[Dawg180]

Has anyone tried using Brownells Alumahyde II "Dark Gray Parkerizing" or Gunkote "Matte Gray" finishes to match the finish on a Romanian AK?

I don't want to spend the money and time to have it bead blasted and re-blued.

I have heard that Alumahyde is moderately drubale and that Gunkote is insanely durable. I also like that alumahyde can be used with minimal preparation and comes in a sparycan in the gray (the Gunkote does not, only airbursh paint).

[ETA] yes, this is very similar to a post of mine in the E German section. I have Romanian AK built up as an E German clone and I want a nice match for the finish, preferably one that looks like the current Romanian finish (and my understanding is the E German finish is very similar although done through a different process).

 

[Jicky]

You should check out the gunkote in a can from Brownells..It's what I did these two Romanians in but only in matte black..The Bulgarian is grey parked..

 

[Dawg180]

I guess by the fact I can't tell which one the Bulgarian is (middle one??) that would pretty much sell the point that the flat black is a damn good match to very dark parkerizing, eh? :wink:

Do you need to do much prep for Gunkote, or prety much degrease and spray? And can you get two guns finished out of a 6 oz aerosol can, or pretty much one with good coverage?

From what I understand Gunkote wears like Iron, but Alumahyde is about 1/3 the price so I am a bit torn at the moment...

Sorry, I realize these are like totally newbie questions, but gettting the finish right is important to me. That and I figure that someone else might find use for this info in the future!

 

[Jicky]

Sorry about that, the Bulgarian is on the right...
I would get a can for each rifle, just to make sure you have enough so it's covered well..( and you will have some left for touch up's if needed )
As for prep time on a build is concerned I would make sure that you get all the oils off and hit the rifle with several light coats of Gunkote and put it in the oven..It will cover the barrel with finish left on and the bare receiver so that you wont be able to tell the difference..I sanded and prepped the SAR 2 on the left for a couple day's and just sprayed the SAR1, the one in the middle over its original finish and you can't tell em apart..I am really impressed with Gunkote..In fact the SAR1 looks better I think..

 

[Dawg180]

No problem. No t all of us a sooper AK gurus just yet. :wink:

I really like the SAR1, looks almost like a very dark charcoal gray in the pic, just a touch lighter than the others. I am also very pleased to hear that you can finish right over the original blueing/parkerizing.

None of this would be an issue except that the GT recevier which my Romanian kit was built up on was finished with blueing, not parkerized (I forgot to ask, just assumed...) and doesn't match very well. In any case I did a touch up of the rivets and file marks with some Casey gun blue and it doesn't look too bad for now.

Well, enough gabbing about the rifle...pics of it will be up in JOHNO's pic contest thread soon enough!

Thanks for the info!

Dawg