How good does a "touch-up pen" work on a gun?

Question

I am frustrated with the scratches on my Polish AK. I found out something called the "Super Black touch-up pens", does that help for the scratches on my Black painted AK?

Answer 1

Honestly...Not really, you would get the same results from a Black Magic Marker Felt Tipped Pen.....I will wear off almost as quickly as you put it on...You could always strip your AK down and put a "Baked On" finish on the whole gun that would be a lot tougher. There are Spray coatings in a can, that you cure in your oven at home...Check out the below listed website:


www.brownells.com or call the Customer Service Line at:
1-800-741-0015

Answer 2

If someone has actually "painted" some or all of the metal parts of your gun black, then you should go to the hardware store and buy some black paint to touch it up. If the metal is "blued" then the touch up pen will do a reasonable job of touching it up as long as you follow the directions. Cold blue is never as good as hot blue but it is a whole lot easier and cheaper to use for touch ups.

However, if the scratches that you are touching up are on the stock rather than on the metal parts of the gun, it most likely is actually painted black. In that case, use black paint to touch up the scratches. Use a skewer like they use to make shishkabob and dip it into the paint like an old fashioned ink pen. Wipe off the excess and then carefully fill the scratch with the paint. To make them more invisible, lightly sand the touch ups after the paint dries and then put on a second coat just putting it in the scratch. Keep doing this until the scratch is completely filled and the touch up is rubbed down level with the surrounding paint. The sandpaper to use is the black "wet or dry" available from auto parts stores in the paint department. Use about a 400 or 600 grit with some water to do the light sanding between coats of paint.

Answer 3

Like JD says, short of a complete strip down and refinish, not much works. I kept a black sharpie in my range bag forever until my AR15 got so scratched up that it looked worse with the marker than the scratched. The biggest problem with just touching up is getting it to match and keeping it there. I have given up on calling them scratches and now just call them "beauty marks".

Answer 4

Good answers...
the marker-type pens leave a shiny dark black stripe that
stands out worse than the scratch...
break it down and do a good cold blue [ dixiegunworks]
or Parkerize it. both will look better.

Answer 5

Regardless of how hard you try, you cannot avoid scratches on a "working" gun. If you want a museum piece, put it in a showcase for permanent display.