Need couple opinions on G-1 kit and plastic refinish

[EinheitElf]

Greetings-cannot believe I never registered before now!

I guess it is time for my newbie ?'s
1- I am going to be turning a century L1A1 sporter into a G-1 style rifle-just bought a G-1 kit that looks pretty damn good-and was wondering IF there are any little nuances between it and a STG kit-which I have built a couple of.I know most G1's are not as pretty as the STG's but I rank them above the SA/Imbels. Has anyone had any barrel timing/headspacing/alignment issues or any other probs with the G1's or WILL I have any due to using an Imbel receiver(metric) that had a L1A1 kit built onto it-besides the charging handle cut?

2-I have a set of penguin '2nd's' -stock/pg/forend- that I want to refinish/paint- anyone have any tips as to the best paint or coating and any prep points besides the normal stuff-I do not want it to start flaking off .

Thank's in advance for any and all pointers and tips!

OH-btw- saw a thread about US parts in the century L1's- mine DOES NOT appear to have ANY US made parts in it at least from what I can see and general parts wear-I have not disassembled the rifle completely but that is how mine appears- I bought it in 1997 complete and built from Century.
Which means-how is my rifle classified!?

[1006587]

The G-1 gas blocks are ofter worn out causing the piston tube to blow off or leak badly. A brand new gas tube may fix it but most with the problem end up silver soldering the tube to the block. It is hard to do a search on this because of the 3 character search limit but there are many posts concerning this. The goal is to end up with a short gas tube like the STG has. You could replace the gas block if you have a good spare and feel adventurous.

Brownell's Alumahyde II is about the best spray can solution for plastic stocks. Just to play around, I tried some Krylon Fusion spay paint on an old Imbel stock. It seems to stick well but it doesn't resist common solvents very well. It has been curing for awhile. I'll dig it out and test it again one of these days. Duracoat will do a nice job if you have the spray equipment.

On the Penguin economy stocks. I like to smooth all of the mold lines and sand lightly with 320 wet dry before painting. With a very sharp knife, slice off the mold line. It takes a little practice so start with the underside first.

Are you going to use the metal hand guards? Love them or hate them, they are one of the key features of the G-1. The Penguin HG does not have the slots for the bipod.

Century marks their stuff poorly. The HTS should have a c cast into it. As for what other US parts they used, I have no idea.

[BigMac]

if it has the thumbhole stock, thats the only US part.

[EinheitElf]

Thank's for the tips and info so far guys.
On the G1 gas tube- I did have a kit long ago that I remember the gas block and tube were tight on,but that will be the first thing I check when my 'new' kit comes in.
I guess I will try to find some of the Brownells stuff locally and try it out.
The hand guards I have are bipod cut and came with the stock and pg-I will take another look to try to find a stamp or marking to see where they are from.
About the metal handguards-I love them,look great on the gun but try going through 1-2 20 rounders at a good clip and you better be wearing gloves! They get hot fast! Even if you are not firing too fast they heat up quick-maybe in the winter they make good 'hand warmers' but when you cannot hold the frontend unless you have a glove on sucks. I will probably get a new plastic bipod cut complete furniture set from somewhere-maybe try a dark green set I see advertised here and there.

My L1A1 came with a pg and regular stock-? Oh well it is soon coming apart any way. Is there a market for a -in my opinion-good quality L1 parts kit? what would you think it is worth? be nice to recoup some costs.

[elbo]

Originally posted by EinheitElf
2-I have a set of penguin '2nd's' -stock/pg/forend- that I want to refinish/paint- anyone have any tips as to the best paint or coating and any prep points besides the normal stuff-I do not want it to start flaking off .
I have a Penguin buttstock that was smoothed and sprayed with Duracoat last Sep. It will still pass for an original.

[NHBandit]

If your Century donor rifle is built using an inch pattern kit it dosn't much matter if the HTS set is made by Century and marked with a "C" The inch pattern fire control parts won't work in the metric G1 lower. In fact most of the inch parts you have now will be wrong with a G1 kit. You might be better off financially to sell the Inch rifle complete and buy a metric reciever to build your G1 kit on.

[EinheitElf]

Hey NHBandit- I apologize for not clarifying- my L1A1 sporter consists of an inch kit installed on a metric receiver that has the charging handle cut on it. The receiver magwell is machined for metric mags and not inch. That is how it was made and sold by Century back then I guess.
I was going to remove the barrel,bolt hold open,mag release,etc and do a complete swap of the inch and metric parts-meaning ALL inch parts off and All metric parts from the G1 kit installed,along with the required US parts.

I have been looking and it seems complete inch rifles sell for the same or less than a receiver seems to go for-unless I have been looking in the wrong areas.
I would consider doing a trade with someone,L1A1 complete for a receiver and maybe couple parts(?). Problem is I am in So Kommiefornia and even though I have a letter from the DO(in)J stating that the FN receivers ARE LEGAL to buy and own and build into a KA legal rifle-finding a ffl to do it is a major pain in the ass. I have all the papres on the rifle and would consider a ftf if someone wanted to do it somehow. Otherwise it is 'kit and parts swapping time'.

[gunnut1]

Just becasue the gas tube blows off of the gas block DOES NOT mean the gas block is bad. I shot 3 rounds through my G1 build and the tube blew off. I got a new tube, replaced it and it now had several thousand rounds thru it and no more gas tube problems. Had th same thing happe to mey R1. New tube, 200 rounds later no problems.

I would recommend a new tube. I think that the gas block is harded than the gas tube and the threads in the gas tube corrode first. When you do replace the gas tube, make sure the threads on the tube and gas block are clean. And don't forget the pin. Also, when you intall the tube, DO NOT TIGHTEN IT! Turn it in all the way then back it out till you can see trough the gas vent hole. Install the pin. It should wobble left to right slightly, this is normal.