Do any of you have a distressed AR? Intentionally or Thru Time

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rickyrick

New member
Hello members,

I'm interested in doing some distressed finish on an AR, might sound odd, but I like worn looking guns. I don't have the time to carry them around to do it organically any longer.

I know that there's duracoat kits and all but I'm more interest in distressing the original finish.

I want to see your beat up ARs, other weapons are welcomed too.
 
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Old Bill Dibble

New member
After my "surge" tour my M4 looked like it had been through a real war. during that time frame the Army was collecting all the rifles that came back and putting them straight into rebuild.

I don't have any good pictures of it. My personal rifles would take 30 years to look that rough.
 
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rickyrick

New member
I had some deployments that never saw any action, but the rifles got a lot of wear anyways.
I didn't take many pictures while in the army, most were given to me by friends. I was super-serious about life back then.

I've never been into "themed" guns and I'm bored, I don't get to shoot as much as the past, so I'm considering a futuristic build and I'm thinking a battle worn look to it.
 
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highpower3006

New member
I've never done a distressed look on an AR, but I did do a BPU job on one of my AK's. All I did was rub my hands over it and where I could feel the high spots I took the finish off with 400 grit sandpaper. What prompted it was a set of Balkan war trench art furniture.

If you want, I can post a pic or two.
 
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Mobuck

Moderator
In civilian use, I have no idea how long it would take to "distress" the appearance of a good AR.
I have a DelTon 5.56 that I've carried on body daily from November to May for 5 seasons and a S&W 5.45 AR that is carried on body or in the vehicle from May to November the same length of time. Both show very little wear or dings from this amount of handling, banging around, and exposure to weather.
 
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Jimro

New member
The most distressed rifle I ever used was an M16A2 in basic training...

The anodizing had worn smooth over time, and black "touch up paint" applied by some enthusiastic small arms repairman had worn through too. The plastic black funiture had worn shiny smooth in many places.

It didn't look distressed so much as "old and used hard."

But...having a crafty wife, if you wanted something that looked "distressed" you'd need some metallic paint, and paint the piece you are looking to distress with that, then paint over that with the finish color, then rub away the finish color in the areas you want to distress to show the metallic paint. I've seen her do that with all sorts of picture frames, growth boards, and other projects. I don't see why it wouldn't work on an AR.

Jimro
 
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44 AMP

Staff
If you want your rifle's finish to look "distressed" (badly worn), the solution is simple. AR vs. Bench grinder (or Dremel, but that takes a little longer). 5minutes (or less) and your rifle finish will be beat to snit.:D (and that's if you use a "soft" wheel and a light touch, otherwise, you could grind holes THROUGH your AR,:eek::rolleyes:)

Problem solved!

Personally, I'm fine with "honest wear". Faking that is something that never occurred to me, and I can't see a reason why, but its your gun, and whatever floats your boat is your business.

I won't say good luck, but it ought to work...
 
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rickyrick

New member
Not wanting to fake anything really. Thinking something like one of those space guns that you see. Or a star wars like blaster based on AR receivers.

I've seen several distressed rifles on lots of sites. Even AeroPrecision has a "to hell and back" line of rifles.... most of these are duracoat and ceracoat.

Can't shoot so much, but I can assemble ARs lol, just looking for a new project.

I've seen plenty of honestly worn M16s, some look cool, I've seen distressed paint jobs, some look like crap, some look great.

I figured TFLers had some pictures...
 
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Ed4032

New member
My AR is very stressed about the election. I think that it is having trouble sleeping. It worries that it may become an illegal...
 
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HALLAUSTIN

New member
Now that this has been brought up I'd love to see some worn looking rifles. I've always liked the beat on guns, just looking at them and wondering... how did that happen to you? Especially on garands and old enfields
 
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Skans

Active member
I have only seen one AR (Actually an M16) that was very well worn. It didn't look anything like some of these artificially "battle-scarred" AR's that I've seen at gun shows. Basically, wherever there were any sharp corners or edges, the black finish was worn off to reveal somewhat polished bare aluminum. Significant amounts of small patches of shiny aluminum showing on that rifle. The plastic handguards and buttstock were also well worn. Still fired full-auto just fine.
 
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peggysue

Moderator
My CAI imbel receiver FAL battle rifle enhanced with a parts kit plus. Kind of a Frankenstein.
In my Armor Reserve Unit in 1989-1992 we had some well used worn M-16s, rattily finish less 1911's and even some grease guns.

935961d1455806276-glimpse-my-little-collection-fal-b.jpg
 
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peggysue

Moderator
My well worn carry gun is a Colt Cobra light weight with tuned action and bobbed hammer. A detective in local PD had it in the late 1960's. Ain't pretty.
(Sorry big pic)
705565d1403529606-glimpse-my-little-collection-colt.jpg
 
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johnwilliamson062

Moderator
Furniture is often distressed by chains. Both rubbing them overy the edges and even hitting the furniture so the chain wraps around. A sander will give you a smooth edge.
I imagine a grinder would leave smooth edges on the rifle, but that is probably more realistic for a metal part.

The most realistic would be to tie it to yourself on a 10 foot cord and then walk across various surfaces until you get the look you want :)
 
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rickyrick

New member
That seems a touch drastic.

But yes I am interested in whatever pictures are posted.

I'm sure more people have attempted this and failed than came up with a decent looking job.

May scrap the idea but I'd still like any examples out there, if they pop up.

I partake in black rum about once every week or two... this idea may have come from one of those days.
 
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Grumpy_Bottom

New member
soda blasting would likely be gentle enough to be able to do what you want without the risk of removing metal, and it washes away when you are done, you can focus on "high traffic" areas like handguards more and get a more authentic looking wear pattern

Sent from my KFSOWI using Tapatalk
 
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