[thelittlestchipmunk]

So I have long wanted to duracoat my Interarms AK, it is parkarized. So Wednesday I ordered the paint and airbrush and that night I completely disassembled my gun and began scrubbing it. First I hit it with brake cleaner to blast all of the the crud out of there and then the next night I scrubbed it with a sponge and acetone and then did the same the following night. I noticed then that a layer of rust had developed across the entire gun (even a bit IN in the barrel). Naturally I am freaking out haha :). So tonight I took the gun and hung it on boards to be painted tomorrow morning. I was able to scrub off a lot of the rust with a rag but some of it was difficult to reach, in hard to reach crevices, and I couldn't quite get all of that out. So should I be worried? What happened? Did the lack of an oil coating/history of firing corrosive ammo/humid conditions cause this? Thanks in advance!!

[LJ-MosinFreak-Buck]

I'd say a mixture of all of it. I'd try getting rid of the rust in it's majority, if not entirety, before you start coating it.

[adelbridge]

wd-40 and 0000 steel wool will remove a couple days worth of surface rust like it never happened. Hit it with brake cleaner again to get the oil off and paint it. Bare metal wont rust that fast from acetone or brake cleaner and since it was wide spread I am guessing you also used a water based cleaner.

[TonyAngel]

I wouldn't use steel wool. If your rifle is actually parkerized, the parkerizing is a very good base for the duracoat to adhere to. Hitting it with steel wool is going to take at least some of that parkerizing off. Surface rust should come off with wd-40 or CLP or something of that nature and a nylon brush.

When you completely degrease a firearm like that, it's going to rust pretty quickly. What I usually do is degrease right before I shoot the gun with the Duracoat.

In any case, if you do wind up using steel wool and you do take the parkerizing off of the rifle, you're going to need to prep the surface of the rifle with either sandpaper or by sandblasting it. That is, if you want to Duracoat to last a good long while without chipping and peeling. Duracoat is essentially just paint. If the surface isn't prepped properly, it won't last.

[Lloyd Smale]

same thing happened to me. I picked up a new 06 atr mossberg for cheap and figured id play with it and duracoat it desert cammo. My buddy did it for me and has duracoated probably 25 guns now and never had a problem with any until this gun. I didnt use it much and it sat for about two months and the buddy i crop damage shoot with occasionaly took his 24 year old daughter along. She allways borrowed a gun from her dad or me. I figured what the heck i didnt have much into this gun and gave it to her. She used it that season and seemed to take care of it. Her dad swears he cleanded and oiled it at the end of the season. Well last fall when we started hunting he took her along for the first time and it took a look at that gun and it had rust leaching out all over it. I chalked it up to the fact that it was a cheap rifle and maybe the metal that they used had some impuritys in it. Thing is the barrel and the action had rust so they would have had to use the same metal in both. Its a possibilty but unlikely. Another possiblity would be a reaction with the bluing they used. I know he just scuffed up the metal and didnt take it down to bare metal. this is the first time ive heard of someone else with the same problem and sure would be curious as to what caused it.

[bullturkey]

I am a professional painter w/30yrs exp. What I use if I can not spray metal before surface rust appears is a product called Ospho. It is a phosphoric acid solution that does not harm metal. After application ,let dry and apply your Duracoat. This keeps you from chasing your tail grease/degrease before application. The Ospho actually chemically changes iron oxide into iron phosphate.

[Blanco]

I have done several Cerakote projects (duracoat competitor) I usually strip the metal as clean as possible. Before i get ready to spray I scrub all the parts in Lacquer thinner. from that point on wear rubber gloves when handling. Then hang from wire. I have found using an automotive touch-up gun works better. I spray the hanging parts with thinner from the gun. That cleans the spray gun and the parts. Hit the parts with compressed air to make sure there is no thinner or condensation. At this point I wait about 20~30 min. Check parts and spray with coating.

[ApacheCoTodd]

Blanco & bullturkey have offered outstanding advice. The only thing I would add is consider you operation as multi-staged and clean the hell outa components and set them aside with a light and easily removed oil like WD-40/G-96 and the like. Consider oiling the parts as part of the preparation and spread your work out so you're not chasing rust.

Pick up a part - clean the beejeezus outa it - oil it -set it aside.
Pick up another part - see above...

Then, when you do get the time to properly apply your finish, you're simply removing a light coating of protectant before spraying. Like the thinner through the gun above.

[Blanco]

I would just like to expand on what was touched on briefly.
If you use a solvent like lacquer thinner, acetone or brake cleaner, They tend to cause condensation on the parts. More especially when pressurized and atomized. The only advice I have is after cleaning wait 30~4o min. the blow parts off with compressed air, making sure to look for water or other contaminates. Not paying close attention to this has caused me to have to re-coat several parts.

Best o luck to ya

[poolingmyignorance]

Since your gun is parkerized, skip the blasting part. But this it my M.O:
If you want your paint to adhere better and last longer these steps will help ALOT:
Completely disassemble your fire arm, plug the barrel from the muzzle and chamber end so you don't get over spray or ruin your lining. rubber or even rolled up cloth works well.
For metal:
Blast with aluminum oxide 100-120 grit (coarser grit will cause the steel to have too deep of valley and thin coatings will start to appear cracked over time)
glass bead demples the surface and doesn't allow as much penetration of the coatings.
Degrease your parts it's best to soak them in a high strengh degreaser such as break clean or acetone..if you can sumberge them completely thats best!
Now put on your latex powder free gloves (even the oils in your finger prints can cause imperfetions in the finish)...blow off your parts with DRY AIR...now * remove the plugs from the barrel you dont want them melting or catching fire* put your gun parts in an oven at 250 for 20 min (this will cause any trapped oils to sweat to the surface) if any oil are present the steel will appear wet. You'll need to put it back in the degreaser then rebake and check again. repeat this as much as nessary. Once done reinstall barrel plugs.
It's also best to paint the parts while their tempature is atleast 100 degrees f..so there is no oppertunity for condensation to form while coating. Hang your parts on a piece of wire, and begin spraying in the hardest to acess areas first, then work your way to the easier ones. It's also helpful to begin spraying off your part and finish off your part (exagerate each pass of the sprayer) so you don't end up with starts and stops on the weapon offten sprayers have an acculation on the nozzle that dislodges with the initial pull of the trigger.
I hope this is helpful, YMMV! Good luck!