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Posted: 1/25/2016 6:50:27 PM EDT
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Well My Brownells M16A1 upper came today.
My first impression is its very nicely machined very little to any machine marks. Mine does have a tiny ding in the area on the forward asset. It was there before anodizing. It is very dark black that's for sure. I set it on three different lowers and the Anderson A2 lower was the closest in color but was still much darker. I did not order brownell retro lower yet but I think I will just to see how the color matches up. I do have a couple of brand new Aero lowers coming I will see how the color matches to them. Over all its seems nice looking other then the color. I am waiting on parts, so no idea on part fitment. I will get some pictures up once my camera battery charges 
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I posted in the Shot show thread, but just wanted to add to the above comment that I completely agree with the part about using some steel wool to lighten it up. But I prefer the scotch brite pads, they seem to work a lot better for me. Or at least in my limited experience of 1 upper I did a BFPU look on. I actually really like how the black receivers look if they are worn a little bit and make great Hydramatic clones.
JRS - what upper is that? If it is a Nodak how did you remove the NDS forge markings? It probably isn't one, but if anyone else knows the answer to this it would be greatly appreciated. I will probably end up with a couple of these anyway, but I would really like to know a way to remove the NDS markings and be able to touch it up without having to have it completely re anodized if possible. If that isn't possible then I will leave them be. |
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I posted in the Shot show thread, but just wanted to add to the above comment that I completely agree with the part about using some steel wool to lighten it up. But I prefer the scotch brite pads, they seem to work a lot better for me. Or at least in my limited experience of 1 upper I did a BFPU look on. I actually really like how the black receivers look if they are worn a little bit and make great Hydramatic clones. JRS - what upper is that? If it is a Nodak how did you remove the NDS forge markings? It probably isn't one, but if anyone else knows the answer to this it would be greatly appreciated. I will probably end up with a couple of these anyway, but I would really like to know a way to remove the NDS markings and be able to touch it up without having to have it completely re anodized if possible. If that isn't possible then I will leave them be. The upper is actually an XM upper. I bought the entire upper from Ohio Ordnance several years and they sold it as a USGI M16A1 upper assembly. It has the SAK barrel. It never dawned on me that it did not have the forge codes on the carrying handle, but it does have the Colt proofs by the ejection port. I am just leaving it as is. The entire assembly was refinished somewhere down the line in black. At least it was done right and not painted. On the NDS lower, in most cases you will have to refinish the entire upper if you mill off the NDS. John Thomas may have a way to do it without having to refinish the whole thing and just touch up that one area. You may want to contact him to see about that. |
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Are they black not gray? Here is Brownells ad copy for its A1 upper receiver: "Designed in conjunction with Nodak Spud, the Brownells M16A1 Upper Receiver matches the features of the original M16A1 Receiver. Perfect for a “Retro” or reproduction build, these uppers precisely mirror the original profile. This match is only possible by utilizing forgings with the proper profile built-in. Features specific to the Brownells M16A1 Upper Receiver are the original A1 profile, with no shell deflector, A1 rear sight housing and proper carry handle contours. The upper starts off as a 7075 T6 aluminum forging, then is machined to mil-spec dimensions. Once machined, the upper is finished with a matte black hard anodized finish. This finish matches most modern lowers found on the market today, as well as the Brownells BRN-16A1 Lower Receiver sold separately. Standard AR-15 components will work perfectly with this upper." |
If I didn't already have an upper for my crazy pistol build I'd have grabbed a pair. Still kind of tempted to but then I'd have the problem of having an NDS-16 upper just laying around, begging to be built. Plus I just got in some grey parts and all that. Whew. Dodged a bullet there, right? 
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If you want, you can lighten up the finish somewhat using some super fine steel wool. You can do the lower the same way. This will give them a smoother finish with a bit of a sheen and a slightly used look. If you buy the Brownells A1 lower, you can work them at the same time in order to get the same consistency in finish. Here is what an A1 would look like with an A1 upper and lower in black. I went over both receivers with the steel wool. 
Is that a Brownells A1 lower ? |
TRUE! One of these is Norelles coated...
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, the upper is finished with a matte black hard anodized finish. Nothing a Little Norrells cant fix http://www.megpro.com/ar/parts/NorrellsMollyResin.jpg |
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