Cosmetic Enhancements are not actual “Upgrades” to your firearm. Milling in grooves that form neat designs does not make the gun function more reliably or more accurately. It just makes the gun look different.
This is like putting stripes on your Car.
Your car is not generating any more Grip, Power, or Braking… It’s still your same old car, but now with stripes.
With your firearms, Cosmetic Enhancements do about as much good. Don’t waste your money.
That being said, some Upgrades can help enhance your firearm’s performance over all. SLIPSTREAM, as applied by Crusader Weaponry, can make a gun that was less reliable, into a gun that is perfectly reliable.
Some finishes, such as Cerakote, will encase the firearm in a tough finish that makes is very difficult for corrosion to set in, and this enhances a firearm’s longevity.
Other’s out there such as NP3 make the gun attractive while more importantly providing a new finish that is slick and tough… again… enhancing reliability.
Don’t blow your money on Stripes.
Fluting can reduce weight. More importantly weight that is far away from the holder of said firearm. This only matters if you bought a gun that ends up heavier than you thought it was. Of course lifting weights to strengthen arms could offset the weak upper body strength issue.
I would like to know what conversation prompted this post though.
But what if you were to put racing stripes on the Slipsream bottles, or even better, have Magpul make the bottles for you? That would have to improve function, right?