Cyma AK-47 Refinishing

I got a my Cyma CM042 AK47 for Christmas. I love the gun and it shoots pretty good stock, but the color of the real wood was way too red for me. Being in multicam, my friends always commented that the way they found me in the woods was to look for the red on my gun.



So I decided to work on that.

The finished job.



Comparison with another stock CM042



Here is how I did it.

I started by going to Lowes and digging through stain colors. I ended up getting "Dark Walnut" and a satin polyurethane. Even being satin I figured it would be a bit too reflective so I made sure I had some steel wool to dull the finish when I was done.

Click on the pictures to view them full size.


I used a fine sanding block to take the original finish off.



Here is the gun in pieces, half sanded.




It took quite a while to sand down everything, my arm was seriously hurting by the time it was done.




I stuck the gun back together to see what it looks like, reminds me of the Cyma tactical AK.




Next I used a screwdriver handle and some other instruments to beat up on the wood and enhance some existing scratches. Then I mixed black acrylic paint and water to make a wash. If you do this make sure to wipe it off quickly, it doesn't take long at all. It really brought out the nicks and cuts and the wood grain.



I sanded a bit more after it dried fully.




I applied a nice solid coat of Dark Walnut stain, making sure to fully cover the wood. I ended up touching some up after it dried a few hours to make sure I didn't miss spots too badly.




I had thought about just using linseed oil after the stain, but knowing the wood is not that great quality, I used two coats of polyurethane to protect it, sanding lightly between.

1st coat:


2nd coat:



Next I reassembled the gun. With the polyurethane it fit a little bit tighter in most places, which is nice. It gave the gun a more solid feel. I did learn just how bad the wood can be when I was reattaching the pistol grip. It had been slightly loose, but when I tightened it down the wood was crushed beneath the screw, leaving a hole completely through. For now I used a washer to hold it on, and it is actually tighter than before. I will have to countersink it slightly when I have some time and can get the right size bit.

I also used some steel wool to weather the metal in some places. It isn't too obvious, but I didn't like the super clean look the metal had before. It took the weathering well, and I don't think you can really tell unless you look closely.

I had ordered a real steel flash hider from Cheaper Than Dirt for $10 with some other random stuff I needed and it happened to get in today, when the gun was ready to be re-assembled. I had to use a dremel to cut a notch out for the cleaning rod on the lower part of the front sight, and the thing is held on by tape right now, but it doesn't seem to move much, and should work until I figure out a more permanent mounting solution since the pins on the sight are fake on the airsoft gun.

Overall I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Here are some pics of the finished product. Don't forget to click them to see the full size pictures.