R15 and R25 refinishing

Fenix.NZ

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so ive been considering one of the remington AR's

because i can get them cheaper than any other kind here in NZ ( dont ask.. our laws are a special kind of stupid )

but im not a total fan of the camo..

so i have 2 questions ..

can the camo film be either stripped off or painted over ?

and

are these rifles compatible with all other AR accessories ? handguards, front sights/gasblocks, and stock/grip sets are my concern
 
Don,t strip it.
buy somthing like Duracote, its a bake on finish, thet will work on metal and hard synthetics/plastic.
can get it in just plan black if you want it.
bbb
 
Our laws are stupid !! If you can get your hands on a Norinco It'll be worth your time. They're a great rifle and dirt cheap compared to all other AR palatforms.
 
im tossing up between .223 and .308 ..

the R15 will kill anything that walks on my island and mags are more readily available.

the R25 will be better for killing anything that walks on my island but parts and mags will be harder to come by .. better for target shootsing as well
 
...no, theyre not good for shooting at anything on private property. you'd want a m14 or xcr for that =)
 
oh wait youre not in Canada
cant shoot any restricted firearm on private property unless you somehow have an approved personal range by the cfo

...and you thought your gun laws were dumb
 
...no, theyre not good for shooting at anything on private property. you'd want a m14 or xcr for that =)

Keep in mind that Felix NZ is from NZ, so the restricted thing may not apply.

So, Felix, just how are NZ laws compared to ours?
(big subject, I know, so just the high points...)
 
Wellllll now,
I just happen to have an R25,
and I'll have to disagree with a few of the previous statements.

1.] the finish on my R25 is NOT "durable" ....
ON THE PICATINNY RAIL, WHERE I'VE MOUNTED AND REMOVED SCOPE RINGS A FEW TIMES, THE FINISH CHIPPED/FLAKED OFF. YOU CAN LITERALLY SCRAPE THIS PAINT OFF WITH A FINGERNAIL. NEVER MIND THE VERY VISIBLE CHIPS, NICKS AND SCRAPES YOU GET FROM NORMAL HANDLING aka SAFE KISSES.

2.] The paint is THICK, and changes the fit of some components. I tried to use max diameter match trigger/hammer pins, which fit fine in all my other AR 15 receivers, and the pins were too big to fit into the holes in the R25. I had problems fitting an RRA match trigger set, but no problems fitting a DPMS match trigger set [ with the RRA set, the bolt seemed to catch on the hammer when cocking ].

3.] I am thinking about stripping the upper and lower, bead blasting or using some type of chemical paint remover, and refinishing with dura coat, in my own favorite camo pattern,r simply re-anodising
But I would definitely recommend stripping off the old paint before adding a new finish.

4.] I will warn you that the DPMS built for Remington R25s ARE NOTORIOUS for ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE trigger pulls. My R25 had the worse trigger I've ever felt on an AR [ and I've felt LOTS of AR triggers in my time ]. Set your budget to include a DPMS or other aftermarket match trigger. The funny thing is, in other genuine DPMS AR 10s, the triggers don't seem to be as bad??? Maybe DPMS sends their factory second trigger parts to Remington??? Also, the R25 hammer spring is bent to lighten the trigger pull, which co-incidentally, also lightens ther hammer fall. If you get failures to go bang with your factory DPMS hammer spring, swap it out for an ordinary AR 15 hammer spring.

Personally, while I liked the DPMS match trigger I installed, eventually I switched back to a standard AR trigger ... after I gave it bit of polishing to achieve a decent trigger pull. But my R25 trigger is still not as sweet as the RRA match trigger in my AR 15.

5.] I've owned about three dozen of the ORIGINAL, AI built AR 10s, and was waiting for one of the modern AR 10 clone builders to come out with one that was as reliable and durable as the originals. For the money, I think the R25 is the best "bang for the buck" in a modern AR 10 clone. Obviously, using as many AR 15 parts as possible in an AR 10 MUST create some design compromises, but with the R25, at least it seems like they didn't compromise reliability.

these are just my personal opinions,
YPMMV,
and remember,
opinions you get for free on the internet may be worth much less than you paid for them.

[;{)
LAZ 1
 
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I own both, I installed a timney trigger in the R-25, I also installed one in a m15a4 Armalite as well, cause the trigger sucked in it. you might want to look at ordering some anti walk pins when you change the trigger, you can get these from DPMS.

As far as accuracy goes, the 15 is a Bushmaster and although I'm no expert marksman, I'd dare say it is an extremely accurate rifle. The R-25 is of course a DPMS and that speaks for itself as well. Both very accurate platforms. The only issue I've had with the R-25 was brass. To solve that I only use brass for that rifle and watch my loads, cause the pressure got up there rather quick too. All that being said, I wouldn't think twice about buying either one, both accurate sub moa AR platforms, cheap to boot.
 
A local gunshop here refinished their R15's in black and found that Black guns sell faster than black guns that are camoflaged, I think they used Armacoat after a particle blast (possibly soda).
 
Lazerus2000,
The trigger that came in my DPMS LR-308 was complete crap. The trigger on the R25 at the local store was far better. I had my trigger swapped out for a RRA match. Like night and day.

Also the "match" trigger that comes with the target Armalite AR-10s are so so. Much better than the DPMS stock trigger, but not really good enough. A RRA match trigger will eventually be going in that rifle as well.

Back to the refinishing. It would have to be one heck of a deal. By the time you put in the time/money to refinish the rifle you'll probably be close to the price of a non camo black AR rifle. Resale value for a stock black rifle will be higher than a refinished camo rifle. Unless you have the expertise and can do it inexpensively then I would probably recommend just buying what you want from the start.
 
Back to the refinishing. It would have to be one heck of a deal. By the time you put in the time/money to refinish the rifle you'll probably be close to the price of a non camo black AR rifle. Resale value for a stock black rifle will be higher than a refinished camo rifle. Unless you have the expertise and can do it inexpensively then I would probably recommend just buying what you want from the start.


the R15 will cost me $3500 NZ peso's

a regular AR15 under our A-catagory restrictions ( equiv to your PAL license ) usually runs $5000+

so its a hell of a deal :p .. would cost me about.. $200 to refinish it .. i'll strip it myself and have a buddy milspec it
 
We will soon be offering the R-25's and R-15's re-anodized or arma-coated. They will all be blasted and have that ugly junk finish removed. They will end up looking like the way an AR should.
 
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