GI Surplus Magazine Refinish: Cheap, Reliable, and as Good as New
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2025
- Looking for cheap, reliable alternative to the Magpul PMAG? It is as easy as a trip to your local Army surplus store. Restoring surplus GI mags is an easy do it yourself project that allows you to stock up on AR magazines without breaking the bank. In this video I show you how to make the old relatively new again. Don't get me wrong PMAGS are awesome and you should own a bunch but they will cost you. This method allows you to bulk up your stash at a price of about $8.00 a magazine compared to $17-$20. That means you are getting roughly 2 refinished GI mags for what you would pay for one PMAG. Oh, and don't worry, Magpul still gets some of your money because you want their anti-tilt followers so it's win win for them. Project Difficulty 2 out of 10. Return on Investment 10 out of 10. Just do it already. As always thank you for watching, be prepared, and God Bless.
Music
Artist: Holding Onto Hope
Album: Of the Sea
Song: Between Failure and Fraud
Used with permission from comeandlive.com
USGI mags are coated with a Dry Film Lubricant and can be easily re-finished with a fresh coat from a rattle can. The mil-correct dry film is 'Everlube® Perma-Slik® G Gray/Black MIL-L-23398D'. Its $30 for a single 13oz can but its enough to refinish up to 20 magazines. Or you can buy a spray can of the CRC brand 'Dry Moly Lube' for 10 bucks and the results are almost identical, (maybe a little darker than the Perma-Slik). And you dont have to worry about the upper section of the magazine body as the coats are very thin.
I bead blast mine then use VHT heatproof ceramic paint made for race car headers and bake it for one hr at 300. Then I install a Magpul follower and floor plate.
Do you paint the inside also or no? Was thinking of doing the same.
You should use a mil-spec coating known as Perma Slik G by Everlube. It's not paint, but actually a dry-film lubricant. Or if want more color options, Brownels sells a Teflon/moly baked on coating in black, tan, grey, and coyote finishes.
instablaster
A few tips... use a nail set or punch in the hole on the floorplate, pry back just a little so the numbs clear the edge of the mag, and slide it off. Check floorplate for straightness, bend back if needed. Wash the mag bodies in hot soapy water, and clean the inside with a bottle brush. Rinse and set aside to dry. Lay the floorplates out on old newspaper and spray with flat black Krylon or other good spray paint. If the mag has the old black followers, replace with Magpuls. If green, those really aren't too bad. Use them if you must, but better to use the Magpuls. After spraying the mag bodies with moly disulfide dry lube, reassemble, will look and work like new.
Never paint a Mil-Spec aluminium AR/M4 mag. The paint will rub off after three times in a gun. Mil-Spec mags are powder coated with a gray lubricant for easy sliding. They are aluminium and will not rust. It's best to leave your mil-spec mags alone. Keeping them clean is all that is needed. Unless of course to need a pretty magazine, then spray away.
I just paint the part of my mags camo that dosnt go in the magwell
I bought a few old usgi mags. I like the way they look.
👍
We pay $30.00 for pre-ban 20 rounders here in Ma. and $40 for the 30's and $75 for 40's
Gerald Fallon-Griffin oh wow got mine with an anti tilt follower for 15 shipped
Ouch
I buy 30rnd surplus mags for $3 a piece
Okay industries new gi magazines only go for $10, plus you can pick a color check em out.
Brake cleaner and a rag bro, takes off everything and leaves it dry.
B12 chemtool strips it right off then spray with moly and let dry. Got an artillery crate full.
Brake clean is the shit !
Terrific video just what I was looking for
You should wear nitrile gloves after lubricating the springs while wiping the excess lube off. Oils from the hand can cause the springs to rust.
Brian Underwood Also, those solvents can enter the bloodstream through the pores in your skin.
Joseph Tobin It’s nail polish remover. What do you think it’s used for? 😂
First of all, painting the part of the magazine that goes into the mag well is the worst thing you can do, especially with paint that isn’t heat-resistant. The paint is going to bubble up in your rifle when it gets hot from firing it a gum up the inside of the mag well. Now it won’t drop freely like it was meant to.
Second PMAGs are not expensive. You can find them as cheap as $11 a pop and work just as well, in some cases better, than surplus mags. Also, STANAG mags are hit or miss. The military sold them off because a lot of them are just crappy and dented to hell from years of use and abuse, not to mention not having anti-tilt followers, which means you spend more money to buy new anti-tilt followers. Your savings are out the door now.
You’re better off buying them new for roughly the same amount. I have half a dozen STANAG mags from BCM with the Magpul followers and black Teflon coating for $8 each. Cheap doesn’t always mean just as good or better. Like the old saying goes, “Buy cheap, buy twice.”
You can't buy new ones or pmags where I live. Surplus is the only option to get high cap here.
P mags M3 are far superior to STANAG mags in my opinion.
Key area to check on old magazines are the feed lips. If they are bent, or stretched out from lots of use or being loaded for a long time, you will get reduced reliability. Check the feed lips first. Taking the magazine apart and stretching the spring is good, as well as replacing the followers. Cosmetics mean nothing, reliability is everything......
The stock ones still slide in a dented mag the anti tilt ones stop at the dent. Just sayin. Yep I got a few dented ones.
No paint in mag well
There was nothing wrong with the old one it just needed clean thats all you just went out and spend money that you didn't have too.
No man, just re-blue them. Let use know if it sticks in the rifle
Unless the springs are stainless steel.
Please don’t do this, the finish was awful! My 3 year old could do better.
Dont cheap out like this turd lol, go spend a little bit more and get yourself some perma slik g ... Rustolium sucks and it adds too much thickness ! Perma slik g is the same military finish they put on colt mags as well as all mil-spec mags :P
where gloves when working with solvents
He’s using nail polish remover and alcohol pads. Not exactly HAZMAT situation here.
WTF! Whit this ristautstion!