Just recently got a inforce wmlx and I have it mounted in a thorntail 1913 offset mount. After about 220 rounds at the range the light had some considerable carbon buildup. I expected this much but I was wondering if it is safe for the actual light. The carbon wipes cleanly off the lens but it discolored the polymer and after a good cleaning it turned a dull goldish color. Will the blast from the top left port on the brake damage the light at all?
The carbon shouldn’t be much of a problem but I’d be much more concerned with the concussion from the brake. From the pic it looks like the light will be avoiding the majority of the blast though.
To clean the lense use a #2 pencil eraser and the carbon wipes off easily with no effect to the lense.
I would personally move it back a couple of notches. Cleaning it constantly would be a PITA and as mentioned with further elaboration, the effects of concussive force on the LED module could cause premature failure. I haven’t taken one apart so I don’t know if they’re fully potted, but it you’re getting residue like that from shooting, then your light is definitely being introduced to concussive force. It may be a non-issue for the first 2000 rounds but after taking a constant pounding, there’s no telling how the light will stand up. Honestly, if it were me, I’d move the light back so that the bezel barely extends beyond the rail. That’s how most of mine are set up and I’ve never had to clean a lens beyond using a t-shirt to wipe them down.
try moving it back and check to see how much of the light is blocked by the barrel and if that is acceptable. Equally important is where your hand is positioned and how natural the move to turn on the light is.
I moved it back one notch. Still gets carbon buildup but that’s as far as I’m willing to go back to comfortably activate the light. I contacted inforce and sent them the same picture and they said it was fine.
This is a great recommendation. Never would have thought of that.
yes its fine.
Looks good.
Another trick is to put a very thin coat of grease, Vaseline, or Carmex on the lens prior to shooting.
Also, if you are not completely married to that light mount and position, you might experiment with mounting the light directly to the top rail. I personally run a WMLx @ 12 o’clock, with very little “overhang” on a 13" KMR rail (14.5" bbl), with the front BUIS directly behind it. Even with the light sitting back that far from the muzzle, the barrel shadow isn’t that bad at all. Plus, the 12 o’clock position gives you a truly ambidextrous solution if/when you need to do strong-to-weak side transitions. It also gives you a more stable/solid mount that is less prone to snagging and accidental light activation. By ditching the offset mount, you also save a little weight and rail space. YMMV.
I’ve found that the WML at 12 o’clock works really great on an SBR. Virtually no shadow and I don’t have to over extend my arm to reach the light.
I have my inforce wml-hsp mounted at 12:00 on my ddm4v1 and I’ve never had issues with it, even with a 16" barrel. Its the perfect location in my opinion.
