Shiny A2 Handguards?

I'm not sure if giving out sources is ok or not on this board but I'm looking for a set of good condition SHINY rifle length A2 round ribbed handguards, I went to SARCO and they only had the matte finish ones. I also have a question regarding the shiny handguards, were they only used on earlier rifles? did they change the material that the handguards are made out of and switch over to a matte finish?

In the Berlin Brigade, we used paste wax to make the A2's shiny.

I believe the earlier A2 had shiny handgaurds. I went to USMC bootcamp in March 87. Our A2s were like new. I had never held or been around an AR before that. I was amazed at the plastic, light feel and shine of the rifle. Those HGs were shiny, we did not shine them. Also the handgaurd heat shield was silver/shiny. I was used to wood stocked rifles and shotguns. I thought the M16 was a,"POS". Now I own 4 of my own.

This gent has what you need, be specific & tell him exactly what you want.
I got a very nice set of used shiny A2s from him.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=256834498

Yeah, the old Colt CAR handguards I have are that thick shiny plastic, they are much higher quality than all of the aftermarket carbine HGs ive seen and handled. I think that rock river arms makes CAR HGs that are very similar without the shine, but I've never seen them in person. I either want a set of shiny colt A2s for my rifle (I assume they are that same thick plastic as the CAR HGs) or a set of the old school lonestar ordnance ribbed HGs. They are going on an M16A1 build. I like the way the triangle HGs look but they are a bit too fat for my hands and they feel fragile. Now that I saw an old popular mechanics article from the 60s over in the retro forum I've decided that the A2 guards are good to go on a retro. They were actually designed way back in the 60s but were not mass produced until the A2 came around. Someone just posted a picture of a beltfed m16 that they got, i believe its from 1965, and it still has the original shiny round ribbed handguards on it, I think the post says that less than 20 were ever actually manufactured.

Bug juice, and field time will make them shiny.

I bought shiny handguards on the EE from Landman303. He was selling then with the delta ring and gas tube. I used them on my A4 clone. Not correct, but very nice. I don't know how to see what he has for sale on the EE. I'm sure there's a way, but I don't know how.

I have some shiny A2 ones.

Tried to IM you but your box is full

I have some matte FNMI's that are NOW shiny because they're well used

Some wet sanding with 1500 or 2000 grit paper, followed up by a buff job with some car polish will get em nice and shiny for ya.

Out of curiosity, are there any differences between Colt handguards and FN handguards in terms of shininess and/or markings?

There is more of a difference in the C7 vs. M16 handguard. C7 have a tendency to be shiner.











xm177e2687 just email me.

Just how does one tell who manufactured what? I have a set of A2 guards with the "DO NOT REMOVE" stamped into the heat shields. Inside the guards, under the heat shield is a raised "5K" marking. On another set without the "DO NOT REMOVE" there is a "4K" in the same spot as the others. Both of these guards look identical externally. I have a set of Bushmaster guards which also look the same outside but I haven't taken the shield out to check yet but I am willing to bet that they are marked with some form of the number and letter K. I strongly suspect that most the the A2 guards are made by the same folks...whoever that is.
FWIW,
Ralph

That would be very hard to do & time consuming with A2 HG's, with the ribs & all. It'd be just as easy to find a shiny set IMO.

That method works great on A1 triangle HG's though.

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