Havent seen this thread in a while, but thanks for the compliments.
To answer a question, I clean it while wet, this makes cleaning easier, but it does mean you may have to add a bit of paint if you wipe a little too aggressively. I didnt ush at all, I just wiped with a shop towel with tinner and let the corner hit the lower, didn't even have the weight of my finger on it.
If you thin the paint down a good bit it will just flow through the channels of the engraving without hardly any cleanup at all.
Just mix up a drop or two at most with the thinner and it is more than enough for a lower. Use an old magazine or catalog, just something that has good glossy pages. There is something about the glossy pages that keeps the paper from absorbing the paint. I use a really fine brush with long, soft bristles(about 2in long)
I don't quite understand how you cleaned up the edges where the paint ran out without messing up pictogram. Can you explain that a little more? Like if you wipe it when it's wet or dry or partially dry, etc. My concern would be wiping the enamel out of the grooves that I want it to be in. The finished product looks GREAT!! I also have FDE Magpul MOE gear on my rifle. I have a quad rail, not their MOE foregrip, but I have the grip and milspec stock, and XTM rail covers with some ladder covers on the way. I'd like to do the FDE tester paint mixture and do some of my lower engravings. Thanks for the idea.