• WTB / WTS / WTT ADS
    All Advertisements, including Want to Buy, Want to Sell, Want to Trade, Belong in the MARKETPLACE ONLY. Any new threads posted offering an item for sale, looking to trade or buy an item which are posted outside of Marketplace will be deleted without notice or warning. Existing threads will be moved to marketplace.
  • Marketplace Feedback Ratings
    The Marketplace feedback ratings system is now back. You can now leave feedback for your Buy / Sell / Trade transactions. Instructions on how to leave feedback ratings can be found HERE

Repainting FN Handguards

kroberts

Well-known member
Bronze Contributor
FALaholic #
9427
Joined
Feb 15, 2003
Posts
3,184
Location
Gilbert, South Carolina
Feedback: 20 / 0 / 0
My Gendarmerie furniture had a lot of rack rash. I spent a long time wet-sanding everything before I sent the kit to ARS. I think the pistol grip and buttstock came out great but I did irreparable damage to the handguards. I guess the color of the PG and BS is the color of the material they're made from while the handguards appear to be fiberglass? Perhaps with an applied coating?

HGs.jpg

Any advice on a suitable gloss black paint to use? Mark painted the metal ends as part of his build process but the actual handguard areas need some serious love. They let down the whole build. I did search and found one hit but the link was dead, must have been quite old.

TIA
 
Last edited:

kroberts

Well-known member
Bronze Contributor
FALaholic #
9427
Joined
Feb 15, 2003
Posts
3,184
Location
Gilbert, South Carolina
Feedback: 20 / 0 / 0
Just looking for a product recommendation based on your previous experience, not a lengthy, step-by-step on how to apply it. My thinking is that I'm somewhat limited because I cant use a bake-on finish. I dont want to booger up a set of matching number handguards.
 

kroberts

Well-known member
Bronze Contributor
FALaholic #
9427
Joined
Feb 15, 2003
Posts
3,184
Location
Gilbert, South Carolina
Feedback: 20 / 0 / 0
I figured out what happened. After wet-sanding the furniture I had applied several coats of floor polish. (I read a thread about that somewhere.) It worked great on the PG and BS, not so great on the handguard for some reason. Earlier this morning I started wiping the handguards down with thinner to clean and prep them for paint and they darkened up. I guess the thinner stripped off the floor wax. I've always been a glass-half-empty person, I tend to assume the worst possible outcome for situations.

Range trip tomorrow if the weather improves.
 

hkshooter

Well-known member
Silver Contributor
FALaholic #
5391
Joined
Jan 26, 2002
Posts
13,506
Location
Central Indiana
Feedback: 287 / 0 / 0
Keep the floor wax/polish off your guns. It's not a high wear finish, is very susceptible to marks and damage, and nearly everything will take it off. I use the product for a specific purpose in scale modelling and always use simple Windex to remove it. Your stock and PG will begin to look yellowed and flaky after a few years when the stuff starts to gather oils and starts to flake off. The pale, white look is likely because there was either remaining moisture in the part when you applied the product or it was exposed to moisture after it was applied. High humidity can do it if it's applied in such conditions. To keep your hand guards looking nice simply apply a very light coat of your favorite oil to them when you wipe down the gun. Sprits a rag, wipe down, wipe off excess.
 

adam762

Well-known member
Gold Contributor
FALaholic #
11334
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Posts
5,248
Location
Washington Court House, OH
Feedback: 272 / 1 / 0
No one said you can’t bake them. 300 degrees will not hurt them. They are not plastic, just resin and glass. Try it with a set of Imbels first then rock on with your favorite thermal set finish.
 

BriarJumper

Well-known member
FALaholic #
84531
Joined
Jul 6, 2020
Posts
527
Location
Somerset, Kentucky
Feedback: 23 / 0 / 0
original replacements are relatively cheap from Belgium. I got one set that was nearly NOS looking except for some dirt on inside.
They have a pile of them evidently. One can assume what they’re off of 🤣

Of course, ymmv

amsmilitaria.com
 

kroberts

Well-known member
Bronze Contributor
FALaholic #
9427
Joined
Feb 15, 2003
Posts
3,184
Location
Gilbert, South Carolina
Feedback: 20 / 0 / 0
Installed the handguards from my Springfield while I decide what I'm going to do with the originals. Stuck a bipod on it too (yes, I know it's not right).
You get the whole range to yourself when you have Mondays off.

RangeDay.jpg
 

gunplumber

Arrogant Bastard
Gold Contributor
FALaholic #
96
Joined
Jul 21, 2000
Posts
29,170
Location
Gambel Field - Tonopah, AZ
Feedback: 353 / 0 / 0
No one said you can’t bake them. 300 degrees will not hurt them. They are not plastic, just resin and glass. Try it with a set of Imbels first then rock on with your favorite thermal set finish.

ummm - yes and no.

I do not like to do at 300 anymore. Maybe 225-250.

What happens sometimes, is the front top corners warp.

So what I do to "unwarp" them is to mount to a scrap barrel on receiver stub, and use hose clamps to force back into shape, then bake again, leaving the clamps on until cool.
 

adam762

Well-known member
Gold Contributor
FALaholic #
11334
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Posts
5,248
Location
Washington Court House, OH
Feedback: 272 / 1 / 0
ummm - yes and no.

I do not like to do at 300 anymore. Maybe 225-250.

What happens sometimes, is the front top corners warp.

So what I do to "unwarp" them is to mount to a scrap barrel on receiver stub, and use hose clamps to force back into shape, then bake again, leaving the clamps on until cool.
Interesting. Never had that experience. Thanks for the insight.
 

gunplumber

Arrogant Bastard
Gold Contributor
FALaholic #
96
Joined
Jul 21, 2000
Posts
29,170
Location
Gambel Field - Tonopah, AZ
Feedback: 353 / 0 / 0
So, the back story. Joe Fazzio and his partner (name unknown) had Kal Guard GunKote as a business in CA. The product was something out of South Africa (Lyttleton Industries), primarily used in motorcycle racing brake components, and from there to helicopter high temperature parts, and from there to gun parts.) that my business associate Alan, also VP of Castrol Motor Oil South Africa (a can of the best), and formerly of Castrol Petroleum Oil and Lubricants, UK - supplier for this little spot in Hereford England (which had some 22nd boy scout troop hanging about.) Thus the "Cal" and now ="Kal"

We met at this chemical plating gun company Robbie Barkmann AKA ROBAR (racist piece of shit, also of RSA) had set up, when he was disinvited from Gunsite and I was making $7.50/hr as an assembler/disassembler)

For whatever reason, their business dissolved. The partners had a trade name dispute upon separation, the result being that the one party (Joe) could not use "KalGuard", so he became "KG Coatings".

The other party sold his rights to Great Lakes Chemical, which became (six different subsidiaries later), but whatever. The current version of the company is willing to mix the base product at the specific ratios I want with the solid, carrier and solvent ratios I want, so I can dilute on-site with a CH3C(O)CH2CH3. With, my specific "give me this, this, that, but not that" and meets HK's repair and training requirements for bonded sold film lubricants and I've exhausted my 7th grade chemistry (because this shit used to be taught in 7th grade chemistry!)
 
Last edited:

gunplumber

Arrogant Bastard
Gold Contributor
FALaholic #
96
Joined
Jul 21, 2000
Posts
29,170
Location
Gambel Field - Tonopah, AZ
Feedback: 353 / 0 / 0
So, the back story. Joe Fazzio and his partner (name unknown) had Kal Guard GunKote as a business in CA. The product was something out of South Africa (Lyttleton Industries), primarily used in motorcycle racing brake components, and then from there to helicopter high temperature parts, and from there to gun parts.) that my business associate Alan, also VP of Castol Motor Oil South Africa (a can of the best), and formerly of Castrol Petroleum Oil and Lubricants, UK - supplier for this little spot in Hereford England (which had some 22nd boy scout troop hanging about.) Thus the "Cal" and now :"Kal"

For whatever reason, their business dissolved. The partners had a trade name dispute upon separation, the result being that the one party (not Joe) could not use "KalGuard", so he became "KG Coatings".

The other party sold his rights to Great Lakes Chemical, which became (six different subsidiaries later), but whatever. The current version of the company is willing to mix the base product at the specific ratios I want with the solid, carrier and solvent ratios I want, so I can dilute on-site with a CH3C(O)CH2CH3. With, my specific "give me this, this, that, but not that" and meets HK's repair and training requirements for generic bonded sold film lubricants and I've exhausted my 7th grade chemistry (because this shit used to be taught in 7th grade chemistry!)

So yeah, replying to my own post, But I'm 3 IPAs and 2 martinis into HassyMusic.com so whatever.

So Alan is Hanging with the boys of Company C, AKA the boys of the 22nd boy scout troupe. because he likes to shoot guns, and the boys like to shoot guns, and he's giving them all the petroleum oil and lubricants (POL) to shoot their guns, and so they invite him to "shoot guns" together and such.

And then they are called up to shoot their guns for real like.

And waddya know, there is this little spiff at a hotel. Address = 16 Princes gate, with some Iranian Malcontents. And the boys go and do what they have been trained to do and take care of it all.

One of whom is a Fijian Dude, who gets old, and "retires" and goes to work for this little upstart company called Heckler & Koch, out of Germany. Their Training Division. Because mama-san notes that pissant Iranian dudes were dispatched by British dudes with MP5SD3s made by this little company in German known as HK - previously making sewing machines for the Nazis, but whatever.

Fast Forward , "Mark, can you do your thing to make our guns that have been beat to shit, great again?"

Because Alan says you're the shit, and I know Alan from back in the day, when he worked for Castrol, selling us Petroleum Oil and lubricants (POL).

Send me three, no charge, you decide!}

3 months later, ARS is the official finisher for HK repair and training division, because I'm that fucking good, . . . bitches!
 
Last edited:

adam762

Well-known member
Gold Contributor
FALaholic #
11334
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Posts
5,248
Location
Washington Court House, OH
Feedback: 272 / 1 / 0
Ah, so you have KG coatings send you a ‘concentrate’ with the solids you prefer (moly, Teflon) and you mix with a readily available solvent to your specifications. Metacol. Makes sense if you’re using it in volume. I always thought the bulk of the KG product by volume was the solvent, and frankly it smelled like MEK. Can’t speak for Metacol because I don’t know how you mix it but I always found Gunkote to be best out of an airbrush, it was so thin. Applied right over fresh park it is an amazing thing.

Fun thread you got going here, Kenny.
 

gunplumber

Arrogant Bastard
Gold Contributor
FALaholic #
96
Joined
Jul 21, 2000
Posts
29,170
Location
Gambel Field - Tonopah, AZ
Feedback: 353 / 0 / 0
Ah, so you have KG coatings send you a ‘concentrate’ with the solids you prefer (moly, Teflon) and you mix with a readily available solvent to your specifications. Metacol. Makes sense if you’re using it in volume. I always thought the bulk of the KG product by volume was the solvent, and frankly it smelled like MEK. Can’t speak for Metacol because I don’t know how you mix it but I always found Gunkote to be best out of an airbrush, it was so thin. Applied right over fresh park it is an amazing thing.

Fun thread you got going here, Kenny.
No, I don't buy my black or gray from KG Coatings because Joe would not ship in concentrate. There is a carrier and a solvent - Alcohol and MEK
For a while he would let me get "special colors" in a 30% solid to thin as desired, but he stopped doing that.

Since I use automotive spray equipment and at a much higher volume than the hobbyist, I do not like "regular" GunKote - it is far too thin, which is okay if you're using an airbrush, but not auto detailing spray equipment. I end up having to do multiple coats to get the color density I want.
 

adam762

Well-known member
Gold Contributor
FALaholic #
11334
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Posts
5,248
Location
Washington Court House, OH
Feedback: 272 / 1 / 0
I always felt like the dura coat products were not a whole bunch more than extremely well marketed Sherwin Williams paint. Not that they are bad! Your work looks fantastic! It’s just whoever was in charge of the marketing department was a genius and should retire a millionaire. The finishes that the factories used in the 60s, 70s, and 80s were relatively simple by today’s standards. Very few of us intend to take these rifles out and put them through torture tests or drag them into a situations where the extreme durability of some of the higher technology finishes is really required.
 
Top