I have an AR bought new 5 years ago.  I have probably only put 2500 rounds or so through it!  On certain spots (charging handle especially, but also other spots on the inside of the upper reciever, the black finish is wearing off and the spots are shiny silver).  Any way to fix this? Also, is there anything special you're supposed to do to clean the gas tube?  Should any cleaner ever get down there?  The area at the very end of the barrel on the inside of the upper reciever never looks clean, but it's hard to get in there without taking the whole thing apart, and I'm not qualified to do that.hat
Thanks!

The shiny spots will not affect function or longevity, but if you are worried about the cosmetics, then you can buy a suitable product from Birchwood Casey called Aluminum Black.

As for the cleaning, don't worry about it unless you are suffering reliability problems. No need to clean the gas tube (its self cleaning), and certainly don't have a "gunsmith" butcher the rifle just to clean it. If you follow the GI cleaning procedure, and get in there with some Q-Tipe, you should be able to clean everything quite adequately.

Thanks, but is the charging handle and inside of the upper receiver aluminum?

If cleaner gets down the gas tube, does it mess anything up?  I spray the inside of the gun with gun scrubber, then lube it up again, so I'm thinking some of that stuff has gone down the gas tube.

Quoted: Thanks, but is the charging handle and inside of the upper receiver aluminum? If cleaner gets down the gas tube, does it mess anything up?  I spray the inside of the gun with gun scrubber, then lube it up again, so I'm thinking some of that stuff has gone down the gas tube.

Yes, the charging handle and the receiver are aluminum inside and out. You can paint the insides but as you use it, it will just wear off again. Don't worry about it.

You can not mess up the gas tube.

It sounds like you really ought to get one of the manuals that deal with cleaning the AR and its care. Google for one, they are all over the internet.

I have plenty of manuals.  I have the USMC official armorers manual, plus the AR-15/M16 Sourcebook with plenty of diagrams, but since I'm not breaking it down as far as the books show, I just wanted some imput.  Thanks for the advice!

Gun scrubber evaporates away. You need to be concerned about stuff like CLP.

Don't worry about too much. The M16 wasn't made for geniuses to use.

You should hook up with some members with 10 year old pristine rifles.  <cough>safe queens<cough>.  I hear that a lot of them are looking for a "worn look."

Who knows.  You might be able to score 2 brand new rifles in trade for your well used rifle.

YMMV



Corey

PS  Sounds like you're doing alright with that rifle!  With the appropriate military manuels downloaded, you should be able to break the lower down for a detailed cleaning.  You don't need to break the upper down further than removing the handguards.

Quoted: You should hook up with some members with 10 year old pristine rifles.  <cough>safe queens<cough>.  I hear that a lot of them are looking for a "worn look." Who knows.  You might be able to score 2 brand new rifles in trade for your well used rifle. YMMV Corey PS  Sounds like you're doing alright with that rifle!  With the appropriate military manuels downloaded, you should be able to break the lower down for a detailed cleaning.  You don't need to break the upper down further than removing the handguards.

"SATINY PATINA!  SATINY PATINA!"

Quoted: "SATINY PATINA!  SATINY PATINA!"

Sorry, I didn't want to use the word "patina" because that implies a rust or corrosion of the finish.

And the only people around here who have corrosion or rust problems are those who don't vigorously shoot and maintain their rifles.  I didn't want to make them self conscious.

But we're on the same page otherwise.



Corey