I just bought a Draco

[FunkyPertwee]

I just walked in the door at home with a new Romy Draco pistol in 7.62. I paid $375 cash total.

I'm going to have to refinish the handguards or get some new ones; I hate bare Romanian wood.

Also, I'm going to have to buy a single point sling and do the paracord trick.

Any suggestions on wood refinishing? Any suggestions on what single point sling to get or where to buy paracord?

I'll post up pics one clean all the gunk out today.

[slamfire51]

Congrats on getting the Draco.

I always use RIT clothes dye for a stain. Doesn't hide the grain of the wood.
My formula is:
1 tsp Sunshine Orange
1 tsp Scarlet Red
1/2 tsp Dark Brown (more if you want a browner color)

Mix thoroughly with 8-10 oz. Denatured alcohol.
Strain the mixture through pantie hose to remove the salt grains.
Apply with a cloth, but work fast, the alcohol evaporates super fast.
If it's streaked, don't worry, the next coat will even itself out.
Apply as many coats necessary to achieve the desired color. It'll be dry in minutes, but let dry for an hour before proceeding to next step.
LIGHTLY hit the HG with 0000 steel wool. Use a tack cloth to remove and dust.


Then spray 2-3 light coats of satin Polyurethane. Let dry overnight.

[ATAK, Inc.]

Congrats on getting the Draco.

I always use RIT clothes dye for a stain. Doesn't hide the grain of the wood.
My formula is:
1 tsp Sunshine Orange
1 tsp Scarlet Red
1/2 tsp Dark Brown (more if you want a browner color)

Mix thoroughly with 8-10 oz. Denatured alcohol.
Strain the mixture through pantie hose to remove the salt grains.
Apply with a cloth, but work fast, the alcohol evaporates super fast.
If it's streaked, don't worry, the next coat will even itself out.
Apply as many coats necessary to achieve the desired color. It'll be dry in minutes, but let dry for an hour before proceeding to next step.
LIGHTLY hit the HG with 0000 steel wool. Use a tack cloth to remove and dust.


Then spray 2-3 light coats of satin Polyurethane. Let dry overnight.


Hey Slam, is that the basic Russian red formula?

And I guess you can finish with whatever you prefer, like tung oil?

[slamfire51]

Hey Slam, is that the basic Russian red formula?

And I guess you can finish with whatever you prefer, like tung oil?

A little less red than the Russian color.
Ill post a pic of the color in a few.

[slamfire51]

Best I remember, the Draco HGs have a straight grain which won't show up like a laminated HG.
Here's pics of the formula above on a Romy HG .

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c80/Canis-latrans/red3.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c80/Canis-latrans/red4.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c80/Canis-latrans/reddye.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c80/Canis-latrans/red2.jpg

[FunkyPertwee]

Nice! I really like that color.

During cleaning, I found that the lower handguard retainer latch is super tight. I had to use channel locks to open it, then it wouldn't loosen up enough to let the handguard out. I figured I could keep fighting it, or hopefully it will loosen up after putting a few hundred rounds through it.

Also, I discovered that the magazine latch is too tight. I believe that there is not enough gap in between the top of the latch, and the bottom of the receiver. Comparing it to my SAR-1, its definitely tight. I think the cure is to dremel a very little bit of the latch off. My PSL had the same problem, but I dremeled the mags on that gun because mag compatibility was not a concern for me. I need this gun to use the same mags as my other guns, so I need to mod the gun and not the mags in this case.

[slamfire51]

Not much you can do with the HG retainer.
Just be careful and don't break the lever off.

[FunkyPertwee]

Not much you can do with the HG retainer.
Just be careful and don't break the lever off.

Do you think it will loosen up as it gets shot?

My SAR-1 never had that problem, but I never tried to take off the handguard until after a thousand rounds.

[slamfire51]

Do you think it will loosen up as it gets shot?

My SAR-1 never had that problem, but I never tried to take off the handguard until after a thousand rounds.

I doubt it. Firing it has no effect on the tightness. If it's finished with paint, could be a thick coat.
If not, just a tolerance issue.

[Lysander]

Do you think it will loosen up as it gets shot?

My SAR-1 never had that problem, but I never tried to take off the handguard until after a thousand rounds.

One of mine had that issue. Spray it with break free, then lube it with some lithium grease, at least on the lever itself. As far not coming off...try some more break free. Then try a rubber mallet, lovingly applied of cours.e

[chiak47]

I bought a houge grip for mine and when I had the grip off I tied a piece of paracord around the grips bolt before installing the new grip. Then I attached the sling to the paracord.
It works great.

[ATAK, Inc.]

Nice! I really like that color.

During cleaning, I found that the lower handguard retainer latch is super tight. I had to use channel locks to open it, then it wouldn't loosen up enough to let the handguard out. I figured I could keep fighting it, or hopefully it will loosen up after putting a few hundred rounds through it.

Also, I discovered that the magazine latch is too tight. I believe that there is not enough gap in between the top of the latch, and the bottom of the receiver. Comparing it to my SAR-1, its definitely tight. I think the cure is to dremel a very little bit of the latch off. My PSL had the same problem, but I dremeled the mags on that gun because mag compatibility was not a concern for me. I need this gun to use the same mags as my other guns, so I need to mod the gun and not the mags in this case.

First spray with some quality lube. Then pop the whole thing in the freezer, once good and cold use a propane torch to gently heat the area, then try to get it open.


Slamfire, that color looks great, I'll give that mix a try! Thanks!

[mriddick]

I have 2 Draco's, both are pretty nice firearms for what they are, although I bet you will probably get tired of it pretty fast as a pistol. I've thought about using one of mine as a base for for n UF'er build or SBR project.

[FunkyPertwee]

I have 2 Draco's, both are pretty nice firearms for what they are, although I bet you will probably get tired of it pretty fast as a pistol. I've thought about using one of mine as a base for for n UF'er build or SBR project.

I can already tell it'll get old without the stock. Oh well, I wanted another AK for the collection and couldn't find one with dimples near this price. The same guy had a WASR-10 underfolder, and no dimples was too much for me. I like to see the Y axis also.

I guess I'll have something to look forward to, saving up for the SBR tax. Does having a registered SBR let the cops search you without warrant? Thats what I always heard about registered machineguns.

My dream would be to have a standard tang so I could use Romy folders or wood if I wanted, and have the Romy donkey dong verticle grip, an orange Romy p-grip, and a Romy scope mount so I could use my Kobra.

[FunkyPertwee]

Here is the pic I promised.

http://www.gunsnet.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=206&d=1282012688

[hazmat]

Now you've got to give it some attitude...

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f17/hazmat97/AK%20Stuff/DSCF0179.jpg

BTW, that's RIT fabric dye on the stocks.

[FunkyPertwee]

Now you've got to give it some attitude...

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f17/hazmat97/AK%20Stuff/DSCF0179.jpg

BTW, that's RIT fabric dye on the stocks.

Nice dude!

Thats exactly what I want, except with steel mags, a polished bolt, and maybe a side mount added.

Did you weld closed the old trunnion rivet holes? I didn't think about mismatched rivet holes until I saw yours.

[mriddick]

IMO the Draco begs for a underfolder stock if going the SBR route. You can drill out the std Draco trunnion for the UF'er holes and it makes the rifle about 2 inches shorter then a fixed stock trunnion hanging off the rear end.

[hazmat]

Nice dude!

Thats exactly what I want, except with steel mags, a polished bolt, and maybe a side mount added.

Did you weld closed the old trunnion rivet holes? I didn't think about mismatched rivet holes until I saw yours.

Yeah, there had to be some minor welding done to get everything to mate up right. Once I got the Duracoat on it, the welded spots don't show through near as bad.

[FunkyPertwee]

Yeah, there had to be some minor welding done to get everything to mate up right. Once I got the Duracoat on it, the welded spots don't show through near as bad.

It's totally badass, that's for sure.