Just Bought An AR Lower...Now I Need To Get An Upper!

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USMC Tanker

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Ladies And Gents,

Today I just purchased a stripped lower receiver.

The manufacturer's page states that the receiver has a mil-spec hard anodized finish. When I saw the receiver in the store, it had a smooth deep black finish.

Now that I'm shopping for an upper receiver/assembly, I need to know what companies offer uppers with a mil-spec hard anodized finish. I'd hate to put a chalky upper on top of that beautiful black.

I like the reputation of Rock River Arms, but I've seen chalky AND deep black from them.

Please help!
 
if you can actually find an upper from any major company, let alone one that is reasonably priced, I wouldnt worry about something as trivial as the finish.

Ordering now will probably put you on a 12-24 week backorder list. :eek:
 
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If you want a perfect match in finish, my guess is that a good bet would be buying an upper made by the same manufacturer. Even better would be a complete factory built rifle. Right now, neither is readily available, unless you pay close attention to the used market.
 
USMC Tanker, you've got a lot of thinking to do now. What exactly do you plan on doing with this "EBR"?

You'll need to decide barrel length and type, type of upper (A1, A2, or A3), rails, free floating tube, and so on. :eek:

What do ya have in mind? ;)
 
out of curiosity, would it make sense to ship the lower back to what ever factory of your choosing and let them fit the new upper to your lower?? i have played with a few, and there sometimes can be significant tolerance and color differences, or am i too old school to where they dont do that any more??
 
Shipping the lower back to manufacturer leads to FFL transfers to and from, more cash out. Post a pic and lets see if we can match it up.
 
its been awhile since i have done that. i didnt know you cant ship your lower back to a mfg for "repair" without an ffl
 
If you want a perfect match in finish, my guess is that a good bet would be buying an upper made by the same manufacturer. Even better would be a complete factory built rifle.
Click to expand...

you might think so, until you get a colt.

my advice: it doesn't matter. shoot it enough and it will all be the same shade of dirt and carbon anyway :)
 
you might think so, until you get a colt.

my advice: it doesn't matter. shoot it enough and it will all be the same shade of dirt and carbon anyway
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Doesn't matter to me either, but the OP thinks it's a big enough deal. I have a rifle that was built using parts from different manufacturers and it matches. Not that I gave a damn about that. Had a factory RRA that didn't match. Oh well.
 
You might want to check out Model 1 Sales. I have bought a couple complete uppers from them and they are well built and closely match the finish on my RRA & DPMS lowers.
 

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I've had an upper on order from model1 for a few weeks. While they say nothing on the website, I suspect they are experiencing the same delays as everyone else. At least they have not charged me yet.
 
I've been on CMMG's list for a month now. Not expecting to see it any earlier than January, if not later.
 
I've never had an upper and lower match finishes perfectly, even on complete rifles.

It's just the nature of the "lego-ness" of these guns and I wouldn't worry about it too much.

If it really eats at you you're probably going to have to see anything you buy in person first and that's gonna be difficult in today's climate.
 
Even on complete rifles from a good manufacturer, if you get an upper and lower that match perfectly, it is basically pure luck. I highly doubt they are finishing an upper and lower together at the same time to go on the same rifle.

If you want a perfect match, you will have to get the whole thing refinished after you get the upper. So basically, don't worry about the finish when you are ordering. Get the configuration you want (if you still can), and worry about getting it refinished later if you don't like the match.

Personally, my thought at the end of the day is that it is an AR15, not a work of art.
 
i had a lower stripped once to match the upper, by eagle arms, when you do that, they etch the metal, maybe they left it in the acid tank too long or something, but, i sent 3 lowers back, one wasnt theirs, they stripped it and it was the loosest piece of garbage... i will never get a lower stripped again... but like i said maybe they just messed it up. the gun was stolen later anyways.

sn: 8636
 
I got a kit from J&T a few years ago and a buddy just got one from them 3 months ago. No problems with them. Anyway, he called them last week to order another and was told they are out of everything and it would be a 6 to 8 week wait.

One solution to the chalky finish is to use fine steel wool with oil to lightly wear down the parkerizing.
 
Essential Arms offers matched stripped lowers and lowers.

you would have to build it/ have it built from scratch though
 
My RRA's have excellent finishes. Just purchase any parts you can find and build the upper. Sooner or later the parts or complete uppers will be available again and you can get what you want. You can always sell what you don't want. The only problem I have with builds is that the extra parts end up as extra rifles:)
 
Now that I'm shopping for an upper receiver/assembly, I need to know what companies offer uppers with a mil-spec hard anodized finish. I'd hate to put a chalky upper on top of that beautiful black.
Click to expand...

Anodizing is the finish underneath the black. Anodized aluminum is clear, and a little spongy. Perfect for holding paint. The black finish you see is basically just paint.
 
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