Does anyone refinish their floorplates? If so what do you use other than paint to get the floorplates black?  I have quite a few 30rnd mags with good floorplates, their just ugly (discolored and minor scratches). Or is it not worth the trouble.

I refinished a dozen or so 30 rd. mags this past summer. I used Permaslik on the mag bodies, and flat black BBQ grill paint on the floorplates. I roughed the surface of the floorplate with sandpaper,cleaned them with acetone, then sprayed them. Some of the paint peeled when I was re-assembling the mags, on the tab thingys that hold the floorplates on. Overall, they look good. They are my range mags,so I am not too concerned. The after looks way better than the before. If I wasn't such a cheapass, I probably would have sprung for new floorplates. I think DPMS sells them.

The key is they're anodized. It's too bad we don't have someone on here that does that kind of stuff. I know of some custom bike shops that send stuff out for anodizing. I just wonder what the price or laughs you would get when you brought in say 10 baseplates?

I am picky about how gun parts look so when I picked up a 20 rounder with a scratched up floor plate I used the following product from WalMart'a auto dept.Dupli-Color Engine Enamel (Ceramic) #DE1634 Low Gloss Black. Just clean the floor plate with hot soapy water, dry then spray on and dry for a day. Itis durable and looks much like the original and all for less than four dollars! Can't see any reason to spend more time or money on them.

To refinish my floor plates I degrease them using gun scrubber or some other lung searing industrial strength cleaner, then I dip them in Birchwood Casey "ALUMA BLACK".  (Let them sit for 10-30 seconds which should cause some bubbling at the site of the scratch) Then rinse with cold water.

This works and works real good.  However, if it's just scratched, you'll still be able to somewhat notice where the old scratch was.  Apply a light coat of CLP which should help to hide the scratch even more.

If your floor plates are really toast or if you don't want a trace of the scratches, and if you can get to a sand-blaster, hit them GENTLY with small grit sand.  (Although I have used copper slag which was really large and they turned out OK) Then submerge the plate into a container of the ALUMA-BLACK. ***Note, as the solution bubbles on the aluminum there is a bit of heat given off as well as some NASTY vapors.  I advise doing so in a well ventilated area to avoid seeing zombies! Once you've rinsed them in cold water apply CLP for a nice sheen.  They should look good as new.

The nice thing about this method is that, unlike painting them, the finish won't chip and is not easily scratched off.

Sly