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Smith & Wesson M&P15 Rifles Dedicated to the Smith & Wesson M&P-15 Rifles


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Old 09-09-2012, 08:39 AM
Foxtrot Foxtrot is offline
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Default Add a little color to your M&P15

We received a requirement to color code the fire mode/safety selector positions on our weapons, this is to help differentiate visually between the semi weapon and the ones with three round burst while the weapon is still in the rack. For our semi weapons we use the colors white for SAFE and red for FIRE, for the weapon with three round burst we use the same colors and the BURST position is also in red.

Before you begin be aware this method is considered permanent. Also be aware that once you start step 2 in the below procedure do not stop and take a break or allow much time to pass, flow through the steps and there should only be no more than about a minute between conducting steps 2 to 5 because the longer you let this paint set the harder it is to remove and the faster it stains. This method does not wear or chip away like crayons or some enamels or other paints or nail polish and this paint is not easy to remove once its in place, its there to stay so make sure you want to do this before you do it.

The method uses inexpensive (or already available) materials. Total cost of the method is determined by where you buy or already have on hand, but the costs of what we spent initially is shown with the below materials list to give you a rough idea. Once you get the technique down it takes between 5 to 10 minutes (depending on the individual) to add some color to something on the weapon.

Materials needed:

1. Hoppe's No.9 Solvent (required, have tried others but like this one best for this method) - a two ounce bottle at most and not more than $4.00 depending on where purchased (a two ounce bottle will do a lot of weapons)

2. Q-Tips Cotton Swabs (the regular cheap 375 count pack from Walgreens or other source type, cotton swab part on each end) - not more than $4.00 a package

3. Common Isopropyl Alcohol 91% (common Isopropyl Alcohol First Aid Antiseptic 91% from Walgreens or other source - do not use paint removers/thinners or acetone - about $2.00 for 16 Oz bottle)

4. Several white general home kitchen use type paper towels, not the super absorbant type, cheap off brand is fine (maybe a few bucks for a roll) - Do not use the paper towels of the type found in many public restroom dispensers as most of these will suck the paint out of the engraving.

5. Mr. Clean magic eraser (original). Use after the paint has set for 24 hours to remove any slight haze that may be left. Commonly available from many places such as in a two pack from Walgreens for about $3.50.

6. Elmers Painters Opaque Paint Marker pen in the colors desired (About $2.00'ish individually at Walmart in the Crafts section) This is what the pen looks like:


(Note: You do not have to buy in these qualtities, just showing how they come to give you an idea of what is needed. The Hoppes is commonly available in a lot of shooters cleaning supplies already, others have pointed out to me that a non-acetone nail polish remover can be used, we found the hoppes a little better with this paint.)

Here is what you do; For this tutorial/example we are going to use the word "FIRE" on the selector and color it red. This weapon was previously done but for this we will do it again to provide some pics.
Step 1. Prepare the surface: Use a Q-Tip or paper towel with the alcohol and clean the area to be painted, it needs to be free of any oils, solvents, debris, dirt, etc.... You will notice the word FIRE is engraved into the metal, the recessed engraved portion needs to be clean too so swab those areas with a Q-Tip and alcohol and get down into the engraving, this step will be the last time you press down into the engraving.
Step 2. Apply the paint: Using the paint pen dab the paint on as shown in the pic so that the letters in the word FIRE are covered. Don't try to "paint" with the pen, just dab it on.

Apply The Paint
Step 3. Wipe paint: After applying the paint wait five seconds and using a folded paper towel backed by two fingers with moderate pressure wipe across the painted area horizontally, you will be left with that shown in the below pic. The idea in this step is to force the paint into the engraving and help wipe away some excess paint. Do not press down into the engraving, keep pressure steady, use full even stokes when wiping and do not stop while wiping across the target area.

Wipe paint
Step 4. Clean away unwanted paint: This is where the magic happens. Using a Q-Tip soaked with Hoppe's No. 9 (not dripping but moderately wet- blot away excess on a paper towel if necessary), with a light to moderate pressure wipe horizontally across the target area where the paint is visible to remove paint in areas where it is not desired. Do this several times and use a new Q-Tip with the Hoppe's when one becomes slightly the paint color or the wiping is spreading the paint color more than it is removing. When wiping across the target area do not press down into the engraving. Use a paper towel if necessary to lightly blot up excess amounts of paint after step two before using the Q-Tip . When finished with clean up blot up any Hoppe's with a paper towel. Repeat as necessary until any paint outside the engraved lettering area is removed. Be aware of paint you get on your fingers and then touch the weapon - make sure to remove this unwanted paint as well while cleaning
Step 5. Clean away the Hoppe's: Use a paper towel wet with the alcohol, clean the area again to remove any Hoppe's residue. Use a light to moderate pressure and do not press into the engraving. Do not wipe dry, allow to air dry (you can blow on it a bit to speed up the alcohol evaporation). When the alcohol is evaporated decide if you need to re-apply for more paint build up then simply repeat steps 2 - 5 until satisfied. There may be a very slight white'ish alcohol residue left depending on the alcohol used, this is eaisly removed by rubbing with your finger.
Step 6. If finished then place the weapon aside, let the paint set for 24 hours and if needed or desired reapply the above steps for a final coat or desired effect and let set.
Step 7. Admire your handy work and revel in your awesomness.
The pictures shown are from an M&P 15 that has been in daily actual use service for a little under a year, had about 40,000 rounds put through it on the range and been cleaned literally hundreds of times (fully by hand or by immersion techniques) after the lettering paint was applied and you can see how well its held up. The paint is not a glossy paint like an enamel, it has a flat almost slightly subdued look after application to the weapon.

This paint has a certain "stain" quality that penetrates the surface top layer that is well suited to the rifle finish. There may be a little haze left over that is visible in some lighting (in the pics the word SAFE shows this haze), simply continue cleaning away with the Hoppe's and a Q-Tip after letting the paint set for a few minutes and after letting set for 24 hours if any haze is still visible use the Mr. Clean magic eraser (original). Make sure you clean away any unwanted paint while cleaning in the above steps, its difficult to remove if allowed to set too long.

Although the paint can be used on plastics and polymers, the Hoppe's might attack the plastic or polymer integrity for cheaper low quality or softer plastics or polymer, however, for most polymers and plastics you should have no issues.

We don't normally do the company logo's or names on the weapons, but this S&W logo was done to show larger areas can be done too, see the pic below.


Last edited by Foxtrot; 11-22-2012 at 10:35 AM. Reason: spelling - changed pictures - slightly altered content to update a little and correct a mistake
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Old 09-09-2012, 08:58 AM
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Looks good.
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Old 09-09-2012, 09:20 AM
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NUTTBALL763 NUTTBALL763 is offline
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Looks really good...
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Old 09-09-2012, 09:34 AM
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nice. ive done the same to my xd slides and 15-22 with nail polish. you can also use crayons.
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Old 09-09-2012, 10:33 AM
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I have done the same thing with touch up enamel, I used the green touch up enamel that came with my Snap-On tool box. It hasn't faded, chipped or come off in any way. Crayons are the easiest way to do it, but it also comes off really easily. Fingernail polish chips off pretty easily. Enamel paint doesn't do either but surface prep is important. Also, if you have a little smear of color left after it cures, you can take a Mr. Clean magic erasure (dry) and buff off the excess without affecting your guns finish. Plus the magic erasure leaves sharper, cleaner edges.
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Old 09-09-2012, 08:45 PM
Foxtrot Foxtrot is offline
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Thanks for reminding me about the Mr. Clean magic eraser thing, had forgotten about it.
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Old 09-10-2012, 12:31 PM
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I'm soooo tempted to try this out but am afraid it will look like ****.
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