Prepping an AK for Alumahyde II..

[DS94901]

I'm only planning on using alumahyde on the receiver of my Egyptian maadi ak. I kind of prefer the rest of the parts remaining in their original finish but I have some questions about the prep:

Can I get away with skipping the oven bake step to get ALL the grease/oil out? My wife will never let me get away with putting an ak in there. I planned on spraying/scrubbing with brake cleaner then doing the same with acetone. I don't think I'll be able to do a full acetone soak.

With the acetone evaporated, will it leave the receiver clean enough to be painted or will it need to be rinsed first?

I don't have access to any bead blasting but I've been told it isn't necessary. Is it helpful to sand the surfaces that will be painted?

Using alumahyde so obviously this is a budget project but I'd appreciate any advice fr those of you who have painted an ak before. Thanks in advance.

[bksa]

you can sand it down with sand paper instead of blasting, but blasting will give you better results since it is applied more evenly.

[bigbob76]

Baking is not necessary. Sandpaper and steel wool is good, just not as good as blasting. I wear clean gloves once it's clean and ready to paint. Shaking the can for several minutes is really necessary and the can and parts should be warm. I use a hair dryer as I'm spraying to keep the parts warm and to help the paint dry. Hopefully you have extra nozzles in case it gets plugged up. I like the fan nozzles. I wait a week or more before final assembly. watching the video on Brownell's website helps.

[TATER313]

Use brake clean to degrease it. Works great, drys fast.

[buellster]

I've had good luck with simple green and scotchbrite. Alumahyde isn't ultra sensitive to oil contamination. I keep a can of brake clean handy to clear clogged nozzles. Warming the spray can helps keep an even finish and reduce clogging.

[DS94901]

Thanks guys. I actually put it on the BBQ for a while and definitely got more oil out around the trunions and trigger guard. I used a 3m fine sandpaper foam sheet and now that more oil is out (and probsbly some BBQ residue) I'll give it another acetone bath and paint it if it warms up later today.

[NorCalXJ]

Never put chemicals like paint into a oven used for cooking food! I just sand down, brake clean, tapedown, heat up receiver with torch(not too hot), and paint. I use engine paint :P And let cure for a week or two.

[DS94901]

Really wishing I would have bought extra nozels. This is a nightmare and I'm hating the finish. I've seen lots of good results so I'm hoping things look better after my next coat but this is really disappointing so far. My nozel was instantly clogged and splattering from the beginning. Finally got it running but it only lasts a few seconds.

[DS94901]

Based on these photos, what did I do wrong? Just the poor sort causing so much texture? Too far away? Too close?

[bigbob76]

How long did you shake the can? Was the can up to temperature? I have also found that the product appears to have a limited shelf life. I may have a problem when I want to use some that I've had a long time.

[DS94901]

I heated the can in water for about 10-15 min, shook it like crazy for at least a few minutes before spraying and then in between as well. I've had the can for about 2 weeks but no idea how old it is. I may have been too far away. The stream was very heavy so I thought I needed to move back but it looks like I went too far. I'm burnt out on this and think I'd just like to have it bead blasted and coated by someone who knows what they're doing.

[t34mentor]

Lightly sand, Brake Clean the crap out of it, buy xtra nozzels to replace between coats. I have done many AK's and RPK with Alumahyde...no baking...air dry and be patient. Light coats and let dry 5-10 mins in between

[DS94901]

I just test sprayed a piece of scrap metal and it looks pretty good. If I can avoid all the splatter I just need to hold the can closer to the receiver

[SJgunguy24]

Get rid of the white tips that come on the can. Order the black tips, the spray comes out finer and they don't clog as fast. Use your oven, I repeat, use your oven. Not just for baking out cosmo but to cure the Alumahyde 2 finish.
This is my routine.
Acetone with sprayer.
Bake, then acetone again, and again until very little to no oil weeping.
Then I heat up the parts in a smoker up to 275f. Pull part and one last shot of acetone.
Part has cooled, some more then others. Now spray 1st coat light, not so light you can't see it but dust it. Then once you've covered the entire part, keep going.
You don't need a blow dryer unless it's cooled to the touch. I just toss it back in the oven.
Keep spraying 3-4 coats until the entire parts is covered inside and out.
Now turn your oven to 220f and bake it for 8 hours.
The key is low heat for long time. You will bake off the solvents and not damage the epoxy what so ever. When it's done just give it a once over with some oil and lube normally.
Screw that waiting 2 weeks crap. Sometimes that won't work unless you keep it above 70f. I've had AH2 fail and it was because it was too cold. I've never had any AH2 fail using my oven bake method.
Don't worry about using your oven for food after you've baked a gun. The smell doesn't stick around nor can you taste anything.