The original VZ-58’s came with a Glossy Grey paint. Which I find kind of interesting, most military rifles seem to come with either some sort of parkerized finished or a hard anodized finished. Both of these finishes are more of a flat black, or greenish gray color. I’d love to know what prompted Czech engineers to choose this glossy grey color.
Paint, Parkerizing, Blueing, and Anodizing all are different ways of accomplishing the same thing. Protecting the underlying metal from surface rust and corrosion. Firearm components are often sourced “in the white” meaning they do not have any type of surface finish. This saves the gunsmith time, as there is minimal surface prep to finish the project. Sometimes people want to do fancy things with their rifles, such as nickel plating their AK Receivers. (I won’t mention any names….but google Saddam and Gold Plated AK).
When we bought our receiver from Assault Weapons of Ohio, we knew it was going to be in the white. So once everything was put together, functioning like it should, we went ahead and got it over to our buddies at Utah Hydrographics to have it painted.
Prepping for the Paint
For this rifle we sand blasted pretty much all of the major metal parts that were exposed. The exception was the select switch, take down pins, magazine latch, and the bolt hold open. These I left the original blueing on. On everything else the original finish was sandblasted off.
The parts were also sprayed with a degreaser, and wiped down. This ensured that nothing would interfere with the paint adhering to the base metal.
Why Cerakote?
Cerakote is an extremely tough, and heat resistant ceramic coating. In many ways it has become the industry standard coating, preferable to bluing or parkerizing. Durakote is a similar product made by a different company. I have little experience with either Duracoat or Cerakote and went with Cerakote as it that is what was offered by Utah Hydrographics.
For this build I wanted to try and match the colors of the original rifle, but Cerakote doesn’t have the same semi gloss gray that was used in as issued rifle. So we tried to get something that was close, Cobalt Grey seemed to be the best fit.
Having done some “Bubba” paint jobs in the past with Rustoleum, and other similar products I really didn’t want to go down that road with this build. I wanted a paint that would last, and make the rifle look nice.
The Actual Painting
While I don’t have any pictures of the painting process I can tell you it’s not something I wanted to take on without the tools, a clean environment, and a dedicated oven. Cerakote is a two part epoxy, that cures in an oven. Typically only one coat is needed, but Utah Hydrographics apply clear matt finish coat is applied to protect the base coat. The coats are extraordinary thin, and I have found they typically do not gum up takedown pin holes.
However you do want to protect critical machined surfaces, especially if they slide past each other. An example of this would be a 1911 barrel and barrel bushing, or the bolt carrier and receiver in a VZ-58. (That was my bad)
The Results
I am extremely happy with the results. Utah Hydrographics did an awesome job with the painting. I helped out with the prep work, and got it ready to go. In hindsight I should have taped off the bolt carrier and the rails inside of the receiver, but a little time with a dremel and a wire wheel solved the issue.
I have a nostalgia for the old rifles with the black/grey metal and the wood grips. The newer composite and metal firearms just don’t have the same aesthetic appeal as the older guns.
As shown in the photo above the magazine is the original as issued color, the grey is a little darker and has a bit of a gloss to it. The rest of the firearm is a bit lighter grey with a matte finish. Personally I love the look, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
With the painting completed the last thing we need to do is sight the rifle in. We’ll sight it in using the iron sites, and then we may try and put some glass on this rifle. If we do it will be a simple red dot, or a holographic site. Nothing outrageously expensive, but I will admit, the sights on this rifle are not my favorite. I’ve been spoiled by peep sights…