Color fill

How do most people do this color fill? I think it is hideous but I am sure I will have to do it at some point as a gunsmith. I imagine taking a very fine point, like a dental pick, and slowly adding whatever color to the letter fill. Wiping off any excess before it dries.

Prefer the lacquer color sticks (Brownells), use them on AR lowers to highlight safety markings.
https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...color-fill-sticks/lacquer-stik--prod7778.aspx

Rembrandt said:

lacquer color sticks

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Rub in, wipe off, easy.

I have even used a Crayola with good success. I figured it would have fallen out by now, but it still looks good. And if it does it’s just crayon.

A personal choice. Mine are filled because I like it. It makes the markings easy to read for beginners.

I've used nail polish, one benefit of having a sister.

Any pictures of the results from this process?

I wonder if you could use this on brass headstamps to make the letters/numbers easier to read?

Personal preference I suppose, but I think it looks cheesy.

A guy I know filled in, or colored in, the lettering on his AR-15 lower with a very fine brush and Testor’s model paint.

Coldfinger said:

we are all at home bored so....

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??? I don't know what that's like.
No time to become bored.

Frulk said:

Any pictures of the results from this process?

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Larry Ashcraft

Rub-n-Buff from Hobby Lobby works great and comes in several colors.

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Wow that's like a trip in the Way Back Machine! I can remember using Rub-n-Buff on my model airplanes when I was a kid and wanted a shiny metallic look to something. Made it appear to look like it was bare metal on some parts.

zoldaman said:

I wonder if you could use this on brass headstamps to make the letters/numbers easier to read?

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I’ll use a “permanent” black magic marker for this; rub it on then wipe it quickly with a cloth so the ink stays in the lettering. It’s not going to be super dark on there forever, especially if you wet-tumble your brass, but it will make it easier to read the headstamps than regular old brass-on-brass lettering.


Stay safe.

herrwalther said:

How do most people do this color fill? I think it is hideous but I am sure I will have to do it at some point as a gunsmith. I imagine taking a very fine point, like a dental pick, and slowly adding whatever color to the letter fill. Wiping off any excess before it dries.

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He over does it with the talking, but here's how. It's not hard.



Kind of cheesy, IMO.

I used to do paints and so on but now use the lacquer sticks, though I get mine from McMaster.

Really over-apply, shove it in there. Then wipe off with a slightly oiled rag. Fast. Then... wait! Let the filled in bits cure. The surface stuff is gonna be a bit oily and is on a flat surface. At first it'll have a sort of halo of vague color, but over time you wipe it down and it'll go away.

I use for mostly just safety marks, and otherwise tend to do it to emulate original marks. Say my SIG which I repainted from black to RAL 7022, then highlighted the dumb marks mine has as a US gun, to sorta emulate the Swiss gun. The top row of words, Exeter and so on, which then matches the factory marks on the lower



ETA: McMaster crayons are on this page https://www.mcmaster.com/paint-sticks/
Scroll to: Paint Crayons for Recessed Characters
Available Black, Red, White, Yellow, Gold.

There used to be a crayon type color stick sold that worked well coloring lettering on guns, in several colors, including gold and silver.

You just rubbed it over the lettering, and wiped off the excess with a cloth. It worked very well and gave blued revolvers a nice touch. Back then everything was shiny blue, and the excess rubbed right off. I don't know how it would work with most things today having a matte finish.

Looks like Lacquer-Stik, sold by Brownell's, is pretty close to it.

I use white and pink nail polish. The pink really looks red against the contrast of the black. I just fill it in, let it dry and then wipe away the excess with a rag soaked in acetone.

I have a Colt Gold Cup and it looks fine on it. Other than that it's a no for me.

I like to color fill on some guns.
Here’s my Spartan AR9.

Color fill looks good on M&Ps, Glocks, and ARs.
It adds a nice contrast.
I'm not planning to do it to my guns though.
I've been busier this year than ever.
Word of mouth has made my side work almost pass up my day job.

I have never done it myself and mostly I think it looks, well ugly. The exception to that statement is highlighting the safety and fire positions on the various black tactical rifles. I think from a functional standpoint it makes a lot of sense.

Some guns work with it, some guns don't.
I use Testors enamel, remove the excess with popsicle stick, toothpicks, and then a wipe with a makeup sponge dabbed in Hoppes.
I tend to do it on guns that are otherwise purely one color just for contrast, or one ones that don't otherwise have clearly obvious and newbie-friendly features, for when I teach someone else. Or on anything that could be just use quick reference like magazines. I'm not a huge fan, but the grid on my AK's Pmags do get numbered in, as reference in case there's an issue with one.
For examples, my Mossberg (just for contrast)

And my AK

I have done it on a few things where there is a neat logo that doesn’t otherwise stand out. My Stag AR I did lime green, orange, and white. When I traded that gun off the guy was talking about how nice it looked and how that’s what got his attention.

One real old school method used White-Out, as it was cheap and isopropyl cleaned it up.