, ie not leaving it in a closed container with no desiccant in it and unoiled. As far as scratches go, if it isn't a safe queen it will get scratches on it, or at least normal wear in which case I could understand THEN cerakoting it, but otherwise it just seems like a waste of time and money to do IMO. What am I missing here?

A railed handguard that isn't easily removed to wipe off moisture, for example rain, *could* lead to rust over time. I'd rather either have the ability to wipe it down with an oily cloth or not worry about it because it's been coated. The HK 416/MR556 rail is an example of one that is easily removed/replaced for maintenance. The BCM KMR not so much, hence the Duracoat.

You mentioned unoiled above. How exactly would you oil a barrel with a KMR over it? Heat it and run through the process of taking the rail off every time? Or would you just squirt oil in through the rails? The latter is a sloppy style of weapon maintenance and not my cup of tea. And yeah, the matching color and scratch disguising IS for aesthetics purposes if/when it happens; if I ever decided to sell the weapon looks play a big part. YMMV.

[SteveL]

I can tell you my BCM upper with KMR has been out in the rain a couple of times and it hasn't caused any problems. In my experience, as long as you get the gun dried before putting it away then you won't have any problems. All I've done is let the barrel dry out on its own under the handguard, or you could take a hair dryer to it.

[GH41]

My "sloppy style of weapon maintenance" works for me.. Spray everything (including the barrel) down with CLP and blow off excess with compressed air. I'm with shadow93.... If your not changing colors why bother. BTW. Even very minor surface damage will be more visible on the painted surface than it will on the mil-spec treated metal. Your are trying to fix something that isn't broken.

[ABNAK]

My "sloppy style of weapon maintenance" works for me.. Spray everything (including the barrel) down with CLP and blow off excess with compressed air. I'm with shadow93.... If your not changing colors why bother. BTW. Even very minor surface damage will be more visible on the painted surface than it will on the mil-spec treated metal. Your are trying to fix something that isn't broken.

From my experience with a carbine I've taken to class the scratches are not as visible. I was shooting 5.45x39 steel cased Wolf and it wore the hell out of the brass deflector, but the color scheme appeared the same. Sold that upper last week (to consolidate AR calibers) and the guy who bought it never mentioned a thing about it, including a few other minor dings. The Duracoat, with proper hardener ratio and bake time, is surprisingly durable and not as easily scratched or scuffed as you might think. There is also Duraclear, which is a clear coating just for surface protection. I haven't had that applied yet as I'm not sure how "glossy" it would make something look.

My buddy gives me a good deal on doing the work and he's OC about it so I'm satisfied. If I didn't have the experience with coatings on my long guns that I have I wouldn't be as confident.

And then there's the other reason: because I want to. ;)

[ABNAK]

I can tell you my BCM upper with KMR has been out in the rain a couple of times and it hasn't caused any problems. In my experience, as long as you get the gun dried before putting it away then you won't have any problems. All I've done is let the barrel dry out on its own under the handguard, or you could take a hair dryer to it.

That is actually a good idea......hadn't thought about doing that. That would work well on my 6940P as the rail is not easily removable. I can remove the bottom section and feed an oily cloth around the barrel and work it back and forth along the length of it but that is a good idea for drying it. Thanks.

[Peshawar]

Just be careful cerakoting any tight tolerance areas. The coating can become thick enough to interfere with fit in such areas if you're not careful.