Can polymer AK furniture be painted OD?

[igor]

I once again stumbled on a pic of 762x51's absolutely delicious .223 Saiga with the OD furniture... IIRC, those are aftermarket stuff that come in that color. Has anybody painted their modern AK black furniture?

As my 7.62 Saiga is converted to use standard Sako/Valmet mags and the bunch I got are of the older Exel-made OD green variety, it'd be a nice touch to have all the plastic on the rifle the same . But what kind of paint to use? Primer? Sanding? Anybody?

 

[clubsoda22]

http://www.k-var.com/subcatmfgprod.asp?0=270&1=271&2=1082

$90 will get you brand new OD furnature...painting plastic is just a pain in the butt.

 

[ks_shooter]

I have heard good results from those who have tried Brownell's Aluma-Hyde II.

Brownell's

"After full cure, Aluma-Hyde II proved solvent-proof to all but the most aggressive, copper-removing bore solvents. Aluma-Hyde II is formulated with a hard-curing epoxy base that contains additional, high-density pigment for a durable finish that sticks to all properly prepared aluminum and alloy surfaces, steel and plastics - it’s great on synthetic stocks. "

I am planning on doing my AR15 in O.D. in the near future. I like the looks of the O.D. Armalites that I have seen.

 

[762x51]

Yep....the stocks on my rifle are from K-Var corp. I too have heard good results from People using Brownells Aluma-Hyde II though. Then again, alot of the AR folks out there just use Krylon which is alot simpler to use and easy to touch up.

Good luck.

 

[igor]

Thanks for the info! I remain in a state of undecision. 762x51, your Saiga is an inspiration... very stylish.

 

[George Hill]

There is a new paint line from Krylon that is formulated to adhere and bond to plastic.

 

[shoobe01]

I have had good results with painting plastic, and even steel and aluminum, for firearms. I trust anything from Brownells, so would go with that, but must say that procedure and surface prep control ALL of the quality of a paint job like this. Clean it, scuff it a tad (4x0 steel wool), clean it more, de-grease if you can. Shake the paint appropriately, apply at good temperature, in low humidity, and with no wind or dust. Put on thin coats. Etc.

A note regarding green army stuff: the green plastic helmets, stocks and so on are not just green, but IR-reflective. Black is too black to NVGs, so some armies (not the US, you will note) paint everything IR-reflective green. Then your rifle isn't a big black stick in the middle of your camouflaged self. Doesn't matter for just looks, but if anyone is going to battle or for the true enthusiast, this stuff comes up for sale surplus sometimes. Keep an eye out if you are a big enough army-geek.

 

[possenti]

Brownell's Aluma-Hyde II gets my vote...

Allow at least 2 weeks for it to cure. It may FEEL dry in a few days, but it will peel or flake if handled roughly before. A-H II sticks well to my hand-made aluminum MAK90 stock also. It's usually hard to paint that stuff.

The Krylon "Fusion" paint mentioned earlier only comes in limited colors, and most of them have gloss finishes. I heard they offer flat black, but that's about it. It supposedly will stick to plastics that normally wil not hold paint, like polypropylene (sp?). I'll try it whenever I find an excuse to.

 

[MiniZ]

While it wasn't black furniture, the results are the same:
Scuff surface with a Scotch Brite pad or a medium/fine grit sandpaper
1 coat grey primer
2 coats truck bedliner for texture
3 coats of Krylon OD for color
2 coats of satin Poly

It is obviously not as durable as a set with the color molded in, but it does touch up easily.

 

[Harry Tuttle]

the new Krylon for plastic is called "Fusion"
its the bees knees for ABS potato cannon painting

Krylon® Fusion

http://www.krylon.com/main/product_...lid=10&productid=1751&content=product_details

Color & Product Offering
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