I've been seeing videos here and there on youtube about nickel-boron coated bcg's and their durability and ability to run without lube. Does anyone on the forum have any experience with these types of finishes for their AR?

 

Might be interesting to check this out if it's really that easy to clean/maintain for traditional DI setups..

 

Anyone familiar with "Kies" or "Fail Zero"?

Have one from Rguns, haven't shot it enough yet to offer an experienced opinion. Can't say it's that much easier to clean than a regular bcg. Lots of caked on residue still has to get scraped off the tail of the bolt.

 

Got mine from aimsurplus, occasionally they have sales on the Rguns nickle-boron stuff:

 

http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=XRGNiBBCG&name=R-Guns+Nickel+Boron+Complete+Bolt+Carrier+Group&groupid=587

 

 

If not, you can go direct to Rguns site:

 

http://www.rguns.net...omponents.shtml

Hey thanks for the link.

 

Did you happen to notice anything with lubrication? Find yourself using less than normal?

I am not sure if it is the same coating, but POF-USA has been doing Nickel Plating for years.

 

 

Developed by Robar® in Arizona, NP3™ is a combination of electroless nickel alloy plating and Polytetrafluoroethyene (aka Teflon™).

 

 

The result is a smooth, perfectly even, self-lubricating surface inside and out that prevents friction, wear, and corrosion unlike anything else on the market.

Run an AR hard enough without lube regardless of coatings or other fancy stuff and it will choke. I run a boring, cheap LMT phosphated BCG in my training guns and a little lube each time there's a break keeps them running. Will a NiB coated BCG "not fail" in the hands of most commercial customers? Yes, but mostly due to the firing schedule. The overwhelming majority of ARs out there see fewer than 1K rounds fired per year. Students taking a multiple day carbine class will hit that before lunch on TD2. I guess my point is, don't expect paying a premium for parts to substitute for proper routine maintenance.

Damn those are some sexy AR's from POF-USA

 

The description of the coating sounds similar to the NiB finish I've been reading about. Sounds really promising. I haven't even shot my AR yet and I'm already looking for ways to speed up the cleaning/maintenance down the line.

POF. Makes good stuff.

Hey thanks for the link.

 

Did you happen to notice anything with lubrication? Find yourself using less than normal?

 

I can't say I've noticed anything radically different about it other than the coloring. I run my AR wet with lube. I bought it in the hopes that if I ever had to shoot it dry the coating would buy me extra firing cycles without a failure.

Run an AR hard enough without lube regardless of coatings or other fancy stuff and it will choke. I run a boring, cheap LMT phosphated BCG in my training guns and a little lube each time there's a break keeps them running. Will a NiB coated BCG "not fail" in the hands of most commercial customers? Yes, but mostly due to the firing schedule. The overwhelming majority of ARs out there see fewer than 1K rounds fired per year. Students taking a multiple day carbine class will hit that before lunch on TD2. I guess my point is, don't expect paying a premium for parts to substitute for proper routine maintenance.

 

Point taken and thanks for the input. I don't really expect to fire more than 1k rounds in a given year, but I guess I was looking to add some sense of reliability, not to substitute for proper cleaning/maintenance. I religiously clean my guns after every range trip but the BCG on my M&P15 feels pretty gritty and susceptible to getting dirty very quickly. The NiB finish looked promising in my eyes for that reason.

 

<-- completely new to AR's.

Going to run mine with just eezox and will report back.

Point taken and thanks for the input. I don't really expect to fire more than 1k rounds in a given year, but I guess I was looking to add some sense of reliability, not to substitute for proper cleaning/maintenance. I religiously clean my guns after every range trip but the BCG on my M&P15 feels pretty gritty and susceptible to getting dirty very quickly. The NiB finish looked promising in my eyes for that reason.

 

<-- completely new to AR's.

 

Yep, DI ARs get dirty fast. It's the nature of the beast. But as far as reliability goes, keep the right points of the BCG wet and it'll run just fine for hundreds of rounds without cleaning. Since you mentioned you clean your guns regularly, you're not letting that carbon/lube mixture crud up your BCG and build up. Having a chromed or NiB coated carrier makes wiping that junk off alot easier however it's moot for you since you're keeping your guns clean as it is. Or if you take shortcuts like me and spray the carrier and bolt with a can of brake parts cleaner then wipe it down every few thousand rounds

Uh, they don't appear to clean up any easier. There are plenty of reviews and comments that keep coming back to that.

 

Do they corrode less? Mil spec bcgs don't seem to be that vulnerable based on my experience.

 

Is it shiny? Well yes, until you get them hot. Then they get patchy bluish putple spots like overheated stainless steel.

 

Will it run reliably without lube? Not really. No more than any polished bcg.

 

It will lighten the wallet a bit faster.

Yep, DI ARs get dirty fast. It's the nature of the beast. But as far as reliability goes, keep the right points of the BCG wet and it'll run just fine for hundreds of rounds without cleaning. Since you mentioned you clean your guns regularly, you're not letting that carbon/lube mixture crud up your BCG and build up. Having a chromed or NiB coated carrier makes wiping that junk off alot easier however it's moot for you since you're keeping your guns clean as it is. Or if you take shortcuts like me and spray the carrier and bolt with a can of brake parts cleaner then wipe it down every few thousand rounds

 

Absolutely agree here. You don't need to clean it religiously. Just run it wet.

If you have a good quality AR, it will go thousands of rounds between cleanings.

Not suggesting you abuse your rifle, but they can take alot.

However, the act of cleaning does allow you to inspect your parts, which is a good thing.

Read this.

 

http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=100162&highlight=lmt

10,000 rounds without cleaning.. thats pretty insane. haha I guess I don't have to worry about cleaning it so often.

DirtyDigs,

 

If there is reason to clean an AR in the first place, there is still no reason to scrape the carbon off the tail of the bolt. Ever. Just leave it be and spend more time with the wife

Not married, but will take leaving the bolt tail dirty under advisement. I like the exercise of cleaning though, it forces a regular inspection of parts. And just like new shoes run faster, a clean firearm just shoots "better".