[TheDoubleJ]

Painting my first AK, using high temp enamel made for engines. I've never had to scuff a firearm for paint, usually I'm either applying to bare prepped metal or over bluing or something similar that soaks everything up. The paint seems to have stuck fine to my bolt, but I can chip if off the charging handle fairly easily. That makes no sense. It stuck to my safety selector as far as I can tell, but can be removed from the barrel, front trunnion, trigger guard, mag catch, gas tube, front sight and the dust cover retainer with my fingernail.

I'll have to strip it and start over, what sort of prep work is necessary to get paint to stick to whatever an AK is already painted with?

 

[Somnio]

Sandblast and fresh oil free park is probably best. You can get away with only sandblast or even just a good scuff with sandpaper followed with etch primer then paint if youre really in a pinch. Degrease the hell out of your parts. I use acetone and a brush or straight acetone soaks for small parts to degrease.

 

[Olle]

Paint does not stick well to steel, unless you blast it or use a primer that's made especially for bare steel. If it's painted already, you need to scuff it down really good (like with 600 grip paper) to get a good bond. Just wiping with a scotch brite will only work if the solvent in the paint is strong enough to dissolve the previous paint.

 

[TheDoubleJ]

What's park, parkerized? I'll have to see what that coating is. I'm not sure what PSA would use, probably whatever is cheapest.