Painting the rifle

[Dead Center Miss]

I just used a can of Rustoleum indoor/outdoor spray paint in FDE.

Get some high solid paint. It cost a lot more but it's still cheaper then duracoat and efrem what I can tell spraying it in its nearly the same stuff. It holds on pretty well even without baking. I use the same kindtbrand that we use for touching up the paint on Cat heavy equipment. If it will stay on a loader bucket, it will stay on a rifle.

[SDW]

I've painted a number of rifles and related small parts with Duracoat. It's not hard to create a nice finish, even with a cheap airbrush. Toughness wise it's a lot more durable and chemical resistant than Krylon or Rustoleum, but not as durable as a baked on finish like Ceracote.

LOTS of great colors too. In fact I recently bought a small bottle of their new RAL8000 that I want to try on something.

Getting the proportions consistent every time with the hardener is a little difficult. They say 12:1 mix is ideal, with more hardener producing a slightly shinier coat. A little less hardener, a little flatter and a slightly longer cure time I guess. That being the case, if you want everything on your gun or whatever to look exactly the same, paint them all at the the same time, from the same paint bottle and the same mix.

The downsides of Duracoat are that it's getting really expensive now. I used to buy the 4 oz bottles for maybe $14/ea. Now they are something like $22/each. AND shipping price is pretty high for a package so small. Another thing I've learned is, the hardener doesn't last very long in the bottles unless you store them in a refrigerator. At room temp they'll thicken and become unusable in 6-9 months. But if stored cold the hardener will be usable for a few years. On the other hand, the paint itself will last for years if you store it in a "cool dry place". Like a box or in a cabinet.

[SDW]

These are a couple of rifles I painted with Duracoat. The top one, 20" barrel, is shot in their "Magpul FDE". The lower one's two-tone since that upper is one I built w/o making for any particular lower. So the upper is OD-ish (except for the barrel parts) and the lower is a mix I invented. 50-50 of FDE and Foliage Green, which I just call Desert Sage. As I said, Duracoat is a lot tougher than rattle-can paint. Goes on in a much thinner coat too, BTW. Won't be quite as wear resistance at a baked-on paint though.

GreenandBrown.jpg

[Dead Center Miss]

Duracoat in my experiance doesn't work well on smooth surfaces though. I've done a few guns with its and if it's a smooth part I will sand blast it to get a little roughness for the paint to stick to. I used to use dura coat, but I found that high solid spray paints hold up almost if not as well, and are easier to get your hands on.

[SDW]

Duracoat in my experience doesn't work well on smooth surfaces though. I've done a few guns with its and if it's a smooth part I will sand blast it to get a little roughness for the paint to stick to. I used to use dura coat, but I found that high solid spray paints hold up almost if not as well, and are easier to get your hands on.

Yep. That's true. Duracoat recommends sanding prior to spraying on the paint on many types of surfaces. And I think they do recommend media blasting for some types of metal. Chrome plating? I don't recall at the moment. Certain surfaces, inherently 'grainy' treatments like Parkerized steel, Duracoat sticks exceptionally well. I think their instructions say it's not necessary to sand/blast Parkerizing after it's been de-greased. In my experience it also sticks really well to the anodized surface of AR-15 receivers and other similar bits. Like handguards, and so on.

As I'm sure you know, getting the surface clean is critical, no matter what kind of paint you're using. Some people. use brake cleaner. I do that sometimes. But mainly I like to give the parts a dousing and scrub in hot water and dish soap, with a good rinse afterward of course. Then blow dry it. Sometimes I use Automotive wax and grease remover, which I have a lot of left over from a truck painting project:

http://www.tcpglobal.com/KUS-KW901-GL_2.html?sc=115&category=4976746#.W6ghz6ZKiUk

But yeah, rattle-can paint is sure easier to apply than Duracoat. Have you ever used Brownell's Alumahyde II? I've heard it's great but takes a long while to fully cure because it's also just an air-dry paint.

This rifle below is NOT MY RIFLE and I didn't paint it. But I recall reading that it was done with Alumahyde. Sure turned out bitchin though, you have to admit. Whatever he used. Freshly painted. I'll bet it doesn't look this good today.

M4-2.jpg

[Dead Center Miss]

I've used the brownells Gun-Kote on a Smith 10-6 I restored. I did bake it on though, and it is holding up very well.

[SDW]

I looked up the Tacoma Screw paint. Seems like good stuff. But I didn't find any colors I'd want to use on a gun. They're not big on the earth tones, from what I see. Maybe good for an industrial look, or just corrosion protection.

Regarding Alumahyde, I remember reading that the nozzles can and do clog on you suddenly. So anyone buying that kind of paint from them should also buy a pack of replacement nozzles (which Brownells carries) as well.

[Dead Center Miss]

I looked up the Tacoma Screw paint. Seems like good stuff. But I didn't find any colors I'd want to use on a gun. They're not big on the earth tones, from what I see. Maybe good for an industrial look, or just corrosion protection.

Regarding Alumahyde, I remember reading that the nozzles can and do clog on you suddenly. So anyone buying that kind of paint from them should also buy a pack of replacement nozzles (which Brownells carries) as well.

I use the bright colors for my competition guns, and then use the black or white as a base color when doing camo since it sticks to the gun well, and then the other paints stick it it well.

[Dead Center Miss]

There are other brands of high solid paints that offer more appropriate colors. I was using the Tacoma Screw as a example.

[rabiddawg]

https://imgur.com/gallery/Q1QOKgz

This is a 10/22 stock I painted for a buddy. That is a Daytona blue pearl with a 50/50 mix of clear coat and matt additive.

[Swampfox]

[SDW]

There are other brands of high solid paints that offer more appropriate colors. I was using the Tacoma Screw as a example.

Ah I see. I've never used that kind of spray paint. Sounds like they would be a good sealer/primer for other paints.

[SDW]

I really want to do a camp to my hunting AR lower n uppers. I’m just worried I’ll screw it up

I assume you meant "camo". Well, this would be a reason to do your first one with standard "camo" spray paints. If you decide later you don't like how it turned out, it's easy to strip off again and start over. And if it turns out you love it, it'll still look good even after it gets a little dinged up. The blemishes will give it character.

EDIT: another option would be to stick with just a solid color instead of a pattern. Solid is a kind of camo.

[Dead Center Miss]

Ah I see. I've never used that kind of spray paint. Sounds like they would be a good sealer/primer for other paints.

That's kind of how I use it. I'll try to find some pics of some that I have done.

[Dead Center Miss]

So I dug up some photos of a few I have done over the last year or two.

This is a Smith 10-6 that I rescued. It is done with Brownells Gun-lots and baked.





10/22 reciever done with Tacoma Screw high solid paint and baked.



Mauser 96 in 22/250. Barrel and action done in high solid paint. Colors in the stock were done with Rustolium and then the white was high solid paint.