Did I ruin my AR's finish?

CanadaCollector

CanadaCollector

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Grafton, Ontario
Today I tried colour filling the serial number on my AR for fun using some white nail polish as I've seen other members on here do it and it looked quite nice. However I made a fools mistake and used acetone based nail polish remover to remove the excess paint instead of non-acetone....now there's a white haze on my NEA15 lower around the serial number.

Any idea on how to fix this or get rid of it? Or am I screwed?
 
Try some WD-40....it worked when I painted the turret numbers white on my Bushnell tactical scope....worth a try anyways!
 
Could be worse. Could have given it a CLR bath like I did on my first rifle , an sks.

Ever seen an sks with the bluing removed in blotches? Ridiculous. Looked like an ugly leopard. Still shot straight, so I ran it until I could get a bluing kit. Never looked back. You'll survive. Worst case scenario you could always go and get it touched up at a smith or do it yourself.
 
CanadaCollector said:
Today I tried colour filling the serial number on my AR for fun using some white nail polish as I've seen other members on here do it and it looked quite nice. However I made a fools mistake and used acetone based nail polish remover to remove the excess paint instead of non-acetone....now there's a white haze on my NEA15 lower around the serial number.

Any idea on how to fix this or get rid of it? Or am I screwed?
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No ideas on how to fix this "haze" however, this is your rifle…….shoot it, be merry and keep it in tip top mechanical shape. Enjoy life! We can't all be pretty; but we can kick ass!
 
You should not touch this evil death spewing tool. The nail polish remover has interacted with the molecular structure of the aluminum and it is now as limp as a liberal voter. You can't see it with the naked eye but it is pooched. It is a danger to you and the general public now.

Sell it to me for scrap. My offer is $5.00 for the aluminum.

LOL.
 
CanadaCollector said:
Disregard...it wasn't the acetone...it was the white nail polish thining out in the acetone and spreading. More acetone did the trick.
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I was going to say the acetone won't damage the AR finish. I used acetone to remove camo from an AR10 upper and the finish was in excellent shape under the paint. Just use some G96 after.

I use Tester brand flat white and fire engine red model paint for my paint fill. Just use a fine paintbrush after using rubbing alcohol on the surface to get rid of oil. A thin coat in the lines, let dry 10 minutes, then a thicker coat. Let dry a few hours and wipe the area around the engraving with acetone. G96 after all the extra paint is gone. Works well, is fairly durable, looks factory done and is easy.
 
I agree that acetone will not bother an anodized finish. Clorinated solvents (furniture stripper) would eventually damage anodized aluminum because of the small amounts of acids in them. The biggest danger of using acetone on your rifle is that is softens, swells, or degrades many types of plastics.
 
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