Posted: 5/9/2026 12:53:55 PM EDT
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Always wanted to do a camo job on a rifle, and this FAL built almost entirely from the junk parts bin seemed like a good candidate. Everyone who builds guns has that box of parts that are either out of spec or busted to the point that you'd never pair them with quality components. But if you could find a $150 corroded out-of-spec Century Arms reject receiver, then that barrel with a rust spot, welded-up Israeli lower, wobbly-footed bolt hold-open, and carrier group of suspicious provenance suddenly have a home. Parkerizing everything failed to hide the pitting and scars, but some Rustoleum and a crapload of painter's tape did the trick. (FYI, Rustoleum dries a lot cleaner than Krylon.) Here's the result:   The flashlight is some cheap Chinese crap off Amazon. The optic is actually decent: a Leupold 1.5-4X in Leupold QD rings. To make this thread about more than just my rifle, it'd be great to see your non-AR junk builds and/or camo jobs! |
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Quoted: That look great, my friend. Did you source your parts from any certain site, or was it a junk drawer effort? Miscellaneous bits that accumulated from parts kits and impulse buys over the years. Stuff like seeing a welded-up Israeli receiver and thinking, "it's only $5, maybe it'll be useful for something at some point." And it was! |
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Quoted: Always wanted to do a camo job on a rifle, and this FAL built almost entirely from the junk parts bin seemed like a good candidate. Everyone who builds guns has that box of parts that are either out of spec or busted to the point that you'd never pair them with quality components. But if you could find a $150 corroded out-of-spec Century Arms reject receiver, then that barrel with a rust spot, welded-up Israeli lower, wobbly-footed bolt hold-open, and carrier group of suspicious provenance suddenly have a home. Parkerizing everything failed to hide the pitting and scars, but some Rustoleum and a crapload of painter's tape did the trick. (FYI, Rustoleum dries a lot cleaner than Krylon.) Here's the result: http://how-i-did-it.org/img/tcf/camo_left.jpg http://how-i-did-it.org/img/tcf/camo_right.jpg The flashlight is some cheap Chinese crap off Amazon. The optic is actually decent: a Leupold 1.5-4X in Leupold QD rings. To make this thread about more than just my rifle, it'd be great to see your non-AR junk builds and/or camo jobs! Hot damn! |
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Quoted: When the Afghans gave up on Afghanistan, an handful of us looked into anti-poaching contracts in Africa. It’s a clone:https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/18716/IMG_7530-3759825.jpg Quoted: Quoted: Weird seeing a FAL in a non Rhodie Baby Poop pattern/colors. That being said, fantastic painting job. Looks cool. Yup, if I were gonna do a FAL, it would be this or a Rhodie paint job. |
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Quoted: When the Afghans gave up on Afghanistan, an handful of us looked into anti-poaching contracts in Africa. It’s a clone:https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/18716/IMG_7530-3759825.jpg I love this photo so much. |
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Quoted: And your tiger stripes are going the right direction. My faded/worn attempt (needs touch up): https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/18716/IMG_9822-2832365.jpg Looks very similar to the pattern on all our rifles here. Works great in many environments. OP, looks decent, but ya gotta do at least some of the mags. Most of ours are done. |
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Quoted: Its really pretty good and will look 100% better in a year after spending some time schlepping around the woods. Quoted: Quoted: Nicest rattle can paint job I've ever seen. Its really pretty good and will look 100% better in a year after spending some time schlepping around the woods. Already starting to wear in a little and it looks great. Rattlecan camo is like a good leather jacket--it just looks better the older it gets. |
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Quoted: When the Afghans gave up on Afghanistan, an handful of us looked into anti-poaching contracts in Africa. It’s a clone:https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/18716/IMG_7530-3759825.jpg Quoted: Quoted: Weird seeing a FAL in a non Rhodie Baby Poop pattern/colors. That being said, fantastic painting job. Looks cool. Once I get a rail dust cover I’m doing my 18” para up to look like this. |
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This was a cheap parts kit 20 years ago ($150), listed as a South African kit, but had remains of the baby poop camouflage and a RA number on the lower. Attached File |
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Quoted: Always wanted to do a camo job on a rifle, and this FAL built almost entirely from the junk parts bin seemed like a good candidate. Everyone who builds guns has that box of parts that are either out of spec or busted to the point that you'd never pair them with quality components. But if you could find a $150 corroded out-of-spec Century Arms reject receiver, then that barrel with a rust spot, welded-up Israeli lower, wobbly-footed bolt hold-open, and carrier group of suspicious provenance suddenly have a home. Parkerizing everything failed to hide the pitting and scars, but some Rustoleum and a crapload of painter's tape did the trick. (FYI, Rustoleum dries a lot cleaner than Krylon.) Here's the result: http://how-i-did-it.org/img/tcf/camo_left.jpg http://how-i-did-it.org/img/tcf/camo_right.jpg The flashlight is some cheap Chinese crap off Amazon. The optic is actually decent: a Leupold 1.5-4X in Leupold QD rings. To make this thread about more than just my rifle, it'd be great to see your non-AR junk builds and/or camo jobs! That looks really good |