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Painting Saiga 12


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Ok so I recently purchased a new saiga 12 unfortunately the finish on the gun is not the best and you can see bare metal all over the barrel so I went to lowe's I picked up some heat and rust resistent paint that is a little more Black matte then the current color. Now inorder to make it look good I want to paint the entire gun this color, I have taken the gun apart before but, have never painted one before, and I have never taken the barrel or the stock off of it, so how should I do this? The barrel is by far the worst part so maybe I could just paint that and not worry about the rest of the gun. Any thoughts or pictures would be much appreciated I have also done a search on this forum to find some information. Any help is greatly appreciated.

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Ok so I recently purchased a new saiga 12 unfortunately the finish on the gun is not the best and you can see bare metal all over the barrel so I went to lowe's I picked up some heat and rust resistent paint that is a little more Black matte then the current color. Now inorder to make it look good I want to paint the entire gun this color, I have taken the gun apart before but, have never painted one before, and I have never taken the barrel or the stock off of it, so how should I do this? The barrel is by far the worst part so maybe I could just paint that and not worry about the rest of the gun. Any thoughts or pictures would be much appreciated I have also done a search on this forum to find some information. Any help is greatly appreciated.

First, get rid of the Lowe's paint, maybe paint your kids bike with that. Duracoat, its going to cost you more, but it will stay on your weapon. Heres the link.http://www.houtsenterprises.net/dur_all_colors.html You don't need to remove your barrel just strip down your Saiga, remove the furniture, and add your finishes. You'll love the results, have fun!

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When I paint one I just strip it down to the receiver, gas tube, and barrel. Don't forget to prep the surface and then wipe it down with mineral spirits or something. Also remember to paint the dust cover, bolt carrier, selector, TG if using an add on type, and any muzzle attachments you plan to use.

When it's too cold to paint outside, I setup in the fireplace of my workshop and use it as a paint booth. I've got fans in the chimney to pull the fumes up and out of the shop.

 

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Do you guys just take sand paper to the parts before the duracoat to get the paint off and get a nice rough surface. Or is it generally okay to coat the cleaned up parts. Managed to make it this far without having to take the gun somewhere, may as well finish the finish at home as well.

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I was able to remove my Saiga's finish with some acetone mix from my local Wesco Auto Body store, took it right off with a little soaking and scrubbing. Was going to have it sandblasted but got too much grief from people when I tried to find someone to do it, they kept telling me how awful it is to sandblast a gun, even though a ton of people on this forum have done it successfully. If you have access to an oven I really like Moly Resin, personally I thought it was easier than duracoat, the problem is you have to preheat the parts and cure them in an oven for an hour. The stuff is tough as nails though when finished. Either way you will need an airbrush to apply it.

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I like the paint I have I just need to know about how to paint the gun, should I sand the parts first? Do you tape anything off or just go with it? Thanks for the helpful pictures and comments earlier.

 

At Tromix we use Norell's Moly Resin for everything. Start with sandblast, then bake, spray, and bake again.

 

The guns are painted inside and out, no masking is necessary.

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I have heard (but not tried) that using a aircraft paint stripper will take about anything off with ease. Give it a try, but dab a bit in a inconspicuous place for a trial before you go dunking it.

 

+1 on the Duracoat and Moly Resin; both are good although the finish is better with Duracoat and Moly Resin is easier to apply IIRC. Haven't used (or seen in person) a finish using Alumi Hyde but have heard about good results from its use.

 

Good Luck, Mav.

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So Cameron, if I Duracoat it do I just go directly over the factory finish, or wet sand it then paint, or... dry sand it, or what?

 

I'd hate to paint right over the factory finish and then have it flake off.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Kerry

Go with duracoat. I have used it on quite a few of my projects and it comes out great every time. as far as surface prep is concerned, strip the gun down as far as you feel safe doing, then plug the barrel from both ends as you will not shoot duracoat out of the barrel, I use rubber stoppers used for test tubes and such that I found at a local science and surplus store, then degrease the parts, i use acitone from ace hardware, both before and after sandblasting. The first coat soaks down in to the poris surface created by the blasting media, do not use steel shot, glass bead or anything like that, aluminum oxide is the way to go. Because that first coat soaks in to the metal, the bond between the surface and the coating is extremly resiliant. As far as cure time, I do a coat before I go to work and a second coat when I get home, the gun usualy sits for about 12 hours, and another coat before I go to work agian. You do not need to place the parts in an oven unless you are in a hurry. The only thing heating them dose is set the coatign, actual cure time is about 2 weeks, by taking so long to cure, the coating stays somewhat flexable and tough, allowing it to give with the material it is bonded to. Also keep in mind, if you coat moving parts, you will need to break them in agian, as you have added material to areas that may or may not have been tight befor, in the case of the saiga or any other ak variant, I seen no issue along those lines.

ok Im rambaling, if you have any questions just ask.

Ive used the product with great results many times.

I should have some time to post a couple of pictures tomorw

 

Hope this helps

Sasquatch

Edited by Sasquatch
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That's the trouble with most canned spray paints out there, they don't stand up to chemicals and cleaning agents. If you do use a spray paint, use something more durable than BBQ grill or stove paint. Duplicolor ceramic engine enamel has a nice finish and is more resistant to oils and such.

To really do it right though you need to break away from the can and use a compressor, a real sprayer (or airbrush), and professional paint like Duracoat or Moly Resin. Haven't tried the Moly Resin yet myself but Tromix uses it on their guns with great results. I was very happy with the Duracoat and will use it again. It comes with enough paint in the startup kit to do several guns and so far I've only used it on that one in the pics above. Only reason I haven't used it again yet is I want to upgrade to a better airbrush or spayer than that cheap POS that came with the kit. It's difficult to use and doesn't feed well. You need at least a middle grade gravity feed gun instead.

Anyway here's how my first Duracoated S-12 turned out....

 

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