nmxdaven
Member
Romanian AK Refurb Project *update 4/16*
Well I got yet another ak in need of some refinishing. Thought I would do an ongoing post of the steps involved in making this thing a beauty.
A little about myself I guess. I joined the army many moons ago, and graduated to a foreign ops unit, then was headhunted into the CIA's Russian intelligence division where I worked for 10 years before retiring. As you might expect, I grew to love the ak in all its variants, and now in my leisure I love restoring them to their proper dignity. I have over 50 at the present.
First a before pic.
Hard to see from the pic, but the metal is badly worn in multiple spots from long term storage. (Made in 1969 and never shot) Not too hard to see is the horrible wood condition. It had been soaked in penetrating oil (I'm guessing) and who knows what else, so I made it the first problem to tackle.
First thing was a good sanding, working my way up to a 220 grain. I heated it in a oven for a few days to drive out as much of the contaminates as I could, wiping down what oozed out a few times a day until it was pretty dry.
Next was the staining, using a combination of different RIT colors until I was happy. Then a week-long application of tung oil, sitting in a low temp oven in between coats.
Finally a polyurethane finish to a glossy sheen. (Some hate it, but I like a little gloss)
Drying
Finished - Note: The wood grip is currently being completed as I just received it 2 days ago. The grip on their now is just one I had lying around.
Next up is preparing the metal for its finish. Its going to be a flat black, but I want to do something a little different this time with the details. I'm going to put on my thinking cap and see what I could do, or if anyone has any suggestions feel free to tell me!
Well I got yet another ak in need of some refinishing. Thought I would do an ongoing post of the steps involved in making this thing a beauty.
A little about myself I guess. I joined the army many moons ago, and graduated to a foreign ops unit, then was headhunted into the CIA's Russian intelligence division where I worked for 10 years before retiring. As you might expect, I grew to love the ak in all its variants, and now in my leisure I love restoring them to their proper dignity. I have over 50 at the present.
First a before pic.
Hard to see from the pic, but the metal is badly worn in multiple spots from long term storage. (Made in 1969 and never shot) Not too hard to see is the horrible wood condition. It had been soaked in penetrating oil (I'm guessing) and who knows what else, so I made it the first problem to tackle.
First thing was a good sanding, working my way up to a 220 grain. I heated it in a oven for a few days to drive out as much of the contaminates as I could, wiping down what oozed out a few times a day until it was pretty dry.
Next was the staining, using a combination of different RIT colors until I was happy. Then a week-long application of tung oil, sitting in a low temp oven in between coats.
Finally a polyurethane finish to a glossy sheen. (Some hate it, but I like a little gloss)
Drying
Finished - Note: The wood grip is currently being completed as I just received it 2 days ago. The grip on their now is just one I had lying around.
Next up is preparing the metal for its finish. Its going to be a flat black, but I want to do something a little different this time with the details. I'm going to put on my thinking cap and see what I could do, or if anyone has any suggestions feel free to tell me!
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