ar lower in the white

[homedefender]

so i got a couple ar lowers and i one got unfinished thinking i might get it cerokoted. So i began to look around online and some of guys are saying it should be hard anodized first others are saying just cerokote it.

Did i make a mistake in getting it unanodized? Does the anodizing get blasted off anyway when they prep for cerokote?

[dkf]

The type III hardcoat milspec anodizing adds surface hardness and prevents wear. It makes a case about .002" deep around 70Rc. Even if the color is removed the hard oxide layer will still be there. The forging is tempered to add some hardness but the tempered forging is not hard enough to even register on the Rc hardness scale.

It is best to get the lower anodized IMO, I always do. However you can get a lot of service out of the lower with just Cerakote or Duracoat. Most people don't use their rifles to fight insurgents or hoards of invading commies.

[homedefender]

So I pretty much screwed myself. Any recommendations where to get it coated?

[39flathead]

Other than calling around to metal finishers and asking if they will even do a firearm part, no, but you can always try it at home:
http://bryanpryor.com/anodizing.php

Maybe if you do it well it can be a side business for all those guys with 80% lowers.

[Schlafftablett]

I can do it for you.

Type 3 hardcoat, which is what was described above, can only be dyed black or very dark grey so any other colors would need to be carakoted. You could have it type 2 coated which can be dyed most any color but because it is so much thinner it really isn't much better than paint on its own. In any case, PM if you're interested and we can talk about it.