I'm about to do my first rattle can paint job on the recevier and barrel of my Saiga conversion and I'm wondering if anyone can point me to a good tutorial on the best way to mask off the parts that I don't want to get painted.
The gun is stripped down to just the receiver and barrel and I've got the inside of the chamber pretty well masked off (e.g., plugged the barrel with cotton balls, stuffed the inside of the receiver with plastic bags and masked the top of the rails) and I've plugged-up the rear sight block and the gas block
Here are my two big problem areas that I'm hoping that you guys can help me out with:
1. Rear Leaf Sight - Should I remove the leaf and mask over the spring?
2. Front Sight Post - What's the best way to mask this off so that the block gets painted but the front sight post and the windage drum don't get seized up with paint?
Remove the rear sight ladder and spring. Block or cover the chamber, muzzle and gas block. I use wooden dowels but cotton or whatever can work.
No need to remove the front sight post. Paint the inside top rails and the rest of the firearm with the rest. Of course the FCG is removed etc. Thorough degreasing as prep is very important.
Thanks for the tips. I've gone ahead and removed the rear leaf sight but left the spring in (neatly trimmed painters tape over that and plugged the holes for the sight ears with some cotton).
On the front sight, I neatly covered the front post with painters tape to protect the threads.
I think I've got the receiver, chamber, mag well, and muzzle properly masked off
Question - do I need to do anything to protect the windage drum on the FSB or am I overthinking this?
The front sight post needs no protection nor the threads but really not going to hurt either way. Paint the drum along with everything else.
Don't overthink it. That is how the are painted from the factory., after assembly., then painted inside & out,.
I assemble the gun, minus the rear sight and furniture, then paint the entire gun. I make sure the safety is in the up position but other than that I do not do anything else.
I use Krylon Chalkboard paint for any rattle can jobs. Whatever is in it to help it survive chalk definitely makes it very durable. I have tried every brand of chalkboard paint and the Krylon is about he best for guns. It gives it a satin sheen almost like HK guns. You can touch the gun in a few hours and can be used in a day. Or you can do like I do and use heat to cure the gun.
I took one of those cheap metal gun cabinets I was given and made a curing oven. I cut a hole in the side for a heat gun and ran some horizontal wires to hang the gun from. The internal temp gets to about 175 degrees and the gun is done in an hour. And after heat curing it seems to be a lot more durable than air curing the finish.
And pretty much any rattle can paint is durable so long it is adequately cured. Without heating the paint can take several weeks, depending on temperature and humidity, or even longer. But when usin heat to cure it the paint is a lot more durable and easy for use within a few hours.
Whatever gun I coat I strip it completely to where it's just the receiver and barrel. Sight leaf comes off also. Having it completely stripped allows for more coverage of the parts inside and out.
Also, it's a great feeling assembling as newely coated rifle.
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I finished the paint job a few hours ago and I'm reasonably happy with the results given that this was my first attempt a paint job (there a few spots that are a bit blemished but I think that I would have made them worse if I tried to fix them). I let the rifle sit in the Sun for a couple of hours after I was done and I'm going to put it in front of a fan overnight to help the paint cure. I'll put it back together tomorrow night.
I'll take a picture of the whole rifle once I get it put back together. Here's a picture of the Ultimak rail to give you an idea of the color (Krylon Woodland Green)
Recently painted my WASR. As others have mentioned, don't be lazy with the degreasing and cure times. Gut the rifle and do it the right way, and you'll be good.
Here's a quick picture of the finished project. All that's left to do is mount the Primary Arms MDS that I've got sitting on my workbench.
In hindsight, I probably should have left the Ultimak black for a little more contrast.
I finished this one just in time - my unconverted 5.45x39 Saiga is scheduled for delivery to my FFL later this week. I'm going to try a camo pattern on this one as part of the project.
I would leave the rail green, the optic/mount black and paint your safety and your brake black..that will give you the contrast that you are looking for...My lgs does alot of cerakoting jobs and probably once a week there is a "meeting of the minds" where we get together, drink beer/bloody mary's and discuss what should be what color on this or that gun..fun times!!
Good point - I'll take a picture tonight of the gun with the optic mounted
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