I got a good deal on an Arsenal SLR-95, it’s in great shape mechanically but is ugly to look at. The last owner painted it with some tan Krylon, painted it black again, even inside the receiver, then took paint remover to it and now the factory finish is all jacked up. I want to bring it back to life, but am unsure what to do about inside the receiver. I was thinking about getting it all parked then Gun-Kote the outside in FDE. Would it be better to just get it redone with powder coat like factory, or parkerize/Gun-Kote? Which would hold up better to heavy use, and is there anyone that does powder coating of Arsenal AK’s? If it wasn’t for the receiver I would just Gun-Kote it, I just want to do this right unlike the previous owner. Thanks in advance for the help.
I forgot to say that sandpaper was also used on the rails inside the receiver, outside it on one spot and one spot on the barrel. It did get me a good price though.
Thanks for the help. I thought I read somewhere they were powder coated, but that’s the errornet for you. I had one years ago and I thought the finish sucked. I got the AK bug again, and found a project for this year.
I was wondering why it looked like there was two layers of the old finish that the paint remover exposed. Would you recommend GK on the inside of the receiver also, or just parkerized. I also read about people using a Teflon spray for the inside. I’m probably over complicating this but I want to make sure I do this right, and keep every thing running right.
Bead blasting the parts is easy enough to do. Just sucks up time is all. Do you know anyone with a beading booth you could borrow?
Then mist on your favorite color of guncote or moly over the freshly solvent cleaned steel and bake it.
Remember to plug the barrel. Mist it into the nooks, crannies and crevices first. Any excess form too thick on the outside while doing that? Just wipe it off with a solvent soaked cloth. Then do the light coats on the outside and it’s ready to bake.
Both moly and guncote are very easy to apply with a airbrush or a small HVLP sprayer.
I was going to talk to some local metal and auto body shops about using their booth. You guys have been a great help. It’s funny, I never got this interested in my AR’s.
I had an old Maadi that I refinished. I bead blasted it, parked it & refinished with Gunkote. It came out very nice.
I got a cheap abrasive blast cabinet from Harbour Freight, park solution from Shooter Solutions & GunKote for finish. Up front cost for one gun is high, but I have done many guns over the years.
More importantly - it was a lot of fun & satisfying doing the work myself.
Tip - make sure wife is out of the house when you use the oven to bake the Gunkote then open the windows & air out the kitchen before she gets back.
Ha! Agreed on doing it while wife is not at home. Lots of fumes as it heats up. OK once it is at temperature though. I have a toaster oven in the shop for small stuff. I use the home oven when my wife is at work.
I’ve had the 40# floor model blast cabinet from HF for a decade now. It is well worth it’s cost! I use a mix of sand and beads. A small shop vac makes a good dust collector. Put the exhaust hose out a window to keep the fine dust out of the shop.
My biggest problem is I live in an apartment on the 2nd floor. I’m still trying to find a place where I can do this, the in laws aren’t biting. I want to do it all myself, but might need to send it off to get done.
I was in shock when I first saw it, it should be a crime. I’ve gotten some quotes to blast, park and GK it and it’s a lot cheaper then I thought. Any good recommendations on who to send it to?
How much did that cost you, and how many hours did it take? I know you get what you pay for, and I want a good job done so I think this is the place to go.
So-So true my SLR-95 you could see the over-spray through the muzzle brake. If I had to guess it was just plain enamel Black paint defiantly nothing special.
That’s not a bad price at all. I was getting the same range for just painting it through other places. I’m tempted to also have the Bolten gas block installed, but I also like the AK look. What’s the veridic on those?
If you’re going to send it out, might want to think about getting the muzzle brake taken off and the muzzle threaded for 14/1mm lh threads, with a detent pin installed. Then add your US parts and stock set of your choice, and you’d basically have an Arsenal M7 Carbine for less than it would cost you to get one new.
I was thinking about doing that and also swapping the gas block for one with the bayonet lug. I’m not planing on doing a bayonet charge, I just want one because I can and I don’t want to regret not having it done later on after I already paid for the paint job. What trigger do you recommend? It has a double catch, but Kvar U.S. made ones I’ve found are single, and I’m not a big fan of Tapco who seem to make the most 922r triggers. Also will a trigger pin retaining plate work on milled receivers? Sorry for all the questions, I never got this involved with AK’s before.
