aluminum refinishing

What is the best way to blue aluminum? I have a FEG PA-63, and don't care for the extreme 2-tone look.

The Brownells catalog (see their website) has stuff to color aluminum. You also might be able to find it in a large gunshop -- something made by Birchwood-Casey.

I've no idea how good or not the Birchwood Casey Al coloring deals are but ... if t'were me wanting to blue or black an aluminum frame ... frankly I'd go try and find a company that would anodize it for me. It's a very durable finish and would look good too .. as long as it matched the rest of the gun well enough.

The problem with that approach (getting it anodized), which is a good idea, is that UNLESS the folks who do the anodizing are licensed FFLs (as might be the case with a gunsmith), you can run into some potential legal issues... a stripped frame is still a firearm from a legal perspective.

True enough Walt ... I did overlook that angle.

You can ship a firearm for repair w/out an FFL, IIRCC. I've done it in the past, but someone back me on this.

You can ship without having an FFL to do it, but it must GO TO AN FFL. If the person doing the repairs (an anodizer, for example) isn't an FFL, you're engaging in very risky business -- and arguably breaking a law.

Shipping to a lincensed gunsmith or the manufacturer is not a problem, for example. Shipping to a private corporation or individual who have no license IS a problem. In the example cited above, it could be an issue.

Gun repair facilities are federal firearms license holders.

Any citizen who rightfully owns or controls a weapon in his or her name can send a weapon to a licensee of the appropriate type.

(In state, you do just about anything you want, based on various state laws -- the Fed doesn't get involved until you cross state lines.)

If you take it there yourself rather than ship it you should be OK, at least in most states. Shipping interstate is the issue I believe, intrastate gives you one less issue to contend with but it must be common carrier if you are not a dealer. Not that I am saying that an individual can ship within the state because I don't know, nothing I have seen says you can't though.

Getting it there is only part of the problem, Jake. You can't legally work on someone else's gun unless you have a FFL. Just any old anodizing business probably won't have one. The Business would be conducting an illegal repair.

Clemson

But you don't need an FFL to repair guns, only to buy and sell them (or manufacture but that is a different FFL). Some states require a license of one kind or another to even touch the thing but those are the exception, not the rule. In my home area we have a fine barrel maker who, though generally retired, still turns, bores, rifles, chambers and fits barrels for people. He is highly reguarded by the older shooters and has a well deserved reputation. He told me that in 68, when the ATF made a big push to require licensing for almost everyone who sold a weapon (even just one or two from his collection) he was not required to have a license to work on guns. Since he was not selling, just working on them, he was never required to have an FFL. Common misconception I think but only a few states would require any form of FFL I think.

It not "repairing" the guns, per se, that is the issue. It is the temporary transfer of ownership or possession of the gun, while it is in the shop, that is the issue. In some legal jurisdictions, that's a REAL problem.

You need to find out what your STATE laws say about this.

Leaving the gun with just anybody leaves you, as the owner, liable for all sorts of criminal complaints or civil actions -- especially if the gun is stolen or disappears. (What if that owner is a ex-felon? Are you putting HIM at risk; is he putting you in trouble?)

I simply WOULD NOT have a gun worked on by someone who is not an FFL. The risks of loss and the legal ramifications are potentially too great.

It is a matter of concern, and it is NOT something you should do lightly.

While the craftsman you refer to is not an FFL, every gunsmith I've dealt with over the past 10 years IS an FFL. I suspect you will now be hard-pressed to find one who is not. I think the ATF (or whateverinhell it calls itself now) looks at it differently, nowadays, too.

Howdy guys...may I inject somethin' here?

As a former practicing smith, I can lend some insight on the legal end
of it, even though it's off the topic of aluminum refinishing. It might
help keep some of you outta the hot seat.

In order to perform repair or maintenance work(stripping, cleaning, etc.)
you must have an FFL because leaving a gun under the control of another
individual is technically a transfer.

There are a few fine points to consider. If, say...Walt were to be an old
friend of mine, and had a feeding problem with a 1911-pattern pistol...
and he stopped by for a cuppa Joe and a look-see, I could check it out,
and install a new magazine spring legally. The magazine isn't a gun.
Polishing the barrel throat is also legal, but the feed ramp in the frame
is technically a violation, because only the frame/receiver is defined
as a firearm by the BATF. In this case, it PROBABLY wouldn't be enforced
unless Walt wasn't happy with the work and turned me in.

If, however, a total stranger knocked on my door with a problematical
Colt, and I polished the feed ramp, THAT could and would likely be enforced as a violation...because we were strangers, and neither could vouch for the
character of the other. (There's a chance that it wouldn't be enforced unless the owner left the gun in my possession, but it could be.) That's techincally a transfer, even though he was only gone for an hour. I would be in violation of performing repair work on the receiver without the proper license required. We both could lose. Again, if he took the frame with him, I would only have possession of a gun accessory. A determined ATF agent could PROBABLY make a case for a repair on an accessory, but it also probably wouldn't,hold up in court.

It's also a common mistake to believe that you're only required to have the FFL if you accept money or other payment for the work. False. You are
under the same requirements if you no-charge for the labor and give the
parts away.

Just a little more food for the table. Best to err on the side of caution
when dealing with the possibility of a firearms violation.

Luck!

Tuner