#Repost @sternerfirearms (@get_repost) ・・・ My AR pistol is finally complete. Had the parts forever, just never got around to it. We wanted to find an affordable pistol build for customers. This little guy here is made from @andersonmanufacturing parts, @matrixarms keymod rail, @sb.tactical brace, @magpul mbus sights, and @brownellsinc Aluma-Hyde II steel gray (thanks to @floody_be_good for letting me borrow) paint job! Just need to figure out the optic situation. Any suggestions? #andersonmanufacturing #matrixarms #ar15 #arpistol #556 #keymod #sbtactical #dailygundose #sternerfirearms #gunstore #brownells #alumahyde #comeandtakeit #donttreadonme #2a #nra #pewpew #gunsofinstagram #firearmsphotography #igguns #weaponsdaily #gunsdaily #gunchannels #igmilitia #rangeday
Sunday Gunday with Brownells Gun Tech Scott M.! "I started this project with a Spikes Tactical stripped lower and a Yankee Hill free float tube. From there I gathered an odd assortment of standard DPMS parts and a Jewell trigger. My goal was to have a tiger stripe AR-15, so I used Brownells Teflon/Moly Gun Finish on the metal parts and Brownells Aluma-Hyde II on the synthetic furniture. Camouflage projects are quite fun."
Hard to believe just how long I’ve owned my 2 BRN-180 Gen 2 builds. Sadly I haven’t been shooting these all too much in the past couple of years, but I knew I had to change that. My first BRN-180 was a 10 inch version in .300 Blackout. I purposely used the Brownells BRN-180 lower receiver that’s sadly no longer available. This one I wanted to do a nice Alum Hyde finish on so I ended up with a kind of desert themed multi cam finish. Then I decided for a .223 version and also went with a 10 inch version. In keeping with the Aluma Hyde camo theme, this one received a cool Flecktarn camouflage finish. Both of these builds even though their both BRN-180s, they are quite different. Both have different lower receivers, different optic platforms as well as triggers. Caliber is also different obviously. It’s always a treat when I take them out of the safe but extra special when I can get some time behind the trigger. I’ve been wanting more reasons to get them out so here we go.
Just this past weekend I made sure to bring both of my BRN-180 builds along since I’m hoping to do a super long term update video in the near future on both of these cool builds. Folk are always asking me about them since their quite unique from what people typically encounter out at the range. Add to the uniqueness of the particular firearm a cool Aluma Hyde camo pattern finish and it’s most surely a conversation starter. These two builds surely need more time out in the wild and I intend to give it to them.
I’ve been doing a good bit of optics review over on my Youtube channel as of late and some times I struggle deciding upon which host I’d like to use for any particular optics review process. Not all optics will make sense on a shorty like my BRN-180s but some definitely will. This past weekend I had both of these BRN-180s out to the range and while the .300 Blackout version is sporting a 3X Burris prism optic, the other one just has a Holosun green dot. I know these have more capabilities so it would be nice to get an optic with some more reach like the Burris 3X over on the .223 version. I recently got in a Vector optics Scrapper red dot and Paragon 3X magnifier on a very unique single combo mounting solution. I thought this would be a perfect change on the .223 BRN-180 if nothing else to use it for the review and get some more time behind the trigger on this particular build.
With the new optic set up mounted up, I’m ready to hit the range again. Hoping to keep both of these epic builds in the forefront by using them more and more as basic platforms to test and review various products. Sadly I’ve yet to pick up one of the Gen 3 BRN-180s for a build, but hopefully at some point I do end up snagging one.
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Aluma-Hyde II… Best Consumer Grade Firearm Finish?
Let’s have some talk about Alum Hyde II from the folks over at Brownells. Aluma-Hyde II is basically a spray on coating that can be used for a variety of surfaces such as aluminum, steel, polymer etc… Unlike some of your other firearm coatings, it has the ability to be sprayed on without the need for any fancy tooling. Cerekote which is undoubtedly the most common commercial grade coating requires a spray booth, spray gun and a way to hang and bake the finish in. Certain tools and equipment like a blasting cabinet can be helpful for prepping a surface for just about any type of coating, but it’s certainly not necessary for Alum Hyde II in order for it to bond to a surface. The surface just has to be clean and degreased to allow the Aluma Hyde II finish to properly cure. And also the right amount of curing time based on the environmental conditions such as temperature as well as humidity. You can of course speed cure Alum Hyde II in an oven, but it’s truly not necessary and a slow air cure is actually preferred in my experience.
So what all can you do with Aluma Hyde II? It’s a solid coating that has thew ability to be used in other than a single stage application process. If you’d like to get super fancy and use things like stencils, you can do it! Stencils allowing a camouflage type of design is certainly possible as I’ve been successful in applying camouflage patterns using Brownells Alum Hyde II on numerous occasions. It is a bit tricky however depending upon what camouflage pattern you intend to use. The number of colors can also present a bit of an issue depending on how heavy you spray them on the prepped surface of the firearm. Out of all of my Alum Hyde II projects, trying to replicate a German Flecktarn camouflage finish using stencils and multiple colors was probably the hardest one I’ve attempted and honestly didn’t turn out nearly as good as I had hoped. Due to trying to use 4-5 colors and get a solid even coat on each one, the layers stacked fairly deep so there are more edges than I would have preferred. In any case, it does look pretty good from afar and the fact that I did this was quite self satisfying to say the least. One thing that can help to minimize this issue is to know down each coat just a tad before applying the next color to the coating. Bronze or steel wool does a decent job at this. Another idea is to use as minimal coating as possible but this can lead to a color that looks under sprayed, so pay attention to that.
So even though I’m still learning how to best use Alum Hyde II, I absolutely love it for those home built projects. The last one I did was on a stock for a Howa carbon fiber action from Brownells and it turned out excellent. I’m still on the hunt for what my next project will be. Good thing is Brownells currently has free shipping on Aluma Hyde II that can help get that next Aluma Hyde II project off the ground. What are you waiting for?
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I think that most people who have followed me for the last 5+ years most likely know how much of a fan I am of the Brownells Aluma-Hyde II firearms finish. Is it perfect? Well nothing truly is, but is it better than just a spray paint finish? I certainly think so. Aluma-Hyde II from Brownells truly bridges the gap between a rattle can finish and that of a baked on finish such as Duracoat or Cerakote. I would say that Cerakote is the industry standard for custom firearm finishes among many other purposes.
My very first dive into Aluma-Hyde was with a cheap Charles Daly AR-12 shotgun. I wanted to keep things simple with just a 2 color finish without the need for any stencils or the like. After degreasing, I applied the first finish and quickly applied the second finish and allowed the recommended air cure time of 2 weeks. Yes 2 weeks! You can speed cure in an oven at a low temp like 200-250 degrees, but at the time I didn’t have an oven large enough and I wanted to spray the entire firearm after taping up the important parts.
What I learned after that I applied to a Brownells BRN-180 in .300 Blackout. This time I wanted stencils and picked a set of multicam stencils and went with some earth tones. I also decided to pick up an extra large toaster oven specifically for speed curing anything that I could fit. This has been one of my favorite jobs and has held up very well over the years.
The following job was for my brother on his Aero Precision EP-9 build from Brownells. I did a multi color using digital camo stencils. This turned out great even though the digital camo stencils are quite frustrating to deal with. Using only a couple of colors, this was one heck of a nice job overall.
The next time I worked on another BRN-180, this time a .223 variant. I wanted to do it in German Flecktarn with similar coloring. This proved to be one of the hardest Aluma-Hyde finishes I’ve ever worked on and honestly the least favorite overall. What I learned is that too many colors can make the finish build up too much and you’ll end up with very obvious steps between the different colors. Looking back, some knocking down of each color between coats might have helped it to turn out much better otherwise. Something I’ll use going forward.
The last Aluma-Hyde project I worked on was for my Carbon Fiber stock for my Howa 1500. Since I wanted to leave some of the carbon fiber showing, I taped it up and used multicam stencils with only a couple of colors. This job turned out awesome even though I had to allow an air cure for this one.
So what have I learned through all of my trials and error using Brownells Aluma-Hyde finish? Prep work is very important. Proper de-greasing of components and taping up absolutely every thing you don’t want the finish to come into contact with. Don’t lay the finish too heavy and knock off the edges if possible. Patience when removing any stencils as the stencils can be torn quite easily. In addition, patience when letting the Aluma-Hyde cure. Rushing the cure process can cause issues. When speed curing, the stencils can lift off. At the end of the day, an Aluma-Hyde project can be super fun and satisfying, but be sure to take your time.
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