whats the best way to 'wear' a weapon? By which i mean weather it. Ive got an AGM mp40 and i want to weather the horrible thick black paint to make it look a bit used. At the moment ive just been over it with some fine wet and dry and 'highlighted' the raised areas. I want something a bit more severe, the fine grey wet and dry produces a very smooth finish. Maybe a courser grade of paper needed? any advice?
Cheers
Jonny
Use it.
It's SUPPOSED to look relatively new...
Not really correct in this case, No1 - the AGM is covered in thick black paint and looks nothing like a "real" finish found on those guns.
Jonny, keep at it with the sandpaper. If you're a dab hand with paint, you could try finding a realistic gunmetal one, but I've not tried it myself. Certainly, scraping off the paint to get silver edges on the gun and the mags does improve the look.
You've got nothing to ein, zwei, drei, vier
The only good looking way for an MP40 is to burnish it.Just done it to mine myself and it looks incredible real.
The barrel and the 2 little tubes of the stock are aluminum so you have to buy 2 kinds of burnish, one for metal and the other for aluminum.On the picture you can see how it looks, the barrel is raw just waiting for the alu burnish.
its really easy to do it at home.
that is exactly the look im going for, looks awesome. So, can i get a burnishing kit fro, somewhere like B & Q? How exactly do you go about burnishing it?
Cheers
Jonny
... so you have to buy 2 kinds of burnish, one for metal and the other for aluminum.
What do you mean by "metal". Last time I checked, aluminium IS a metal.
I'm pretty sure that's NOT what Dr.Hossa means 
We have quite a few forum members who don't have English as a first language. No need to get out our Periodic Table of Elements here.
... so you have to buy 2 kinds of burnish, one for metal and the other for aluminum.
What do you mean by "metal". Last time I checked, aluminium IS a metal.
I'm sure, that like most people on here, you know fully well what he meant. I.e that some types of metal treatment don't take to aluminium, so you need to buy an aluminium-specific one.
Yes, the Thompson looks pretty good from new - but MP40s were not jet black. 
You've got nothing to ein, zwei, drei, vier
... so you have to buy 2 kinds of burnish, one for metal and the other for aluminum.
What do you mean by "metal". Last time I checked, aluminium IS a metal.
I'm sure, that like most people on here, you know fully well what he meant. I.e that some types of metal treatment don't take to aluminium, so you need to buy an aluminium-specific one.
thx for your words. yes english is not my first language cause i´m just a bloody kraut, and here we say metal for Steel and aluminum is aluminum.
i bought my burnish fluid(dont know the correct word) at a local store back here.maybe thats what you can get at your country http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/
just get off the black paint, i used a wire brush on a drill, and use sandpaper for a better finish, then use thinner and clean the parts, now you are ready for burnish the stuff, i used a little brush to get it on, wait some minutes and use a damp cloth to wipe it a bit off.So now wipe it dry and use some Ballistol, without it the gun will soon start to rust.
I hope you understand my little tutorial, i tried my best in english.
I had the same issue with the sten, for some reason the guys at the AGM factory see fit to actually dunk all the parts in black paint. It is REALLY thick. It took me three sheets of course sandpaper just to do the stock tube as it was so thick it just clogged up the paper straight away. Wire brush on a drill sounds like a good idea
I ended up just giving it a coating on a pewter coloured spray
Doesnt look perfect and is a bit too shiney in daylight but i think it looks better than the black. Its actaully staring to weather quite nicely now so the black is starting to show through in places
thx for your words. yes english is not my first language cause i´m just a bloody kraut, and here we say metal for Steel and aluminum is aluminum.
No need to apologise Dr.Hossa 
yes its really really thick paint. i first used sandpaper too but quit after 10 minutes cause i was just scratching the paint. 
when you are using the wire brush it will leave some deep scratches so i used some fine paper to get a better smoother finish on the raw metal, some scratches are ok for the used look.
i will post a pic of my MP40 when its complete burnished, just have to take down the paint from the mags and burnish the aluminium parts.
i love the look of your sten with the silencer, just looks gorgeous.
How about using Nitromors to get the paint off?
That MP-40 looks sehr gut. I think I'll do the same to my two.
That MP-40 looks sehr gut. I think I'll do the same to my two.
Can you do the same to my two as well? 
Hmm we may be able to come up with a 'trade' lol
WRT the AGM Sten (the battery-tube stock version):
Any idea what the t-stock tube is made out of? It's not magnetic on mine, but the rest of the gun, including the "butt plate" is.
Did they really go to the hassle of welding aluminium to steel, or is it some kind of austenitic steel?
yith, im not sure about using nitromors, im a bit worried that due to the poor metal quality, and the strenght of nitromors it might actually eat into the metal. i had this happen on my ACM shotgun.
Im thinking a dremel might be a good idea, with an abrasive head attachment, That should cut through the paint pretty well.
And thanks Dr. Hossa, appreciate the little tutorial.
Cheers
Jonny
sorry dont know what nitromors is, but i tried thinner, acetone and from my girlfriend nail polish remover 
nothing happend, for a little moment i thought i heard a chinese laughing wide away.
today i managed to burnish one of the magazines, the plate at the end seems to be aluminum too, so this weekend i will do the alu parts, picture will follow of the hole gun when its done.
@jonny357 glad that i could help you, its worth the work for a nice looking mp40
grüsse aus Krautland
