laser engraving touch up gone wrong

[voip-1]

The other concern with dabbing paint on is that the laser "engraving" is not very deep. The paint has the potential to obliterate it.

[BadKarmaZeroSix]

If paint would "obliterate" the engraving (or at the very least make it unreadable), then you have bigger probs...primarily, that i seriously doubt your engraving is deep enough to meet NFA guidelines...i would check that out first so if you have to fix the depth, you will only have to fix the finish once...as far as the finish, since its a nice piece that you apparently care about attractive appearance, you might look into a more expensive (but definitely effective and nice-looking) solution such as cerakoting...you can go with custom colors or designs, or go simple with graphite black...either way, its a stronger finish than anodizing...

[RMcDonald]

Aluminum blackeners only work on exposed bare aluminum, what you're seeing is the anodizing blocking the alumablack.

Does the laser engraving not go deep enough to expose "bare" aluminum?

It does not. Anodizing is pretty much a surface treatment, you'll notice on some areas of an AR receiver set like behind the charging handle you'll start to see silver, but alumablack has no effect, the anodizing is just a tad deeper than the black surface. Laser etching just burns an image into the surface. I'm not 100% sure that laser etching satisfies the requirement, I would make sure the engraving is at least as deep as the serial number.

[voip-1]

From comments I have read at a variety of websites, while laser etch almost never strictly satisfies the .003 depth requirement, no one has ever gotten burned for it. I found threads from at least a couple of people who had ATF look at the laser engraving and said it was fine.

I could not find a traditional engraver in the area and was worried that ATF would approve my eform 1 while the item was away if I paid through the nose and shipped it out of town.

The engraver I used has engraved for SBRs before and tells me that the laser does go slightly below the anodizing but not by much.

If I can I will post a picture tomorrow.

[BadKarmaZeroSix]

Im more of a "better safe than sorry" guy i guess when it comes to laws, especially ones with federal s#$t attached to them...maybe its because i babysit felons all day at work...but just because nobody has gotten a speeding ticket from mile marker 34 to 35 doesnt mean i drag race there -- i dont wanna be the first guy to get a specified punishment...and as far as spending big money, i shipped mine for 55$ total and it was done and back in a week from a reputable engraver...im not trying to come across as a jerk, so i apologize if thats how it sounds, but for a guy who is worried so much about the smallest detail of appearance, you show quite a bit of carefree attitude toward the legality issue...

And nobody ever paid a fine and/or spent time behind bars for having a firearm that wasnt pretty enough...my .02

[Dolomite_Supafly]

Not sure how much they are charging you but EVERY laser engraver in my area that can go deep enough charges close to $200. Now the ones that just burn the surface charge $25-$50.

You might have to send it off to stay within the law. I know others have said laser engraving was fine for them but all it takes is one stickler for the law and you are going to have a bad time.

[bangbangping]

Not sure how much they are charging you but EVERY laser engraver in my area that can go deep enough charges close to $200. Now the ones that just burn the surface charge $25-$50.

You might have to send it off to stay within the law. I know others have said laser engraving was fine for them but all it takes is one stickler for the law and you are going to have a bad time.

This. I made the mistake of going to a trophy shop for my first lower. Didn't do the research and took them at their word that they knew what they were doing. Heck, I might even drag race between the mile markers, but I'm not going to trust in the benevolence of some random agent not to enforce a perfectly clear, objective federal felony law. My lower is now engraved twice.

[voip-1]

So this is what I got done... the consensus is re-do?

[m4a1sof]

Heck, that looks good to me. I wouldn't even blacken it. Leave it just like that.

[voip-1]

I think it is probably fine too but after some of the comments want to see what people had to say. Wouldn't want to get thrown in prison over .0015 vs .003