Painting your AK

[breid1970 327]

I have watched many videos lately on painting my AK.  I like the idea quite a bit but I have some reservations.  I am pretty decent with a can of spray paint so its not really the technique that concerns me. Here are a few questions.

 

1. Assuming I am using a heat resistant spray paint, what brand would your recommend.?

2. Should I spray a sealant over the final product?

3. Are there any paints that are resistant to cleaning solvents?  It doesn't do me much good if every time I clean it I strip the paint off.  

 

     I am thinking of doing a standard woodland style paint just.  Nothing too fancy.  What are your thoughts and ideas guys and gals?

[Sim_Player 1,939]

Duplicilor 1634 Flat Black from NAPA Auto Parts, looks the best. One can will paint two guns.

 

Heat parts prior to painting, air dry, and then back in the oven to speed the dry-time.

 

Clean rifle with hot soap and water.

 

http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?/topic/94570-i-shot-my-first-build-today/?hl=%2Bbulgy+%2Bbuild

Edited August 29, 2015 by Sim_Player

[Spacehog 2,218]

I like Duplicolor paints, but I have used the Krylon camo colors with success as well. The key to success is surface prep. It will affect the adhesion of the paint to the substrate. The surface HAS to be free of all oils, grease, etc. A lot of people use brake cleaner to clean the surface. The only issue is it does not get between all the pressed and riveted parts. Once you bake your your freshly coated surface, (which is necessary), that oil will leach out.

 

Here is how I prep and paint:

 

Use a stripper (I use citri-stip) to remove oils and a large portion of the factory paint. Rinse well with a strong jet nozzle from a water hose. From there it goes into a bath tub full of the hottest water from the tap and Dawn dishwashing detergent (nearly pure surfactant). I will let that soak until the water is cool enough to put my hands in (normally 30-60min). From there I use a tooth brush and more Dawn on the rifle itself. Scrub every surface. Rinse with clean water, and use a hair dryer or heat gun to dry quickly. (If you don't you will get rust)

I paint with thin multiple coats normally 3-5.

 

After painting, I will let all the parts air dry for 24-48 hours. If you bake too early, you run the risk of making the paint film brittle and prone to chipping. After this intitial dry time, I will put them into a 250F oven for about an hour. This will cause the paint to cross link at an acellerated rate. Let the parts rest for 24 hours. When you can no longer smell the solvents leaching out of the freshly painted surface, you are safe to reassemble. This will give you a very durable paint finish that will stand up to basic gun cleaning solvents like Hoppes #9 very well. With that said you will want to avoid strong solvents like acetone as they will definitely soften and discolor the paint film.

 

Also, you will know you are clean enough to paint when you rinse the parts with fresh water and the water sheets off of the part. If you see beading or "water break" you will need to continue cleaning that area. Avoid stripping or painting the area inside the receiver where the rails and FCG are.

 

Other than that you should be good to go. Post pics when done, and feel free to PM if you have any questions.

Edited August 29, 2015 by Spacehog

[Sim_Player 1,939]

Why avoid painting the inside of the receiver?

 

I've always painted all the stripped parts and then assembled the rifle (minus the axis pins).

[Spacehog 2,218]

Because it is not seen, and it is too easy to throw too much paint at the rails and the chamber. It is fine to paint those areas if you know what you are doing, but I wouldn't suggest coating them on the first crack at a paint job.

 

FTR, I do the same thing as you Sim.

[JDeko 792]

I saw a post a bit back about filling in the etching on the receiver of an AK/S12/Vepr could someone give me a refresher on that technique? Like what do you do if you get the white paint outside of the lettering to take it off without taking the black off the receiver?

[Spacehog 2,218]

Use acrylic paint for filling in the lettering and a damp rag or paper towel to fix any mistakes.

[JDeko 792]

will the acrylic withstand the shock of the 12ga rounds for a reasonable amount of time or is that idea just for show pieces?

[Spacehog 2,218]

If you properly clean the area before painting, it will last plenty long, and if it starts to fade over time, it is easy to touch up.

 

 

Lettering on both sides still going strong

Edited August 29, 2015 by Spacehog

[JDeko 792]

cool! My mum is really into crafts so I'm sure I have white acrylic paint lying about.

[ChileRelleno 7,071]

500* Duplicolor Ceramic Enamel, very heat & chemical resistant.

The only thing that ever marred it on my gun was chlorinated brake cleaner after I got really sloppy and let it sit on it.

The paint in that area sagged a bit, but no other cleaning chemicals affected it.

The end of the barrel did discolor from heat, I'd get that sucker pretty damned hot doing mag dumps.

The paint never showed any signs of ill effect other than color.

 

Mine lasted several years and thousands of rounds, still looked great.

 

Strip, degrease, steel wool, wash, dry and paint.

Hang it and do several thin coats, let dry for a minimum 48hrs.

I did not bake it.

 

Here is how it looked

 

 

 

 

 

I use Testors enamel (modeling paint).

This method, done right, almost paints itself.

Thoroughly clean & degrease the area.
Use a good thinner, thin the paint till it has the viscosity of milk.
Then using a micro-tip or very fine tip brush, pick up a drop of paint.
Touch the tip into the rollmark (lettering), it should flow right into it and keep going.
Repeat, touch tip into rollmark where paint stopped flowing, filling the rollmark completely.

There should be very little to no mess.

Let dry for a hour or two, then using a cleaning patch, use a little thinner to clean up.

 

Edited August 29, 2015 by ChileRelleno

[patriot 7,197]

Brownell's AlumaHyde II. Chemical and abrasion resistant. I've used it on several guns. My AK, and my 1917A1 watercooled. It even held up on the watercooled the day I took it out and let about a dozen people run a belt through it. (My wallet didn't hold up so well to that! OUCH! There was a pretty nice pile of brass after that day.)

[PRISONSHANK 70]

Primary arms has some stencil kits he sells that seem to have pretty damn nice outcomes.

[Capt Nemo 882]

Testor's enamels work very good except the metallic colors.  Hoppe's will eat the metallics.

[semper299 284]

+1 on the Brownells Alumahyde. Its good stuff, just have to be careful because it goes on a little thicker than other paints and can mess with tolerances.

 

On painting roll marks, I use a tooth pick and pretty much do what Chile said. Get a drop on the tooth pick tip and it pretty much paints itself. 

 

Good luck with your project, and like everyone else said, surface prep is the key to how well your paint job looks. I use brake cleaner for the first cleaning, heat it to get the oil to leech out, then scrub it with soap and water in a tub, and heat again to quickly dry. I wear latex gloves to keep my fingers off the gun once I am close to getting to the painting portion. 

Edited August 31, 2015 by Semper299

[RedChallenger 149]

Check out Gunskins. Only about $59. Many cool designs and you can take it off when you want. Great reviews on Amazon.

http://www.gunskins.com/?gclid=CIqtgIT31scCFQguaQodO2cBkA

[breid1970 327]

Im going to go with the rustoleum appliance epoxy method.  I liked how the weapon turned out.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KdP4XZErRk.  I will start the project this afternoon...I really hope it turns out nice.  Still have not changed the hand guards.  I don't have the spare cash to drop on a ultimak yet so I'm sticking with the quad rail for now.  Buying a new air conditioner and stove will do that to you.  Yikes.

[Spacehog 2,218]

Im going to go with the rustoleum appliance epoxy method.  I liked how the weapon turned out.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KdP4XZErRk.  I will start the project this afternoon...I really hope it turns out nice.  Still have not changed the hand guards.  I don't have the spare cash to drop on a ultimak yet so I'm sticking with the quad rail for now.  Buying a new air conditioner and stove will do that to you.  Yikes.

Good luck and look forward to seeing pics of the finished product.

[breid1970 327]

I should have her done by this time next week.   

[Sim_Player 1,939]

Put the can in hot water, before using (something I did not do but, it makes sense). Less splatter.

Edited September 5, 2015 by Sim_Player