Refinishing Your AR
With Robar Poly-12 Finish
The AR-15 weapon system is truly in its prime. There are more AR guns and accessories being sold now than ever before, and with the threat of a second term for President Obama, there is no end in sight. At least once a week I get requests from friends and coworkers for advice on which AR to buy or which accessories they should add to their gun. Lately I have noticed a few of these guys have older guns they are trying to dress up with after-market add-ons. Usually this is fine, but in some cases their gun ends up looking like they put a new set of chrome rims on an old jalopy.
What many of these guns need is a true overhaul, but this requires more time, skill and tools than most of us have. The gun really needs to be sent to a custom gunsmith. Take a trip to a gun show or do an Internet search, and you will see there are plenty of guys hanging out there claiming to be the guru of the gun. So which one should you choose?
The Right Shop
I recently had dinner with Robbie Barrkman, the owner of Robar, and he told me about a new finish he had for firearms. For those not familiar with Robar, they are a custom gun shop specializing in high-tech coatings. World renowned for their incredibly durable Roguard and NP3 coatings, I figured Mr. Barrkman must have created something special for it to be able to compete with his already popular finishes. I know NP3 and Roguard to be outstanding products. On a mule deer hunt with some friends, our rifles were drenched in rain for several days. My Roguard-finished bolt gun was the only one that didn’t rust. In fact, it looked as good as new. So I couldn’t help but be a bit skeptical that something could be as good or better than this. Luckily, I wasn’t disappointed.
Robar’s new finish is called Poly-T2. Poly-T2 is a PTFE-based epoxy coating designed for firearms used in harsh environments. It is also self-lubricating and corrosion resistant. The unique thing about Poly-T2 is it can be applied in several different colors, including black, tan, olive drab, dark green and gunmetal gray. Robar is so confident in all of their finishes that each one comes with a lifetime warranty! Poly-T2 sounded perfect for my AR overhaul.
To get the most out of this new finish, I chose the most beat-up AR I could find in the armory. This old, police-duty gun is a Colt M16 Vietnam-era gun that had already been bastardized over the years. As you can see from the “before” photos, it was in pretty bad shape, with an irregular finish and an even more irregular cycle of operation.
Malfunctions were common, but erratic and seemingly without cause. I began to feel I was setting Robar up for failure with such a difficult gun. I should have known better.
Before
Broken Gun
Robar begins each project with a thorough inspection of all parts. This includes the new parts as well as the old ones. Shortly after receiving the gun, I received a call from Mr. Barrkman saying we had a problem. They had discovered a hairline crack at the rear of the upper receiver. This would allow the receiver to flex during cycling, possibly causing the malfunctions I had been experiencing. It would also get worse, potentially causing a catastrophic failure. A new receiver would be needed. Not a problem. A quick couple of clicks online at Brownells’ website and a new flattop upper receiver was on the way. It should be noted that when Robar works on guns, they continually inspect the parts as well as their work throughout the process. That is actually how the crack was found. The receiver looked good at first, but after it was bead blasted and stripped of the anodizing, the crack became evident. It’s this attention to detail that ensures the customer receives only the highest quality finished product.
After the initial inspection, the gun is completely disassembled and the various parts are designated for the appropriate coating. The upper and lower receivers were finished in the tan Poly-T2, along with the barrel, gas block, flash suppressor, delta ring, handguard cap and ejection port cover. NP3 was used on the bolt carrier assembly, charging handle, buffer tube, trigger assembly and other remaining small parts. NP3 is a combination of electroless nickel and sub-micron sized particles of PTFE (Teflon). When applied to metal, NP3 fills in the microscopic pores and irregularities, creating a smooth, low-friction, satin-gray surface that is extremely corrosion and wear resistant. Another great benefit of NP3 is it is self-lubricating like the newer Poly-T2, and almost impervious to carbon buildup. This makes it especially great for use on internal parts such as the trigger, hammer, sear and disconnector. By finishing the bolt assembly in NP3, it makes it super easy to clean and extremely reliable. With the buffer tube also finished in NP3, the buffer and spring cycle easier without added lubrication, and the stock adjustment is smoother.
Bringing It To Life
When the parts are all refinished, they are hand fitted as the gun is reassembled. During this process, the old accessories were left off and replaced by new black hardware. A Magpul stock, grip and ambidextrous sling adaptor were installed, adding to the gun’s good looks as well as giving it true functionality. To complement the flattop upper receiver, I ordered a few other parts from Brownells, including a quad rail handguard, short-length mil-spec barrel and quad rail gas block. At the muzzle, a SureFire suppressor adaptor was installed to accommodate the SureFire Fast-Attach Mini suppressor. To make sure I could hit what I aimed at, a set of Magpul MBUS flip-up front and rear iron sights rode the rails on top along with an Aimpoint T1 micro red-dot optic I later added for range testing. Since I need to see in the dark, and it would be a shame to let all that rail space go unused, a SureFire Vampire light was added to the quad rail handguard.
As you can clearly see from the “after” photos, the gun is now a beautiful piece of weaponry. The metal finish is smooth and attractive without being too shiny. These are true metal treatments, and not just cosmetic finishes. The parts are finished inside and out, making them almost impervious to the elements. The tan Poly-T2 finish contrasts nicely with the black accessories. Speaking of which, let me elaborate on these for a moment. All of Magpul’s products are designed and tested by true end-users, ensuring they not only work properly but will also stand up to the harshest environments, just like Robar’s finishes. The stock and grip are ergonomic and allow better handling of the weapon. The stock is an ACS, which stands for Adaptable Carbine/Storage. It features two battery storage tubes on either side, as well as a dual-entry storage compartment at the rear. It also has a friction lock that helps keep it very stable. The release lever is shielded to prevent accidental movement and it is finished off with a rubber buttpad for sure purchase in your shoulder.
The grip is the Magpul MIAD (MIssion ADaptable), and it features interchangeable front and back straps that allow the shooter to custom fit the grip to their needs. The inside storage compartment further adds to its versatility, making it one of my favorite AR grips. The ambidextrous sling adaptor is one of the best designs out there. It’s low profile to prevent snagging, and the sling is attached to a steel ring that moves freely from side to side. When I took the gun to the range, I attached the new Magpul MS3 Multi-Mission Sling. This baby allows you several ways of carrying the gun, is extremely durable, allows single-hand adjustment and has a quick release buckle.
Aimpoint optics are known the world over for their accuracy, ruggedness and reliability. As for SureFire, there isn’t a lot I can say that hasn’t already been said, but I’ll try. Their suppressors are incredible. They are designed to not only reduce sound, but also reduce muzzle flash and dust signature, as well as alter the sound signature. This greatly helps in concealing your position from the target. The SureFire suppressor adaptor replaces the existing flash suppressor, and allows the suppressor to be installed in seconds. SureFire suppressors are known for their minimal shift in point of impact and maintaining repeatable accuracy, whether shooting with or without the suppressor attached. As for the Vampire light, this is one of SureFire’s latest and can be used as a handheld flashlight or mounted on a weapon. It gives high and low outputs of both bright white LED light and infrared without the need for an IR filter.
Does It Shoot?
I’ve driven more than one car that looked great but ran poorly. The same can be said for guns — just because it looks great doesn’t mean it’s going to run. I brought along several types of ammo from several different manufacturers including Black Hills, Hornady and Federal. For magazines, I brought along about a dozen, from old GI 30-rounders to new Magpul 20- and 30-rounders. I even got my hands on a SureFire 60-rounder! I also had a few old GI magazines that Robar had rebuilt by refinishing them in NP3, and then using Magpul followers and base plates, coupled with Wolff springs. If you’re going to use metal magazines, this is the way to go. The NP3 finish means they don’t need lube, need to be cleaned less often, are corrosion resistant and are much more reliable, especially with the Magpul follower. When testing a magazine-fed weapon, having a bunch of magazines from several different manufacturers helps on two levels. First, if the gun has feeding or cycling issues, the different magazines can help diagnose the problem. Second, having all of these different magazines will tell you how truly reliable the gun is. For example, I would expect any gun to work using the factory magazines it came with. But how well does it do with various aftermarket ones, especially when you know these magazines to be of the highest quality.
After getting set up on the range, the first thing I did was complete a function check of the weapon. Next, I loaded one of the Magpul mags with five rounds and manually cycled each one through the gun, observing that they loaded and extracted flawlessly. Only then did I load one round into the mag and fire the gun, observing it extract, eject and lock the bolt to the rear. Finally I loaded five rounds into the magazine and fired them slowly in succession without a problem. Confident the gun was working properly, I began to get serious.
I loaded the magazines to capacity. Each magazine contained one type of ammunition. This included ball, soft point and polymer tip, with all of them being in the 50- to 62-grain range. I then sighted in the Aimpoint and found most of the ammunition maintained 1″-2″ groups at 50 yards using just the red-dot sight, excellent accuracy for a mil-spec barrel. Of course the quality and clarity of the Aimpoint optic helped me with this. More impressive was the reliability. This very cool-looking tan AR ate everything I fed it, regardless of which magazine it came from. I attribute this to a combination of Robar’s custom fitting of all parts and the lubricating properties of the Poly-T2 and NP3 coatings. I never lubed the gun, and fired over 300 rounds before I cleaned it, without having any type of malfunction. Several of the magazines were expended on full-auto and I had no issues other than the gun getting a little hot! The SureFire suppressor definitely made shooting the gun much more enjoyable, especially on full-auto. Not only is the noise suppressed, the felt recoil and muzzle rise is much less, making the gun more controllable.
After shooting the gun I couldn’t help but be impressed with how it felt. This is difficult to describe if you have never shot a custom gun. There is a definite difference with how this gun feels and shoots, specifically when manipulating the controls. The fit and finish coupled with the Poly-T2 and NP3 coatings make everything simply feel smooth. I inspected the finishes to see how they held up to the heat and wear of firing. After wiping some carbon fouling off of a few areas, I found the finish still looked perfect. I also found my cleaning session much faster and easier thanks to the Poly-T2 and NP3 finishes. Carbon has difficulty sticking to these surfaces and basically wipes off! Another benefit is the trigger pull. It felt like it had a trigger job done, when in reality it is just the NP3 allowing all the parts to move almost friction free.
After getting set up on the range, the first thing I did was complete a function check of the weapon. Next, I loaded one of the Magpul mags with five rounds and manually cycled each one through the gun, observing that they loaded and extracted flawlessly. Only then did I load one round into the mag and fire the gun, observing it extract, eject and lock the bolt to the rear. Finally I loaded five rounds into the magazine and fired them slowly in succession without a problem. Confident the gun was working properly, I began to get serious.
I loaded the magazines to capacity. Each magazine contained one type of ammunition. This included ball, soft point and polymer tip, with all of them being in the 50- to 62-grain range. I then sighted in the Aimpoint and found most of the ammunition maintained 1″-2″ groups at 50 yards using just the red-dot sight, excellent accuracy for a mil-spec barrel. Of course the quality and clarity of the Aimpoint optic helped me with this. More impressive was the reliability. This very cool-looking tan AR ate everything I fed it, regardless of which magazine it came from. I attribute this to a combination of Robar’s custom fitting of all parts and the lubricating properties of the Poly-T2 and NP3 coatings. I never lubed the gun, and fired over 300 rounds before I cleaned it, without having any type of malfunction. Several of the magazines were expended on full-auto and I had no issues other than the gun getting a little hot! The SureFire suppressor definitely made shooting the gun much more enjoyable, especially on full-auto. Not only is the noise suppressed, the felt recoil and muzzle rise is much less, making the gun more controllable.
After shooting the gun I couldn’t help but be impressed with how it felt. This is difficult to describe if you have never shot a custom gun. There is a definite difference with how this gun feels and shoots, specifically when manipulating the controls. The fit and finish coupled with the Poly-T2 and NP3 coatings make everything simply feel smooth. I inspected the finishes to see how they held up to the heat and wear of firing. After wiping some carbon fouling off of a few areas, I found the finish still looked perfect. I also found my cleaning session much faster and easier thanks to the Poly-T2 and NP3 finishes. Carbon has difficulty sticking to these surfaces and basically wipes off! Another benefit is the trigger pull. It felt like it had a trigger job done, when in reality it is just the NP3 allowing all the parts to move almost friction free.
If you truly want to trick out your AR, try doing more than just adding a few accessories. This is a great option for the gun you plan to have a long time, shoot a lot or maybe plan to hand down to your children. I have just touched on the basics of what Robar can do to your rifle. There is no limit to the cool stuff they are capable of, which can even include custom engraving and logos. Don’t settle for putting on a few pieces of plastic you picked up at a gun show. Step up to the big leagues and let Robar turn your old black rifle into something you can’t wait to show off as well as shoot.
For more info:
Aimpoint
www.aimpoint.com
(877) 246-7646
Brownells
www.brownells.com
(641) 623-4000
Magpul
www.magpul.com
(877) 462-4785
Robar
www.robarguns.com
(623) 581-2648
SureFire
www.surefire.com
(800) 828-8809
