I got myself into a situation and not sure how to fix it.

Not long before they shut down I got a couple 601 uppers from NDS. I was on the list for lowers before they shut down.

So in the mean time I grabbed a couple of Brownell's 601 lowers. The color doesn't quite match on the two.

- Any suggestions to get them to match?

- Or just wait for the new company to get up and running & get their lowers (assuming they'll match the old uppers)?

If they’re both gray I’d leave it. My experience with M16A1s in the service, the uppers and lowers never quite matched. I’m not sure why, there are many more people on here with far more knowledge than myself when it comes to retro builds.

Mismatch is the way it should be!

Plus one on that one, Amigo.  How's this for a mismath?  One of my fave.

I'm going to strip an older upper/receiver and try my hand with Norells colt grey/black paint, if that turns out well  I will try my hand at doing that as a service some day as this topic comes up often.

A big part of the matching issue is that uppers and lowers weren't done all at the same time in the pot... tub... whatever, and minor variations would occur. Victor at US Anodizing (who did the NDS ano) is extremely good at maintaining consistency, and even then some differences could creep in. Brownell's used another company, and there was a larger spread of color, all the way to "blem for ano" levels. (Ask people about the greenish-grey ones.)

If you check these two threads, mike_nds has posted the current ano samples and a few comparison shots to original GI and NDS stuff. (For the second thread, I'd start from the end  and work back, there's an awful lot of discussion before the relevant images start showing up.)

Here's a sample set from 23 May, oiled and wiped down. (Mike's pic and aluminium, not mine.)

Attached File


Note there's a very small difference between the color of the upper and lower.

I appreciate the replies. Looks like I’m good to go.

I’m hoping they get the new production up soon too. My plan is to build a few retro rifles and I just started at the total wrong time it seems.

Have they said if they’ll be selling directly on the PSA site or https://hr1871.com?

Supposed to be listing the items on the HR site, with a order button that will push you over to PSA to checkout and pay.

Why strip it?
Keep the ano on there to protect the metal and just spray over it to get the color to match.

Colt didn't bother to match the finish on theirs


my Delta Elite HBAR is the same way