Looks great OdieGreen! I'm still a T2 style fan for RD's. Whatever floats the boat as they say..

Yeah thought about a traditional compact red dot but trying to keep the weight down. Might try a Swampfox Krakken, might just suck it up and get an ACRO.

ETA: Just found an FDE Steiner MPS.

No new tano parts, but I finally got my suppressor back from Cerakote. C-211 Desert Sand. Adds to the "turd in a punchbowl" 500 shades.. no doubt.

This pic makes it look darker than it really is, it's quite a bit lighter than anything else. Matches nothing... perfect!

Looks damn good to me.

Didn’t notice before, is that the Fortis castle nut?

Looks great!!!

I think it’s only a matter of time before I get one done now…

ETA:  it makes the can on the end of my gun look like a black eye on my Tano rifle.

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Fair amount of tano bits, lower is Cerakote though, because picking up a new lower and getting an SBR F1 approved can take a while.  

Did finally get into Cerakoting, so got some fancy new baby poop tan (RAL 8000) parts.

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A bit less tano, because anodizing CF handguards isn’t an easy task.  More baby poop.

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Thanks gents! I had envisioned what it would look like all together, happy that it's on point. Not that I needed it done, as the black factory finish looked fine. But..

And you are correct @-OdieGreen-, that's the Fortis CN/EP combo. Nice unit.



Another shot showing how light in color the can is. Nvermind the happy horseshit on the telly..



I know this is a Tanodized thread, so please excuse my posting of "other" stuff. But, here's a comparo between Magpul FDE and Desert Sand. Quite different

Stop posting pictures of your rifle please. I keep coming back here looking at it trying not to order a Mk8 to replace my BCM/Cloud rail on my shorty.

(Someone please talk me out of it).

Sorry! Not..

I was notified that my tobacco anodized Reptilia torch was delivered today. I'll try to post an update when I get home.

The RAL 8000 parts look great!
That CTR on your ~10” is especially nice.





Interested to see the tobacco torch against the DDC.
We need more parts in dark FDE/brown.




All of the FDE cans on this page have me looking at buying another to get coated.
This is why I almost always have something pending with ATF…

That looks great as is Goody, no doubt. But... the can in tan is the way.

Looking for Tan O handguard recommendations for a 12.5” barrel. I need rigidity as a IR laser will be installed on the handguard.

Thanks

@VeritatisUnus Geissele or CMT DRT would be my recommendations. Ripcord/MSP Armory makes a solid product too.

@WUPHF & @Bringo

Both of your submissions are on point!

Oh, and yeah... "Baby Poop"

Post up that Tabaccy light when you can Bringo. Should look nice. I almost went that route..

Ripcord I have experience with and was the leading contender. G rails aren’t known to be super rigid.  

CMT I don’t have experience with but looking at the barrel nut/clamp design doesn’t inspire too much confidence from a rigidity standpoint.  I could be wrong on that.

I believe the non-rigid rails were the MK16’s, which coincidentally the Ripcord rail looks suspiciously similar too…

You should handle a Geissele MK4 or MK8 if you get the chance.  Mine feel like I could hammer nails with them.

I’d rate the CMT stronger than BCM, but not as strong as the Mk4 and Mk8. A user here got 1.5 MOA of flex out of a Mk16. If that’s not acceptable, I struggle to believe the Mk16 is stronger than the Mk8. Two cross bolts engaging the barrel nut with clamping force versus one and the other not really doing much. .

Mk4 and Mk8.


Mk14 and Mk16.


I never saw the military test but someone here claimed the test was unfair in not having a control. As in no other rail showing it wasn’t the laser itself that lost zero. Either way lots of guys abusing URGI’s without issue. Just don’t drop them 8 feet or whatever on to concrete.

Ugh. At the very least I’m ordering a DDC buffer tube.

While it’s certainly a consideration, I’d examine what your actual requirements are as far as acceptable levels of shift are concerned.  Not saying shift isn’t important, but the mechanics of engaging a target, at distance, with unmagnified head mounted NODs, presumably off-hand or at best supported in a hasty position, (potentially with a laser offset both vertically and horizontally from the bore) don’t exactly lend themselves to super precise shooting.  Your circumstances may differ, of course, but I have yet to find a handguard that’s the weak link in that series of events when it comes to engaging a man size target at 200ish yards and in.

I’ll even go so far as saying even at longer distances with a CNVD and a magnified optic, I haven’t detected much shift when using a focused down FP illuminator mounted to the handguard.  Dispersion is obviously greater than with a pointer though, so that’s not a wholesale dismissal of the issue.

As always, decision is yours, but it’s always good to see differing viewpoints on any topic IMO.

I seem to remember Bill G doing a serious "beating" test on some variant of rail (I think MK8) and it held up unbelievably well. As in it didn't move from mount position much if any at all.

95% of us would never subject it to that level of abuse. But, there's always the 5% that will.. just because they can..

None the less, I'll agree that the MK4 / 8 rail system is a fantastic system. As much as I kinda dig on the look of the MK16, I'll take the 4 & 8 all day.

Found it!

Rail Test

Sexy little bastards. I'll agree.. Tano tube the shorty. And stamp that badboy too!

Thanks! But….

I just ordered a Turbo 3.
Now to find a shade of tan that doesn’t match anything on my gun.

This is an interesting dilemma.
Usually you get what you get, versus now I’m picking the color…

That’s good info. I didn’t know the difference between the series.

Tobacco Torch mounted up on the DI faux16. I *almost* don't like this rifle anymore because of how pretty it is lol. Makes me feel like a city boy...Maybe I'll rattle can some of it.



Eyeing a modbutton dual lead for this one, but it'll have to wait till next month as I've spent my gun money this month. Not an arfcom millionaire. Everything I post is years in the making.

To speak to some of the discussions that went on last night, my suppressors are just spray painted with Aervoe Field Drab. I don't think that color is still produced but you may be able to find something you like at orbittx. Cerakote will certainly be more durable. The Aervoe is baked onto the mini4 pictured above pretty well. I'm betting if I dumped a few mags FA through it, it might not look great, but that's not an opportunity that presents itself often.

Onto the handguard discussion, I've had a lot of Geisseles, ALGs, KACs, DDs, a few VLTOR CAS-Vs (showing my age), a couple BCMs, a Noveske NSR, and a PRI toooooob. I think that about covers it. Of all of them I think the strongest are probably the RIS IIs with the follow up being KAC FF RAS. The early Geissele SMRs and the MK4/MK8 are real beefcakes too though. I agree with many of the posters that have spoken to this here already.

WARNING PHOTO DUMP AHEAD:

I tried to like a MK14:

But there was something about it that just didn't inspire confidence, like there wasn't enough there to hold onto. Maybe if I'd had a longer version with a longer barrel, I don't know. I just didn't like it.

Sold the MK14 for a MK4:



Nothing wrong with the MK4 at all. Strong, rigid, and fills up the hand a little better. I still have it in the parts bin. I just moved away from 10.3" rifles that aren't mk18s and started to build the 11.3" in the initial photo with the MK8.

MK8:


I think the MK8 is almost perfect for balance of weight and strength.

SMR MK2 REV B:


If Bill was smart he'd bring these and the old ALGs back as well as that "sand" brown anodizing.

PRI. It's not tanodized, but on another tano build and I think it's a great option for a tough and accurate upper.




I've heard complaints about weight on the PRI, but I don't think it's bad. I think if you have a thick barrel and an AE or OPs suppressor under it, yea, but I don't think the tube itself is heavy at all. It was on the mk12 mod0 so it has a history of abuse and success.

At the end of the day if you find something that feels good to you that has an intelligently engineered mounting system you'll probably be ok. I don't know if my insight means anything as I'm just a dude that enjoys building, shooting and training with ARs. Apart from getting dinged up going in and out of the safe, going through thick brush, or falling over after being leaned up against something, mine aren't ridden that hard and are put away somewhat clean and lubed.

ETA: Grammar correction.

Nice collection and intelligent insight Bringo. Your new tobacco torch looks fantastic, even if it gets you looking all "citified.." Ha!

Seriously, very nice builds.

Nice builds! The Mk8 is my favorite too, though I just scored a Mk4 blem for a new build. It will be a tano’less heathen though.

can someone recommend me a cerakote guy to do tan ano? I had some work done to something and it didnt come out the shade i want and ankratz isnt taking work anymore.

Can anyone recommend a good tan anodized looking paint that is DIY?


I want to temp paint a receiver set while I wait for Black Ops to open up their anodizing services again

Do you have more information on Black Ops? Link to site?
I haven’t found anyone that does one-off anodizing jobs anymore…

Probably Black Ops Defense who focuses on HK stuff. I've seen some tanodized HK like receivers.

https://blackopsdefense.com/

Curious as to what colors they used and how it turned out.

I’m pretty happy with their smoked bronze color but most (if not all) places are using similar metallic colors to replicate anodizing. Further away it looks tano but as you get up close it becomes more evident it’s not.

Smoked bronze in different light and up close.

I assume you mean smoked beonze Cerakote?

Yep. It’s my new go to for the tano look. A lot of places thin out midnight bronze or add silver metallics to FDE colors. I think smoked bronze is their new approach to appease that side. They also just released a green color that seems to be replicating OD green anodizing.

I’m sure there are combos out there closer than smoked bronze but I don’t know who to recommend for it.

Hadn't seen this pic. That lighting makes them look Tanodized for sure.

Yeah it’s a crazy color. In direct light and low light it looks more like anodizing. Doesn’t pick up as well in medium light for pictures but it’s still there to the human eye. It’s a borderline chameleon color since it changes based on lighting so much.

Here it kinda looks like Aero Kodiak anodize.


In the safe it looks like an anodize fade job.

PM sent, dont wanna air out private stuff lol

Are you talking about Crocodile (H-360)?  I was thinking how it looks like anodizing.

PM'd you

Yep. I’m not going to have a gun coated in it til I see it though. Tano is pretty much any shade but I’m picky about OD green and all this neon stuff going around.

I actually set myself up for Cerakoting, at least partially, so I can test out different ways to replicate tan anodizing.  

Did a crap ton of reading to see common tricks and methods.  My goal was a bit more specific in wanting to replicate some of the darker “Tano” stuff out there.  Good example would be some of the anodizing you see on factory RAL 8000 HK 416s.  It’s very dark with almost a slight greenish hue.  

In any case, vast majority of Cerakote folks are using smoked, burnt, and midnight bronze, some with additional metallic additives to offer that anodizing “sheen” from H series Cerakote.  I’ve seen some folks try to play with catalyst ratios to give off the same look, but it just ends up making the entire part look glossy and usually ends up looking worse than just plain H series “x” bronze color with the flattest catalyst ratio and no additives.  C series also suffers from the same problem with glossiness.  I’ve only used it on a few items at this point, but they’ve all come out fairly glossy after following Cerakote’s application procedures.

My main complaint with the bronze Cerakote colors is up close, they appear to have too much metallic additive, IMO.  I’ve fiddled around with mixing non-metallic containing colors to dull that effect a bit, but it’s still not there.  It is a good way to pretty easily change the lightness or darkness of the base Cerakote, though, so in smaller ratios you can keep a lot of the metallic appearance while still modifying the base color.

I’ve started playing around with some other unusual methods.  I don’t have a huge hope that they’ll work out, but it’s only Cerakote and the coating itself isn’t very expensive, so I’m only a trip to the blasting cabinet, degrease, and air brush away from starting over.

Same here, the one pic on Cerakote's website isn't great.  Might order a swatch to see what it really looks like.  I'd love to find a close match to Aero's anodized green.

I rattle canned the receiver as a temp solution while I wait for Black Ops Anodizing service to open up

Which anodized tan buffer tube has a slick inside? I got the LBE Unlimited AR15 Milspec Buffer Tube and it is rough as hell.

All 3 of my Geissele DDC tubes are perfectly smooth on the inside.

Had an RGuns tube at one point that was extremely rough.  Rough enough it looked like it had a rifling button dragged through it and was starting to make the buffer I was using look like a projectile that had been fired through a rifled barrel.  

I’m pretty sure receiver extensions are extrusions, so I’m going to guess a lot of these budget items are either “factory seconds” from a big OEM that are still functional but failed quality control for one reason or another, or if manufactured in house, were made using worn out tooling.

All day everyday... that's what I posted!

No new gun tano. I did find quite a surprise in a cheap Chinese flashlight though. I thought it was painted from pictures but Thrunite actually tano’s their flashlights. They even have a weapon mounted one I might grab for the kid’s full auto BB gun.

Nice!

I have a couple of these Streamlight Microstreams in FDE anodized.
Nice lights, and rechargeable. I think they’re around $35 on Amazon

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Bought a Blemula DDC lower on Friday, just because they were on sale.  Still have another Kodiak Brown upper in a box…

No plans yet, but it’s only a matter of time.

I also have an A2 carry handle upper that I’d send to Black Ops as tomorrow if they were doing Tano work.

No idea how much this has been discussed about companies doing anodizing jobs for individuals, but there’s a discussion in the refinishing forum on anodizers and it looks like someone found a place in Vegas that’ll do it.  I’m heavily considering sending off my MCX to have everything aluminum tanodized.

On the flip side, since Cerakote seems to be an OK discussion in here, I continue to try out different methods for replicating Tano.

Entire gun started off black anodized.  Few parts are actually tano (FAST mount, X300T, Maxim stock parts, and cheesy SI FA), everything else is Cerakote.  It’s really hard to capture in the light with a cell camera, but the upper looks best of all so far to my eye, looking for a process to replicate darker tano.  Borrowed a F1’d SBR lower from another gun for testing, so I’ll have a little more to play with when the F1 comes back on the original lower.

If nothing else, I’ve got some 50 shades of FDE going on.

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