My almost complete Avtomat Kalashnikov Modernized (AKM) (NO56K)

[MrEvolution]

Holy. Poop. On. A. Stick.
That thing looks amazing.

[Neuromancer]

just two words: Great work!

it allmost looks to me like the RS version (which i had in my hands, years back as i was in kosovo)

really really good work

[ancorp]

Originally Posted by Coma

Ancorp, that is beautiful. There isn't much more to say without sounding like a fanboy.

I was wondering when you'd chime in, Simon. Perhaps you'd get to see it on the field someday. Muzzle facing you, hah!

Thanks all. I never though I'd get such great feedback. On Christmas day nonetheless

I'm glad I worked on this instead of splurging on an out of the box AKM. Makes me enjoy it that much more, with the amount of work and time I put into this.

[ProbeJax]

Damn, that thing looks like I could use it as a baseball bat, looks solid as hell.

[*ATF*Aurora]

Fantastic work.

[xandrewx]

very very nice, not an AK man my self but it looks very very good sir

[Cushak]

Of the guns I've seen on this site, this is definitely one of, if not the, top one for realistic appearance. Please do that write-up on blueing steel! lol

[ancorp]

Thanks again everyone. It's suddenly for sale - $12000 OBO (no lowballs). Hah I'd never sell it. It's the one "permanent" airsoft gun I have.

Bluing steel ain't the point of this, most of the AK is aluminum alloy, which is not meant to be blued.

I'll see if I can do a simple list of things I learned and whatever tips I can give from my experience. Hell I might do it right now.

[Forever_kaos]

Great looking and great work!

Maybe when I decide to upgrade my AK I could get a hand from an expert like you?

[ancorp]

What I did to blue my AK:

After experimenting with Krylon flat, then Krylon gloss, and then doing lots of research of different paints/methods, including anodizing, but never getting to anything. I hate paint. The drytime is too long, and I kept getting poor, uneven, ugly results. Still have 4 cans of Krylon and several cans of other brands of spray paint in the garage.

Thus - I decided to look into actual firearm blue. Thing is - its supposed to only work on steel, creating a perfect rust layer that blackens the metal.

So - off to Canadian tire - $14.99 for a Gunslick bluing kit that came with a 60ml bottle of blue, and of metal cleaner, as well as steel wool, sponge, and instructions. You may end up needing more blue as you experiment - $4.99 for extra bottles, also at CT. Metal cleaner should last a long time though.

I started with the steel top cover, which blued fine. Just as per instructions, pretty much:
Metal must be bare (sand paper or steel wool to remove any finish, I also polished some of the larger AK parts, like the top cover, body, and bolt).
Use the metal cleaner and half the sponge to clean the metal, and then rinse and dry. Rinsing with hot water may help (i.e heating up the metal) and then drying quickly before it cools, then slapping on the blue.
Thus, once its dry - use the second half of the sponge to apply blue, its a clear light blue tinted liquid, and once it hits the steel it suddenly just blackens, very interesting. Apply it everywhere you need to, try to make it even if possible.
Let it sit for 2-3 minutes, then rince with hot water. Once dry again, take the steel wool and lightly brush off odd colors (usually purplish or whatnot) to reveal a nice coat of blue. Recoat by following all the steps, starting with metal cleaner.

BUT for aluminum I found some exceptions that helped (take some with a grain of salt, mileage may, and will wary.)

Some alloys - the bluing will react just like steel, fizz up with tiny bubbles, and sometimes let off steam. NOT good on aluminum, it will leave a layer of residue that won't be easy to remove, and will come off with the bluing underneath. I found that on metals that react this way (besides steel), it's best to keep spreading the blue that's already on it during the 2-3 minutes that it has to sit, not letting it fizz up. Often that fizzing will also result in rust. But the metals that react will keep the finish stronger. Especially after a day or so. Really strong finish on my metal body, even though it's not steel.

Sometimes the material won't take bluing very strong, and won't fizz at all (like my TM front sight/gas port/etc). It's easier to blue, you just do it as steel - put it on and let it sit. It will work, but it will come off easily when you do the steel wool part. Same with rusted areas. Hell sometimes you do the bluing, and do the steel wool, and almost all of it comes off, it happens.

It's a frustrating process, but is worth it if you succeed. A nice strong, but very thin finish, thus it doesn't look like someone dipped it in paint, like some Krylon paintjobs, it looks like a real finish. It's grayish when just looking at it, but reflects with a blue tint, as it should.

Seriously though, I don't have proper guidelines, so it's up to you if you think you're up to the experimenting. I found it so damn worth it. Even if I did go through 5 bottles of blue in the end :P

I'd take pictures of the process, but I'd need someone to take the pics with me.

I'm sure I missed something here that I know, ask away and I'll see what I can remember. I started this bluing thing at least a month ago or so.

Hope this helps someone, and I hope anyone that attempts it posts results, or at least PM's me to tell me how it went. I don't think it was done before with airsoft (except that one guy that put blue on a plastic Beretta slide What was he thinking...)

Cheers!
Alex

P.S - Forever_Kaos - PM me when you're working on it, I love discussing AK projects over PMs or MSN. Find it more interesting then talking about slapping this RIS on this M4, or that crane stock on that M16. :P

[Cassius]

Amazing! I'm so glad I've started an AK project
I like the fact that you are giving it a nice attention to all of the details. It's the details that make it a perfect piece and you've got that perfectly.
Can you let me know how to get that hot ICS bolt??

Thanks mate.

[ancorp]

Originally Posted by Cassius

Amazing! I'm so glad I've started an AK project
I like the fact that you are giving it a nice attention to all of the details. It's the details that make it a perfect piece and you've got that perfectly.
Can you let me know how to get that hot ICS bolt??

Thanks mate.

Yessir, you know it. Still some small details to be done, will be done soon enough, although the big picture is definitely there now. The ICS bolt - got it through Dicey as it says in the first post, through a small group order.

Best of luck on your AK project. Take your time and do it right.

[Cassius]

Ancorp, can you PM me the details on where to order that hot thing?

I'm taking my time as well; I'm doing like 4 projects at the same time so money is managing my time. :P My wood kit just hit Canada on dec 23rd so I should be expecting that around new year!

[Griffin]

Excellent work! seeing that gun brings back memories of my younger days and the model Ak47 I owned. I truly miss being able to purchase those functional model guns, they were always a treat to assemble.

[ancorp]

Originally Posted by Cassius

Ancorp, can you PM me the details on where to order that hot thing?

I'm taking my time as well; I'm doing like 4 projects at the same time so money is managing my time. :P My wood kit just hit Canada on dec 23rd so I should be expecting that around new year!

PM the guy I got it from mate. I mentioned his name twice now

Originally Posted by Griffin

Excellent work! seeing that gun brings back memories of my younger days and the model Ak47 I owned. I truly miss being able to purchase those functional model guns, they were always a treat to assemble.

You had a Hudson AK-47 PFC gun? Lucky bastard, what happened to it?