Pretty darn close.  

Some of you will recall that I had a black charging handle that I wanted to make gray to match the A1 upper for my retro build. I tried buffing the handle with steel wool, which worked pretty well at first, but as I worked the handle, the wear from my fingers polished the front of the handle back to the original black color.  

Just as an experiment, I decided to grab a can of Rustoleum Dark Gray Primer and hit the charging handle with that.  Since it's cold here, I warmed up the can with my wife's hairdryer while I warmed the charging handle in the oven set on 200.  

Pulled it out, cleaned it with acetone and wrapped the forward end of it in a paper towel, and wrapped the rest of the paper towel around my hand so I wouldn't get sprayed.  Took the whole mess outside and hit it with a fairly heavy coat, which dried quickly because of the heat of the part.  Brought it back in, and once it was dry to the touch, put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes or so just to make sure it was baked on fairly good.  

Pulled it out, let it cool and put it back in my rifle.  

It's not an exact match, but I think it is certainly good enough and wouldn't be the first thing anyone would notice upon examination of the rifle.  The black handle stuck out like a sore thumb, but this blends very well.  

Pics:





The pics actually make it more obvious than it is in real life. Best part is, it was under $5 and I can touch it up in about 10 minutes if necessary.

hell yeh

Krylon  has a spray paint called chalk board that would match well.

My counsel would be to let the charging handle sit, unhandled, for a week.  You'll likely find the result more resistant to handling and oil.
Moon

You had to say that after I turned it over and over in my hand and charged it several times in my gun, admiring my handiwork.  

If I have any wear issues, I'll do some light sanding and clean it with acetone, then paint it and leave it alone as per your instructions.

  i may try it on project a1


.

Are you the guy who reprofiled his 80% lower to an A1 style?  I think I have that same lower.

When I saw the front pin supports, I was tempted to get out the Dremel and start, but I'm not that brave.

I'd be interested to see how well the Rustoleum holds up long term, especially if I follow Half Moon's advice and let the darn thing sit after painting.  

I heard (forget where) that oven curing like you do with Duracoat or Moly Resin improves the durability of the finish.  

If you do that, please post lots of updates.  I'd be interested in seeing how it does.

By any chance, is that primer the Primer Sealer #249321?

Nope

Dark Gray Primer 2089.

$3 and change at Wally World.

Primer/Sealer would probably be better, wouldn't it?  

Not sure now.  This is what I found on the Rustoleum site.  Looked dark grey.

http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/auto/primers/primer-sealer

Typed in your #.  Says dark grey.

http://www.rustoleum.com/~/media/DigitalEncyclopedia/Documents/RustoleumUSA/TDS/English/CBG/Stops%20Rust/CBG_TDS_SR_Hammered%20Sprays_5030790

Got curious so typed in # I found.  Now it says light grey. WTF.  I need to physically find it in a auto box store.

http://www.rustoleum.com/~/media/DigitalEncyclopedia/Documents/RustoleumUSA/TDS/English/CBG/Automotive/ATO-51%20Primer%20Sealer%20TDS

Hkiller... you squirt that lower yet? I will be interested to see how it ends up.

+1

+2   #2089 huh?

no not yet, just got home and the lower is low priority right now but maybe this weekend i will shoot it.

Hey, just wondering if you had a chance to spray that lower yet? I've been keeping an eye on this thread for a bit so I could find a quick and cheap solution to painting my Ident Marking custom engraved PSA stealth lower receiver to match my surplus grey upper receiver instead of having it reanodized.  I'm a little worried that the primer might fill in the relatively shallow engravings though so I'm trying to see if anybody has tried it out on their lowers...

Check out the top...one it matched the best. Looks a bit off with a worn upper. But a new or good shape upper matches pretty well. All three have lowers sprayed with Rustoleum dark grey sandable primer. Once they are good and dry put some CLP on em.

Brownells Allumhyde 2  has a good grey color that matches really good.

I use Rustoleum Dark grey primer a lot.  It matches the later (1970ish) Colt grey, but not the early XM grey.