Cleaning turns to re-finishing

I recently acquired my first Romak3. I took her apart to do the usual pre shooting cleaning. I have been using Break Free Power Blast on every other gun I own with great success, until now. The finish on the receiver started to peal up the way a latex paint would after applying paint thinner. It flakes off in wet little pieces. I usually use my air compressor to blow the excess Break Free off and when I did on the Romak, it look like I was using a media blaster on the thing. Now what was an awesome, even, flat finish looks like a leper. Dura coat, here we come! Does anyone have a suggestion as to what kind of spray gun to get with dura coat? Thanks in advance.

One consideration with Duracoat is that it will need to cure for about two weeks (yes two weeks). GunKote or Molyresin can be baked on and ready to go in a matter of hours.

Regardless, you need to at least sand blast / abrasive blast the metal so the paint can get a good grip. If you want to go all out, blast, park then paint.

If you don't at least blast, the finishes are very apt to flake off smooth surfaces.

The following is blast, park then flat black Molyresin:

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t221/gspafford/Parkerizing/DSC_0388.jpg

Funny, same thing happened to me. I was bored so I decided to clean my Polish kit.

Lucky for me I started with the muzzle break, rubbing it down with Hoppes #9. The finish just rubbed right off!

I plan to refinish it anyway, but that was just damn surprising. What'd they do, run a dry-erase marker over the AKs? :huh_small

What kind of place could I take my broken down gun parts to, to be media blasted? Auto body shop maybe?

What kind of place could I take my broken down gun parts to, to be media blasted? Auto body shop maybe?Maybe an auto parts place. Ask friends first and offer to pay with beer, or even their time. Some guys don't mind working on gun stuff while some will take issue with it. I used to work at a manufacturing facility years ago and tons of guys did car work and machining on the side to make a little money, trade for stuff, etc. Sandblasting should take less than 30 minutes for everything - maybe even 15 depending on their setup.

You'll want to apply a light coat of oil to protect against rust until you are ready to paint otherwise you'll get surface rust pretty quick unless you live in the desert. Before you paint, remove the oil with acetone either by soaking it or repeated rub downs while wearing rubber gloves. Oils from your skin can affect the finish - parkerizing and paint both.

Do you have an air compressor? Small cheap siphon-type blasters work albeit slowly and they cost under $30 typically. They just need a steady source of compressed air.

I do have an air corn-pressor. I have found a metal prep facility here in Nashville, I will find out if they can help me out. Thanks for the tips.

If I were to do it myself, which I would love to do, what media should be used? I might start asking about this in another thread at this point. But Thanks again for you thoughts and help.

Sand or aluminum. I've been using fine sand (around 120-150 grit) and letting it fall into the grass. Very important point - be sure to wear a good dust mask. The dusts from either sand or aluminum are harmful. I do my work outside and I use an asbestos grade face mask.