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Posted: 6/24/2013 7:31:55 PM EDT
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http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p69/mserman/MarredGB_zps78d13f0c.jpg
I made a royal mess of this gas block trying to POUND the retaining pin in. It was a real bare to get in and it looks really busch league. It looks worse at other angles. Did I learn the hard way on this one, or is there a trick of the trade that can help me clean this up? |
Whatever you do, don't try shooting it in that condition. The paint scratches impart stress risers into the molecular structure of the metal. Thermal dissipation is seriously affected as well, causing uneven heat induced malability. It'll grenade on you. 
OK, if it really is bothering you, you'll probably need to remove it, sand or blast off the finish, and recoat it with any number of high temp resistant coatings. You might be able to call the manufacturer and see if they'll tell you what sort of finish they use if you absolutley have to have that color. You might get lucky and just be able to find a close match and do a quick touch up I wouldn't worry about and just consider it the first of many "character" marks that a well used AR15 will accumulate over time. |
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This was my first build and project as a beginner gunsmith. I would like to be able to successfully assemble a gun without ANY marks as a sign of professionalism and experience. I'm not a trunk monkey banging things together.
After its assembled, scratches are free game. Until then its a learning experience. |
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Quoted:
This was my first build and project as a beginner gunsmith. I would like to be able to successfully assemble a gun without ANY marks as a sign of professionalism and experience. I'm not a trunk monkey banging things together. After its assembled, scratches are free game. Until then its a learning experience. Now i'm confused cause you did fuck it up. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
This was my first build and project as a beginner gunsmith. I would like to be able to successfully assemble a gun without ANY marks as a sign of professionalism and experience. I'm not a trunk monkey banging things together. After its assembled, scratches are free game. Until then its a learning experience. Now i'm confused cause you did fuck it up. HAHAHA, touche sir. Let me rephrase. I don't want to be a trunk monkey banging things together. |
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Quoted:
This was my first build and project as a beginner gunsmith. I would like to be able to successfully assemble a gun without ANY marks as a sign of professionalism and experience. I'm not a trunk monkey banging things together. After its assembled, scratches are free game. Until then its a learning experience. I too am pretty picky about fit and finish. My suggestion: get the proper tools , in this case the proper punch set and a gunsmith block to secure your work. You should be GTG |
I think your only choice now is to drag the thing down the driveway and claim you meant it to look that way . . . . 
Seriously, dude, you make yourself look like a dweeb even bringing this up. If it really bothers you, get a Sharpie and touch it up. Otherwise, forget it. Get that thing together and go shoot it. |
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Quoted:
I think your only choice now is to drag the thing down the driveway and claim you meant it to look that way . . . .
Seriously, dude, you make yourself look like a dweeb even bringing this up. If it really bothers you, get a Sharpie and touch it up. Otherwise, forget it. Get that thing together and go shoot it. If you think that trying to assemble a weapon without tool marks makes me a dweeb I don't know what to tell you. I was looking for solutions not douchey answers. A sharpie you say? Maybe I'll try that. |
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Quoted: Whatever you do, don't try shooting it in that condition. The paint scratches impart stress risers into the molecular structure of the metal. Thermal dissipation is seriously affected as well, causing uneven heat induced malability. It'll grenade on you.  But seriously if you don't want to be a "trunk monkey" then next time get a proper set of punches and do your due diligence to tape of the surrounding area, securely hold the gas block, etc. |
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OP, I respect your level of desired craftsmanship--there's nothing wrong with striving for perfection. That said, the block really doesn't look bad :)
Use this as a lesson. In the future, layers of masking tape or electrical tape around the "target area" will help mitigate the effect of a miss with your punch. A solid surface with the barrel or object you're working on properly secured will allow you to focus on your hammer strikes, and not worry about the part moving. As for "fixing" this one, I've noticed that brass marks *can* easily rub off with CLP and a terry cloth. For deeper scratches, you'll have to find something that matches the finish. Be warned, too much "repair" can make it stick out visually than had you just let it be. For FSB's and other parkerized parts, Rusoleum makes and automotive primer in a spray can that resembles a dark charcoal color, and it happens to match the parkerizing color for FSB's etc. perfectly. Good thing to have in your armorer kit for goof ups. Final option is to throw it down the driveway, and that little will be insignificant :) |
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