Just a quick question; I figured someone would know and give a quick answer so I didn't do an extensive search (sorry).

I have acquired a pair of rubber DoD Acceptance stamps (repros by d.wilson manufacturing) but was wondering what medium they used to actually put the mark on the guns.
Is that some kind of ink, plain flat white paint, or what?

Thanks!

Testers gloss white model paint.

Did you get both sizes?

What size would be correct for XM177E2 build and how do you apply paint to stamp? Anybody share step by step process? Probably not rocket science , just no need to re-invent the wheel here thanks for the assist

OST .


I have all the stamps but need info on this as well.

I do have both stamps.

According to Retro Black Rifle:
From 1967-1968 a large DOD stamp was stamped on the right side of the magwell.
From 1968-1993 a small DOD stamp was stamped on the front of the magwell.

Large was .575"

Small was .425"

I use white nail polish.

     OK so how do I apply paint/nail polish to stamp? Like a stamp pad?

I always see lots of talk about the stamps themselves and the methods of application, but what's the deal with them on the grander scale?  
In essence they are just marks on DOD property (which includes all of the military's equipment), yes?   It's the DOD's method of peeing on the fire hydrant?

If that's so, does that mean that prototypes and such wouldn't have such marks?  I know that the markings are pretty sporadic anyway, it seems that plenty of military rifles don't have them?  The timing of 1967-1993 means 601's & 602's, and even early 603's wouldn't have the stamps, right?  Only late 603's onward up to roughly M4A1's?

I've had a pair of stamps for a while, but haven't yet marked anything due to my uncertainties around their actual use.

I'd completely forgotten about this (which is funny because this is my topic), but when I went through Air Force OCS back in the early 80s we had to mark all our clothing with ink.
We were to use black ink for light clothing and white ink for dark clothing.
The black was simply India ink, but the white stuff had to be purchased down at Uniform Sales.
In addition to clothing we also had to mark all our personal property in our room, and I used the white stuff on all sorts of
surfaces.

I think we all bought a kit like this one from Vanguard: Marking Kit: Com-Pac (SKU: 7081300) 
Obviously we don't need the whole kit if we're using the DoD stamp, so I did a quick search at Vanguard and found this: Uniform Marking Kit: White Ink (SKU: 7080150)

I looked at OfficeDepot and all their stamp pads appear to be pre-inked. My local stamp-maker has pads but no white ink.
If you don't have a shop like that nearby, Vanguard has a Uniform Marking Kit Pad Refill kit that includes a stamp pad and a bottle of black ink, but the pad appears to be dry so you could probably use it with the white ink.

I need a couple of uniform items from Vanguard; I think I'll add a couple of bottles to the order and see how it works.

If the white stuff from Vanguard doesn't work I'll probably just use flat white model paint.

I used craft paint from Hobby Lobby/Michael's.
I poured some on a plain white bathroom tile from Home Depot, and dipped the stamp in it.
Then I practiced on cardboard.
When I got the technic figured out, I stamped my rifles.
I didn't like one of them, and was able to immediately wipe it away.
It took a little water too.
Make sure you clean up the stamp right away.
Washing the stamp under running  water a few times won't hurt it, but long term might not be too good.
I've only used mine 3 or 4 times.

Get one of those small bottles of appliance touch up paint that you can get at any hardware store or Home Depot for $5. It's an epoxy based paint so you'll never have to worry about it coming off if it gets hit with gun cleaning solvents or oils. I'm pretty sure that an epoxy paint is what DOD uses. Only downside is that if you want to remove it you'll need a very strong methylene chloride based stripper.

    Thank you sir