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View Full Version : what paint would you suggest for Fire / Safe stamps?


glock_this
01-06-2006, 10:45 AM
so, on my Vulcan lower the Safe and Fire stamps are just black and I was 'thinking' (unless you can advise on why not to) about painting them white and red or just make Safe red. Any suggestions on paint?

BigAL
01-06-2006, 10:54 AM
Crayola crayons. Seriously. Just fill in the lettering.

glock_this
01-06-2006, 11:26 AM
Just fill in the lettering.

yes of course, but with what product? a product that will stick to aluminum? is there some 'special' paint for this use?

Gunner1
01-06-2006, 11:31 AM
Just go to Kragen or other auto parts stores and get some touch up paint in the small containers with a "ball point" tip. I use bright red toyota and Chrysler bright white. Looks just like the red and white on my Sig STR970


Gunner

glock_this
01-06-2006, 11:43 AM
touch-up-paint ... good call.

Pablo
01-06-2006, 12:03 PM
You can also use BIRCHWOOD CASEY pens they are really easy to use and very cheap!...http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/sport/blueing_index.asp?categoryID=1&subcat=10

ETA: The last product on the above page.

BigAL
01-06-2006, 2:31 PM
yes of course, but with what product? a product that will stick to aluminum? is there some 'special' paint for this use?


The advantage of crayons is it is easily removed if you want that. Though removing paint ain't hard using the right solvent. This is a very popular way over on GlockTalk where people use the white crayon to fill in the lettering on the slide with good results.

delloro
01-06-2006, 2:34 PM
touch-up-paint ... good call.

Ha! what would you know?








j/k, of course.... :p

glock_this
01-06-2006, 3:06 PM
The advantage of crayons is it is easily removed if you want that. Though removing paint ain't hard using the right solvent. This is a very popular way over on GlockTalk where people use the white crayon to fill in the lettering on the slide with good results.

I though you were screwing with me on that. :o

DrjonesUSA
01-06-2006, 3:45 PM
I read an article describing how to do this to an M14/M1 and the author suggested using grease pencil or crayons.

That is by far the best, easiest & cheapest method.

Plus, if you decide you don't like it, it removes very easily.

DrjonesUSA
01-06-2006, 3:46 PM
I though you were screwing with me on that. :o



No....seriously....every gun you see that has white/colored in lettering, 99.9% of the time, it is crayon. :)

glock_this
01-06-2006, 5:29 PM
I am stuned to think a crayon sticks to the metal/aluminum of the lower on an AR15???

delloro
01-06-2006, 5:43 PM
you could always melt it in with a heat gun.

glock_this
01-06-2006, 5:56 PM
you could always melt it in with a heat gun.

when I finally excepted the true of this crayon method, I already had it in my mind to use an old tip and my soddering iron to melt it in and remove the rest that runs over.

nevertheless, this is exactly why I asked the question as I wondered if there was some method other than paint and crayons are one I would have never guessed on.

xsquid
01-06-2006, 6:27 PM
What your looking for is called Lacquer stik

http://www.brownells.com/Images/Products/517100001.jpg

Comes in different colors and can be had at Brownells - http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/productdetail.aspx?p=7778&s=

Does come off pretty easy though, especially if you wipe your weapons with CLP.

glock_this
01-06-2006, 9:06 PM
okay - so I tried the crayon trick. As I first thought and suspected, it is a so so idea.

http://northcoastbni.com/images/ar/crayon.jpg

I did it 2 ways. I just rubbed crayon into the stamp, and I heated a soddering iron and tried to melt it in. The soddering iron was absolutely a no go. It would melt up, fill in, BUT come right off like a rubber stamp with "SAFE" raised on it. it just did not adhere whether I let it sit or took off the excess ASAP.

rubbing it in, as you can see by my quick test in the photo, is ok - but weak. in cold weather I could see it falling out. And, it is hard to get definition of each letter. So, I say it is not a really legitimate idea now that I have tried it. Atleast, not a an aluminum body of an AR15 lower. As for it coming off and having to redone "after a while" - I would think more like "after 1 use".

(I hope people were not pulling my leg on this, as those posting got me to believe it enough to try it).

TonyM
01-06-2006, 9:13 PM
(I hope people were not pulling my leg on this, as those posting got me to believe it enough to try it).


If you were to search AR15.com you would find that it is not a joke. There have been many posts there that detail this.

ETA: Looks like you might not have removed the oil before putting on the crayon also.

glock_this
01-06-2006, 9:17 PM
I cleaned it up pretty well - around and in the stamp area only mind you - but it was kind of a fast test... or in my business "proof of concept".

TonyM
01-06-2006, 9:26 PM
http://ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=4&t=256261

glock_this
01-07-2006, 7:20 AM
anyone ever consider finger nail polish - can easily be removed if it does not work?

Matt-man
01-07-2006, 12:56 PM
Try the lacquer sticks. I've used them on other firearms and they have worked pretty well for me.

cocorador
01-07-2006, 3:05 PM
Testors model paint. That's what I use on my lettering on my rifles. It even hadles gun solvent. Use WD-40 to wipe off the excess. You may have to rub pretty hard but the excess does come off.

glock_this
01-07-2006, 3:08 PM
more good ideas. we have a gun show coming up in SoCal in Feb, so I might pick up those lacquer sticks as I would suspect they would have them there.

glock_this
01-09-2006, 6:47 AM
just tested some white nail polish on SAFE and it turned out pretty damn good - better than the crayon.

triaged
01-09-2006, 12:22 PM
From what I understand the best way to do the crayon method is to use true Crayola crayons, rub them in cold, melt with a lighter, rub off excess

DrjonesUSA
01-09-2006, 12:25 PM
so, on my Vulcan lower the Safe and Fire stamps are just black and I was 'thinking' (unless you can advise on why not to) about painting them white and red or just make Safe red. Any suggestions on paint?



Ok, here is exactly the article I was thinking of: http://www.memorableplaces.com/m1garand/whitelettering/whitelettering1.html


Follow those directions & it should work perfectly. :)

maxicon
01-11-2006, 11:45 AM
Here's a collection of tips I've gathered up over time. None of these are mine originally, so I get no credit except for collecting them in one place. I haven't tried them, but I will soon...

---------
The highlighted lettering is a little trick I learned years ago by accident. It's actually pigmented opaque ink called GP-X. It's a magic marker type thing that's used in the steel industry to mark metal. It's made by Diagraph and you can find it at art supply stores for a couple of bucks. To highlight lettering just mark back and forth over the area you want highlighted and let it dry for a minute. Then take a cloth with fingernail polish remover on it and wipe away the excess. The stamped lettering will remain and the excess on the flat surface will wipe away. It's permanent to anything (oil, bore cleaner, etc) but acetone. The acetone will reactivate the pigments and allow it to be removed and wont damage the surface.

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I bought the Laquer Stix from Brownells (one Black and One White) and they worked fine. I was browsing the hardware store and they had all different colors there in these HUGE sticks made by the same company. I bought a white (used most) and Red (great for marking the "FIRE" letters). I've found it's really easy to do.

Get a little masking tape and mask around the area to be done unless it's in a wide-open part of the firearm. De-grease with rubbing alcohol and let it evaporate. Rub the crap out of the stick onto the lettering from all directions to give a good fill. Wipe off the excess. Pull off the tape and do one last quick wipe to get the stuff that seeped under the tape. Then, finally, DON'T MESS WITH IT until the next day when it's dried.

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Testor's Model car paint.
Clean with alcohol.
Fill grooves with paint using a tooth-pick and let dry.
Used a rolled tight Q-Tip dipped and slightly moistened with mineral spirits to remove excess paint.
Let dry again.
Done.
It will hold up to almost all gun cleaners and when you get sick of it, no matter how long it has been on there it comes right off again with a Q-Tip dipped in mineral spirits.

---------

max

Army
01-11-2006, 3:04 PM
Chalk. Rub dry over letters until filled. Carefully wipe away extra on receiver. Dab letters with very wet cloth (do not wipe). Let dry, and repeat until desired depth or thickness is reached.

We have weapons in the vault with serial numbers that were chalked 20 years ago, still bright and stuck tight despite thousands of rounds and many hundreds of cleanings.