Just figured I'd show off my first try with that Alumahyde camo paint from Brownells on a beat up mess of an SKS that I bought awhile back at the gun show. There were several missing parts, it was missing some of the blueing and it looked like it had been used for pole vaulting at some point in it's past.
Alumahyde Paint
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=1117
First Step: Degreasing it, sanding it lightly and using an iron and a wet cloth to get rid of the most obvious dents, scratches and gouges were the first steps I took. Here it is in a picture after the first bit of sanding and ironing and the initial degreasing before I stripped it completely and took it off the stock to do an even more detailed job on it.
Middle of the 1st step.
Second Step: Completing prep work by taking it apart completely and getting rid of those stubborn patches of grease/oil with purple power, acetone and carburetor cleaner and then doing a little more light sanding.
Base Coat: Then I did a base coat in park. grey on the stock, handguard and bolt cover and then I hung it up to dry for a few days on a bent hanger from the ceiling in my garage.
Bulldog Arms "Male" Camo Stencils: I bought the male stencils from Bulldog Arms and then I stuck the stickers on in a semi-random pattern all over the gun and gun parts. The only thing is that after I painted one of the colors over the base coat to start the camo job I tried to pull the stickers off a couple of days later and the surface area that was underneath created an slight indention because of the paint buildup around it and it pulled off a little bit of the paint as well. So I ended up having to sand it smooth again, apply a new coat of Park. Grey and then hung it up and waited a few more days.
Homemade "Female" Camo Templates And Taping It Off: Using Flecktarn camo shapes and a hobby exacto knife I made some male camo stencils out of a few patterns that I managed to find online and stuck some of the male stencils that I had left from Bulldog Arms and then cut them out after sticking them to a piece of paper. Then I taped over the gas ports, the trigger, the safety and the other controls and areas that I didn't want to paint using some of that blue painters tape after I blocked off the barrel and inside of the reciever with cotton or ear plugs.
Bulldog Arms: If you buy stencils make sure and buy the female ones
http://catalog.bulldogarms.com/
Painting It: I had originally bought just grey tone colors, but then I also ended up buying some Earth Brown, OD Green and Matte Black for another project gun that a buddy's doing. I painted it using the stencils at random after hanging it so that it was flat using a second hanger. Then after painting it I dried it initially with my wifes hair dryer and then I left it to dry for a few more days (it dries on it's own, you don't need to bake it on) before putting it back together.
Here's what I ended up with.
So what do you think?
Did I "Bubba" this SKS even though it wasn't exactly in pristine condition to begin with and even though SKS's aren't exactly rare to begin with? The few friends and family members who've seen it seem to love it and to me it looks better in person than it does in pictures, but I prefer to get an honest opinion from strangers who aren't afraid of hurting someone's feelings.
Alumahyde Paint
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=1117
First Step: Degreasing it, sanding it lightly and using an iron and a wet cloth to get rid of the most obvious dents, scratches and gouges were the first steps I took. Here it is in a picture after the first bit of sanding and ironing and the initial degreasing before I stripped it completely and took it off the stock to do an even more detailed job on it.
Middle of the 1st step.
Second Step: Completing prep work by taking it apart completely and getting rid of those stubborn patches of grease/oil with purple power, acetone and carburetor cleaner and then doing a little more light sanding.
Base Coat: Then I did a base coat in park. grey on the stock, handguard and bolt cover and then I hung it up to dry for a few days on a bent hanger from the ceiling in my garage.
Bulldog Arms "Male" Camo Stencils: I bought the male stencils from Bulldog Arms and then I stuck the stickers on in a semi-random pattern all over the gun and gun parts. The only thing is that after I painted one of the colors over the base coat to start the camo job I tried to pull the stickers off a couple of days later and the surface area that was underneath created an slight indention because of the paint buildup around it and it pulled off a little bit of the paint as well. So I ended up having to sand it smooth again, apply a new coat of Park. Grey and then hung it up and waited a few more days.
Homemade "Female" Camo Templates And Taping It Off: Using Flecktarn camo shapes and a hobby exacto knife I made some male camo stencils out of a few patterns that I managed to find online and stuck some of the male stencils that I had left from Bulldog Arms and then cut them out after sticking them to a piece of paper. Then I taped over the gas ports, the trigger, the safety and the other controls and areas that I didn't want to paint using some of that blue painters tape after I blocked off the barrel and inside of the reciever with cotton or ear plugs.
Bulldog Arms: If you buy stencils make sure and buy the female ones
http://catalog.bulldogarms.com/
Painting It: I had originally bought just grey tone colors, but then I also ended up buying some Earth Brown, OD Green and Matte Black for another project gun that a buddy's doing. I painted it using the stencils at random after hanging it so that it was flat using a second hanger. Then after painting it I dried it initially with my wifes hair dryer and then I left it to dry for a few more days (it dries on it's own, you don't need to bake it on) before putting it back together.
Here's what I ended up with.
So what do you think?
Did I "Bubba" this SKS even though it wasn't exactly in pristine condition to begin with and even though SKS's aren't exactly rare to begin with? The few friends and family members who've seen it seem to love it and to me it looks better in person than it does in pictures, but I prefer to get an honest opinion from strangers who aren't afraid of hurting someone's feelings.
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