So what's good for filling in the engraved letters and numbers in, say, the rail on a flattop upper?

Something white,  easy to apply, dries hard, cleans up easily,  stays where it's put, doesn't come off when cleaning the rifle, and doesn't take up dirt.


CJ

Joined :: December 2001
Post Number :: 20306

If you dont know by now doubt you ever will

ETA: white crayon

Crayon - takes up dirt and sand, melts on mag dumps (on railed fore end, not receiver)
finger nail polish - hard to remove excess, light stain when removed that never comes off

i finally gave up on both of these, and the whole coloring idea all together

J-B Weld and white concrete dye.

Model paint. Or china pencils

Ground up Albino Smurfs.


That or Grease pencil.

Brownell's sell an inlay product in several colors that works well. its almost like a crayon but intended for that purpose.

Quoted: Joined :: December 2001 Post Number :: 20306 If you dont know by now doubt you ever will ETA: white crayon

Surprisingly few of my posts are directly related to firearms. That's why I spend most of my time in general discussion.

Also, until now, I've never had any need to fill any engravings, but I've now got a new
rifle project I'm starting on and I got the first part for it yesterday.   The flattop upper receiver is nice, but the numbers in the rail slots aren't filled.  For readability's sake, I want to fill them.

CJ

white caulk.

cream of sumyung-guy...its a chinese liquid recipe.

I have never had much luck with anything that was quick. About the only thing I have come up with is paint applied with a toothpick. It has always seemed like smearing something over the surface and them trying to wipe off the excess that was not in the engraved area did not turn out looking good. The toothpick takes lots of time but it looks good.

i got the sticks from brownells years ago.  they work and once set hold up well.

it's been a long while but if i recall the directions you just smear it in for a flat look and follow up with some heat for glossy.  either way, it hardens and stays put, at least with CLP.

Lacquer-Stik.  But don't buy it from Brownells, they charge more for it.  Get it here: Micro-Tools

Once you put it one you can wipe off the residual with a paper towel and some baby oil.  

Crayons are for toddlers. Lacquer-Stix are almost as messy as crayons, too.

Nothing will give you a sharper, cleaner, more professional appearance than using paint. The Mega upper and lower took me all of 5-10 minutes tops using Testor's model paint, including clean up...



You thin the paint a little, get a big drop on the end of a skinny stick like a toothpick or similar, and touch the drop to the rollmarks. The paint runs in to the cracks like water down a gutter. After letting the paint air dry for about 3-4 minutes, gently wipe the receiver surface in a circular motion with CLP or whatever gun cleaner you have available and remove any excess paint. There shouldn't be much. I used shotgun patches to wipe the receiver, because they are thin and did not pull paint out of the rollmarks. Easy!

Hell, even the thin and shallow Bushy rollmarks on my beater turned out nice. This lower took me like 4 minutes to do...

crayons and china pencils were the ones i've usually seen

h/w, those tha tuse the testors paints...they have been really nice

Quoted: Brownell's sell an inlay product in several colors that works well. its almost like a crayon but intended for that purpose.

This is the only way to go! +10

I used Dupli-Color from Wal-Mart.  Worked real good for me.