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nrakid88
06-10-2009, 8:42 AM
Hey guys. I just need some advice on what finish to do for my AK build. I really love the blue that comes on the kit I have. I have a NDS receiver, and it looks like its blued too, although it doesn't match the kit.

Should I not put a finish on anything?

Parkerize?

Parkerize and then Gun Kote or equivalent paint?

Sorry for the noob Question. I just don't have any experience with different finishes.

AaronHorrocks
06-10-2009, 8:50 AM
Due to the welds on a stamped receiver, parkerizing will end up showing every weld with a large color distorted spot.

oldyeller
06-10-2009, 9:26 AM
The park jobs coming out of Bing's park tube at the last build looked great to me, but maybe I was missing something. I am a noob also.

triaged
06-10-2009, 9:30 AM
If you are willing to take the time rust blue it.
http://www.akfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31594&page=1&pp=35

nrakid88
06-10-2009, 9:35 AM
Hmm. That rust blue looks pretty cool. Is it possible to do the hole rifle at once? Looks like all at once is a bad idea. Hmm... I wonder if I can get the parts ready before my build party

triaged
06-10-2009, 9:54 AM
The problem I can think of would be carding stuff in hidden crevices. I have an old pump action .22 that I am thinking of rust bluing.

JamesY
06-10-2009, 10:04 AM
If you rust blue, make sure you do the individual parts separately. That way, you can get into all the nooks and crannies. If you start riveting and then try to rust blue, good luck! You can do it, but it's a PITA.

I like rust blue the best but it's the most time-consuming. A close second would be parking then painting over it using gunkote, duracoat or whatever I have laying around. I've tried gunkote and duracoat directly on AO blasted metal and it didn't hold up as well as if it were layed on over park. YYMV

domokun
06-10-2009, 10:19 AM
Black Oxide works fine for AK receivers and parts.

bigbob76
06-10-2009, 10:34 AM
If you want to not only save time but preserve as much as possible of the original finish here's something I like to do. Build out your new receiver (attach trigger guard and trunions) and sandblast everything. Either Parkerize it or give it a black oxide treatment and paint it with Brownell's Aluma Hyde II flat black epoxy based paint. You don't have to put it in the oven, just follow instructions carefully. If you ever ding it severely and the paint chips it will still be black underneath that missing paint.

motorhead
06-10-2009, 10:38 AM
if you're doing the whole gun it's up to you. what finish do you like? plan on blasting off all the old and thoroughly degreasing first.

justinLB
06-10-2009, 11:44 AM
I've had excellent results with Alumahyde II. It's a simple spray can exopy based paint that resists solvents and is hard as heck to scratch. It costs about 15 bucks a can and will easily spray 2 complete rifles with a can.

I also parkerize my rifles before spraying with alumahyde.
http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww165/justinlb/IMG_0672.jpg
http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww165/justinlb/IMG_0671.jpg
http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww165/justinlb/IMG_0331.jpg
http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww165/justinlb/IMG_0335.jpg

timdps
06-10-2009, 2:04 PM
I have a NDS receiver, and it looks like its blued too, although it doesn't match the kit.

Have been told that the NDS color is a result of heat treating, not bluing.

Tim

cvela
06-10-2009, 4:34 PM
I've always used moly resin, especially to make franken rifles uniform in color. You need to use some cheap Carb Cleaner (walmart 2 for $1 stuff is great) and you have to cure it in an oven. I use a heat gun to pre-heat the parts Im airbrushing to help speed things up a bit (handling). Get a $5.00 oven thermometer as reference against the one on your oven, and cure it for the time it needs. Use Copper wire (strip the sheath from some wire) and hang it off the ovens rack (sans the wood of course! haha)

you will see any welds cold or hot, but for an AK thats character. no?

johnnorrellarms.com There is Duracoat too, which is similar, and comes in kits with everything you need to start including the airbrush and can of air, sans the carb-cleaner to remove any oils ( wear nitrile gloves or similar when doing this so the oils on your hands dont screw up the finish).

Linburger
06-10-2009, 5:24 PM
Just wondering, what kind of finish do the orginal AK47s/AKMs have?

7x57
06-13-2009, 2:55 PM
Just wondering, what kind of finish do the orginal AK47s/AKMs have?

Seal oil and Olga's toenails. :D

7x57

bigbob76
06-18-2009, 8:40 PM
Just wondering, what kind of finish do the orginal AK47s/AKMs have?

I've had some that were blued and some that were painted. I've had people tell me which ones were blued and which ones were painted, but experience has shown they sometimes don't follow what people say is the case. I suspect that some AK's were built strictly to be demilled and shipped as parts kits without even being test fired to raise cash. Some of the ones that are supposedly always blued have had really crappy paint jobs with no apparent prep.

xrMike
06-19-2009, 8:57 AM
Both of the Romanian -47 kits I purchased awhile back, 1 from Apex and 1 from Gunthings, had a blued finish.

69Mach1
06-19-2009, 8:59 AM
Both of the Romanian -47 kits I purchased awhile back, 1 from Apex and 1 from Gunthings, had a blued finish.

On a Romanian!? That's weird.

Heatseeker
06-19-2009, 9:02 AM
Seal oil and Olga's toenails. :D

7x57

I always thought Olga's toenails where what was used to carve the artwork into the stocks...:D

xrMike
06-19-2009, 12:38 PM
On a Romanian!? That's weird.You think so? Well now you've got me wondering if I'm right or not...

I thought I knew what a blued finish looked like, but maybe I don't... I know they aren't parked, because they don't have that grainy surface that my .45 SA milspec has.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v84/xrMike/guns/RomakPartsKit/006resize.jpg

Here's the bolt on my remaining kit. What finish is that?