"Dipped" uppers and mounts don't mix

I got one of those camo dipped uppers from a member here who had an extra (thanks by the way)

A lot of guys removed the dip, but I just left it. If had my RDS break loose twice now, and am not thrilled with dip on pic rails.

The first time, the gun tipped over on the pistol barricade and lost zero. I thought the sight was broken. Second time with a new sight and mount, it just came loose on its own.

https://i.imgur.com/hMyeXBh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/huJH0bA.jpg

What did you guys use to get this crap off the uppers???

Another good pic of the problem (3 mount attempts with squished "finish")

https://i.imgur.com/5pJiSbv.jpg

I think I bought 5 or 6 of those uppers when they were on clearance. Those are Colts?

I stripped a couple, and a couple are still just sitting waiting to get used. I did find that the increase thickness caused issues with certain mounts. I used a spray orange colored stripper and it worked well. I'll see if I can find the name of it.


ETA- https://www.amazon.com/Citristrip-QC.../dp/B07LF8T6PM



However, I used the spray, not the brush on. Same stuff.

Same problem if you paint your parts without the mount already on the upper, always paint with the mount already on and you are good to go. Orange spray stripper works the best and the stuff I have used in the past is “safe”.

Just strip the whole thing and re krylon it.

Crap. I went and bought the 2 MINUTE REMOVER stuff. 2 hours later and I got about 8 slots of pic rail stripped and the mount is back on for re-Zero.... again.

Many years ago my buddy's Dad bought a Rock River AR from a neighbor that was dipped in Realtree camo. I don't know what it was dipped with, but when the gun got hot, you could slide his Aimpoint back and forth in the slots. Citristrip, a stiff nylon brush and elbow grease took care of it. I was thankful to see black anodizing underneath once we got it removed from the top rail.

I should have bought the citrus stuff. Sounds like it works better. In any case, I'm back up and running.

I never understood the appeal to dipping anything. it's not a robust finish and as illustrated is not compatible with optics mounts.

I don't understand a thing about it. But I damned sure would never run anything dipped for serious use. The first time it failed me, I thought... well I let the gun fall over... partly my fault.

But after that, I realized this stuff sucks.

I don’t know anything about hydrodip, but I recommend masking or using rail covers to avoid rattlecanning the lip underneath the pic rail. You can touch up the slots (very lightly) from above after doing the whole rifle, while still masking or covering the mounting surface on adjacent rails. No big deal on sections you aren’t going to use, or will just end up with covers, but important in spots you will mount things to, especially optics.