D.I.Y. Color Fill!

List of materials;
Your favorite shade of fingernail polish! (DUH! Like OMG!!)
Fingernail polish remover with acetone in it
Tools to remove your grip so that the detent and safety lever can come out and get out of the way
Paper towels (I went through 6 sheets but I am wasteful)
30 minutes of your time
A few brain cells (from the acetone's pungent aroma)

I have my lovely wife to thank for today's new post! If it wasn't for her vast and ever growing collection of different shades of fingernail polish I might not have had this idea!

I have always admired this particular shade for its earthy tone and is proximity to Magpul's Foliage Green color. Here is the info if you want it for your own project;

I figured I would give this a shot on my AR lower receiver to make it look less like a black brick in the middle of a green rifle and if I messed up.... oh well! (That's what acetone is for!)

I started by taking off the pistol grip and with it, the spring and detent. after this the safety selector comes right out so that there is more room for the pictograms to be worked on.

Here are the before images;

 

I cleaned the areas to be color filled by wiping a paper towel with fingernail polish remover on it and that took up the oils and grease. After this, I proceeded to apply the fingernail polish to one side of the receiver. Don't be afraid to use a good amount, what you are going for is total coverage while wet! This means that while the fingernail polish is still wet (within the first 1 or 2 minutes of being on the receiver) that the pictograms covered should not be able to be seen, they should be filled in with the polish.

This is how it came out for me;

During the drying process (which takes about 10-15 minutes) the lacquer will thin out and this will make the images filled more noticeable as seen in the second picture above.

After the lacquer is dry and not tacky to the touch you are ready to continue! Take a paper towel and fold it up a few times. Put some acetone on it so that it soaks through and makes half of the paper towel damp and then rub in circles lightly on the color filled areas. Once the lacquer starts so smear, that means that you need to move to a new, unsoiled section of paper towel. Start off lightly and apply more pressure as more and more unwanted lacquer comes off.

When you are done it should look something like this;

Obviously I need to clean up a little more but you get the idea! Once you get one side all cleaned up and finished, you may move on to the other side.

Not bad for about $5