I know we have a refinishing section but not everyone goes in there so hopefully this is ok here.

Did you guys do your rifles yourself? What kind of method did you use? Krylon? Duracoat? Cerakote? How did it turn out?
If you had it professionally done who did you use? Was it worth the price you paid? Thanks guys.

I have one 700 with a alumahyde base coat then krylon over the top of it to pattern it.

I have two AR's that are straight krylon with a matte clear over the top.

I like them all equally.

Base coat of FDE krylon with black and OD stripes through 2 different types of fish net.





ETA: It fit in pretty good in the Southern California desert, but since I am back in Texas ill have to re-think my camo pattern.

From what I read Cerakote is one of the better finishes to have. Have you done complete rifles with it? Stock, barrel, and scope? If you have which type of Cerakote did you use for each component.

The price point is why I keep myself from doing it. I keep repainting my 22 with Krylon for practice.

Would you Krylon a $6,000 rifle?

Dont think I would own one, but I do have a nice tactical 308 ive got about 3k into. Ill paint it up when i ding the stock or something.. They are just tools to me. Paint to match whatever environment I will be in. My 308 just sees range duty, too heavy and big to hunt with.

My rifle is not a safe queen by any means. I think the scope may be my biggest fear. It's no problem to spray the stock and action but getting on the lens is what scares me. I haven't had a problem with the five times though when I have done my 22.

I've painted a handful of my guns, 2 AR's, a Shotgun and a 22 bolt gun. I also painted my brothers Shotgun. I'm on an iPod but I'll try and post pics. I use two colors of krylon. Don't know if I'd paint a rifle that cost 6k. Is that rifle and scope I assume.

Might just do the stock or just use tape.

Absolutely.

It doesn't hurt anything, and is less of a permanent change than other finishes.

The only reason all my rifles aren't rattle can spray-bombed is because I just don't need them to be. The AI is still in original finish because the skins and optic were FDE and provided enough of a "break up" on the rest of the black rifle. If I had a "stalking" class scheduled it would have gotten a dose of krylon long ago. As soon as I run my AR10 qualification, that platform will probably get spray-bombed.

I took a rattle can to a $2400 optic two days before a stalk:

Before:


After a night in the barracks and some beer:


A couple months later:


Tactical Rifle Painting Tutorial

I've used Krylon, Alumahyde II, and Gun-kote.

If you're going to do it yourself, use krylon or Gun-Kote. Krylon can be fairly easily washed away if you don't want it anymore, it's cheap, and easy. My method of application is to spray it all grey, put rocks on top of it, spray it green in the areas I want leaves, put leaves on top of it (keeping the rocks in place), spray it tan, let it dry, spray tan again. Remove the rocks and leaves, give it a light brushing of green/tan/grey to smooth out some edges. Obviously my rifle is going to be mostly tan and grey (Nevada). If you're in a wooded area, base coat brown, put sticks on it, Grey in areas you want gravel/rocks, then finish with a green coat, or a couple different colors of green. ETA: the more expensive the gun, the more likely I am to put krylon on it. Easy to get off.

For Gun-kote I use solid colors, usually Coyote and OD Green. Don't use it on scopes because you have to bake it at 300 degrees (F) for an hour. Prep is very important with spray/bake finishes, degrease and rough (Bead blast (SS), anodize (AL), parkerize (CM steel)) up whatever you're spraying. I suppose a guy could do camo patterns with it but it's very time intensive and I just don't have the time. Also, once it's there, it's there. Good luck getting it off without abrasives–– you'll likely have to bead blast and refinish everything. Krylon takes a couple of hours.

ETA # 2: You ask about the durability of krylon. Here's the deal, it's going to rub off. It doesn't take much to scratch the paint because it's cheap spray paint. The plus side is that it is super easy to fix (spray that area), and usually only corners and places where your hand rubs wears off. My AR has worn off paint around the muzzle, pistol grip, butt pad, and a few corners/edges here and there. About 95% of it hasn't gone anywhere over several months of range use and a few hunting trips.

I like to use krylon on my stuff. It's cheap and easy, and if it wears off, no big deal, my stuff is made to be used.


Remington 700 .308

Bushnell Mil Spotting Scope

The tripod is made my Precision Rifle Solutions

http://precisionriflesolutions.com

They are great folks to deal with over there, and they'll take care of you.