I can not keep small bits of rust off some of my rifles no matter what I do.  Of course the 100% humidity everyday for the last three months broken only by heavy rain might have something to do with it.

I will have most of my AKs parkerized in the future I think just because of the weather, but in the mean time, I was thinking about Gun Kote from Brownells.

Is is worth the price? How many rifles can I do with a can? How well does it work?

Yes, it's by far the best home-finish I've ever used.  It's far better than the bake-on gun laquer that Brwonell's also sells.  

I've used the can stuff and you can do a couple rifles with a can.  

I've used the thinner liquid stuff that you need an airbrush/sprayer for and it builds-up much thinner and is better for good looks, but take more work.  

The finish looks similar to the HK black paint look.

The key is in the prep of the metal.  You really need to clean the dogcrap out of it and make sure you don't have ANY rust or ANY grease.  Brake cleaner works well, but I always used denatured alcohol afterwards to insure that there wasn't any residue of anything left behind.  Get the metal clean and dry.  This is the secret to getting good results with this stuff.

If you've done that, then it's a snap.  It will also be VERY resistant to scratches, etc.  I like it better than the finish that most guns come with.  

I would go with the spray can for the AK.  First of all, while hassle with a compressor, sprayer, etc for an AK.  Second, the thicker spraycan product will hold up better to abuse.  

Prep the gun, heat the gun, paint the gun, and bake the gun.  Done.  Be ready for some serious stink in the kitchen though.  The baking process isn't odor-free.  

With the liquid stuff you can mix and match the liquid to get custom shades of the different colors (black, gray, green, tan). That's way too much work for your application IMO.

Beadblasting to bare metal will obviously get you the best results.  I've put it on over park an anodizing on some ARs and it didn't seem to matter any though.  For a using gun, I'd just knock off the surface with sandpaper and go to town with the rattle can of Gun-Kote.

The short answer is, Yes, it works and is worth the price.  Just follow the directions on the can and you're good to go.

Ross

Thanks Ross, I'll try it out.

For what its worth Im going to try the Wal Mart Dupli color 1200 degrees ceramic engine paint. It was $4.50 for a can.You bake it on after you spray it also.I will post back and tell yall how it comes out.I figured a car engine gets oil and grim and gas on it and this is suppose to be pretty durable.The way it reads is it gets really hard after you bake the rifle in the oven.But like anything else I got to prep it really good before hand.Cheers WarDawg

Campy, if I go through all of that, I might as well have them parkerized in the first place.

I have two long and one short goldenrod + desicant packs in each of my safes at my dads house along with dehumidifiers. Here, I only have one goldenrod. They seem to be had to find these days in the Amazon Ohio.

I will loo on line for another or two, and look into getting the AKs parkerized.

WarDog, I have used the Wal-Mart hi-temp oven paint on several of my shooters before with limited success.  It creates a matte black crinkle type finish.  Almost like the H&K finnish, but not as crinkly.

It works well on old bolt guns that I use for plinking as the wood protects most of the metal. The exposed metal is mostly on top where is gets less wear.  The rifles are also more "round".
I have tried it on my MAK-90, and after four years it is starting to come off on the 90 degree angles on the reciever.  The blueing under it is fine, butthe rifle is startng to look crappy.  The reciever being more open to wear causes the paint to come off more easily.

It is worth the price for an easy fix on old beaters with a lot of wood in their design, I think it is not tough enough for the primary finnish on a more modern design like the AK.
I have used it with great success on old single shot .22 rifles. (You know, the $20 gun show rifles from the 1960's that just need cleaned up) They look odd with that finnish on them, but with the less rugged (and less often)use, they are holding up very well.