Colt Canada Finish/Anodizing?

[Leviathan024]

Hello black rifle lovers,

I just put my new Colt Canada lower and IUR upper together and got a little disappointed in the color matching. No matter how much oil I wipe on the lower it looks very purple/off grey. Any suggestions and is this something worth returning the lower for? Any of you get the same off color upper/lowers?
For the amount of $$ spent I feel the lower got a half ass anodizing job. *this was not a "blemish" deal*

 

[-[Crosshair]-]

Different batches of anodizing will result in different shades. This is completely normal and it is the same anodizing as all of their other parts ever, but I still want you to try to return that, just to see what they tell you.

P.S.: Different uppers and lowers from different companies will also have different hues.

 

[Leviathan024]

Perhaps it is the "batch". I have constructed other AR's with BCM,DD,STAG and spikes parts and have never seen such a massive difference in color.

 

[-[Crosshair]-]

My Spike's lower is that exact shade of hue that you have on your lower. My Spike's upper is darker than my BCM upper, etc.

 

[Tarrantula]

The Colt Canada lowers that came out later on were all that sort of grey shade...some have had success by soaking it in oil.

 

[Dsiwy]

Soak it in oil and it will turn black.

 

[Leviathan024]

Will try again with thicker oil. thanks

 

[Infanteer90]

I have the same issue with my CC lower and IUR upper. It's very common for that grey color to be on Colt parts. Perhaps the difference comes from slightly different alloys used in the manufacturing of the parts, not sure. Here's how I look at it, CC makes firearms to be used as tools by military and law enforcement. The anodizing is applied as a protective barrier and provide a measure of camouflage, uniformity, professional appearance and numerous other reasons but having the components match perfectly is not a high priority to these organizations as it is a tool first and foremost. Sure, it would be great if the finish on my rifle matched perfectly but it's honestly not a big issue for me as it's the quality that's most important. YMMV

 

[Leviathan024]

I understand it's not a functional issue but it looks cheap. My daniel defense looks outstanding compared to this lower and It matched the cc upper just fine. Nothing I have matches the cc lower...maybe I will try a NEA or Norc upper and see if it matches....Yeah I went there

 

[bsand]

I kinda like it....

 

[Dietz]

What you're seeing is the black dye and sealing compound used after the hardcoat anodizing process, which is basically colorless (aluminium colored).

It is hard to get exactly the same black shades every time, batches will have different color outcomes.


If you're buying Colt stuff for the looks you didn't buy for the correct reasons.

 

[Leviathan024]

I bought colt for the quality which they seem to lack in the anodizing department. All Daniel defense parts seems to match close enough..not purple

 

[Leg]

If you think that the colour match is what defines "quality" when it comes to anodizing then you won't be happy with CC or Colt USA. They're meant to be used and abused in austere and demanding environments, not look all nice and pretty in your safe.

Next you'll complain about brass marks on your upper.

 

[Leviathan024]

This is not "marks from use" this is lazy half assed anodizing. I own lots of uppers and lowers and not a single one is this poorly done. I can swap a DD with a Norc and a stag with a spikes and they are close enough. Nothing matches this lower not even my cc iur upper.

 

[Dietz]

This is not "marks from use" this is lazy half assed anodizing. I own lots of uppers and lowers and not a single one is this poorly done. I can swap a DD with a Norc and a stag with a spikes and they are close enough. Nothing matches this lower not even my cc iur upper.

And what qualifies you to make such a statement, exactly?

 

[bongoz]

This is not "marks from use" this is lazy half assed anodizing. I own lots of uppers and lowers and not a single one is this poorly done. I can swap a DD with a Norc and a stag with a spikes and they are close enough. Nothing matches this lower not even my cc iur upper.

Colt Canada along with other high end brands such as KAC do not consider purely cosmetic fit and finish to be important seeing as they sell most of their products through contracts with the military.

If this effects your opinion of the rifle's quality, then maybe it's not the best company to purchase from. There are other companies who make equally as good of products who also care about fit and finish because they mainly sell to the civilian market. That might be a better option for you.

Your issues with the cosmetics is understandable. I like to have a good lookin' rifle too. just sharing my input.

 

[-[Crosshair]-]

This is not "marks from use" this is lazy half assed anodizing. I own lots of uppers and lowers and not a single one is this poorly done. I can swap a DD with a Norc and a stag with a spikes and they are close enough. Nothing matches this lower not even my cc iur upper.

The anodizing is 100% fine. The colour does not change that fact and your random standards for this is laughable at best. I understand that the colour itself can mean a lot to some people but this anodizing is not "lazy half assed" at all, that's just the way the colour turned out after their process. Like I posted earlier, I've got some Spike's and some BCM parts that are like this. At worst you can send it off to be cerakoted, I guess.

 

[Remtac]

Hello black rifle lovers,

I just put my new Colt Canada lower and IUR upper together and got a little disappointed in the color matching. No matter how much oil I wipe on the lower it looks very purple/off grey. Any suggestions and is this something worth returning the lower for? Any of you get the same off color upper/lowers?
For the amount of $$ spent I feel the lower got a half ass anodizing job. *this was not a "blemish" deal*

Myself I would send it out to get cerakoted , the best firearm coating out there

 

[*MALICE*]

AMF (the company that does the anodizing for Colt Canada) can be hit or miss when it comes to their anodizing. We use them sometimes for a specific type of anodizing that most other shops don't do, and we have received parts back that.......well, we had to make new parts.

 

[dfritter1]

All the CC lowers that were released were anodized but hadn't been oil-dipped yet. Depending on the oil used, you got a slightly different shade of grey; if you used something clean like Ballistol you got a very light grey and if you used something with lots of carbon in it you'd get a darker finish. I was told to use dirty engine oil to get a finish that'd most closely simulate Colt Canada's finish.

I used Ballistol instead because I couldn't take the idea of dunking my new lower in old engine oil.