Hey Guys,

I need some tips on painting a stock set.  I'm going to do some kind of camo scheme.  I live along the "Front Range" in Southern Colorado and want to do something that matches the natural environment.

I don't know the first thing about camoing a stock set.  What do I have to do to prep the stock set, use primer or should I just paint it?

What spray paints work best (brand)...I've got some Krylon, but can only find it in Ultra Flat Black, Tan, OD, and Dark Brown.  It's the camo Krylon with the jeep on the can.

Also looking for any info on doing a camo scheme, any tips or tricks would be appriciated.

And don't be afraid to post some pics of the work you've done.



Thanks in advance




Thanks

I've only experimenting with Krylon, and so far it is holding up pretty well.  Degrease the stock with brake parts cleaner & let it completely dry.  Heat it with a hair dryer before spraying, paint sticks to the warm surface much better.  I did a tigger stripes one and used flat black as the base before taping the stripes, and the only scratches that I can find are the ones caused by my ear muffs.  I've heard that Dura Coat is pretty good, but have not tried it.

If you want to be able to change your camo pattern, use Bow-Flage. It's removable, quite a few colors, easy to apply and looks darn good. My situation is that we have all four seasons up here...I like to be able to change the pattern to fit the enviroment.

I am looking for something more perminet than bowflage.  This is why I decided to go with the Krylon, but didn't know if there was a better product out there as far as spray paint goes.  I'm not looking for a high dollar, professional project.  Just something I can do at home.

In the summer for a couple months most everything is green, the rest of the year everything is tan and brown.

Any info is greatly appriciated.

USMC03,

You might want to try the removable stuff first, just to see how your patterns end up.  I have done a few ammo cans to see what sort of pattern I can develop.  It usually ends up that I do everything twice to get the blend that I like.  Bow-Flage can come off, which might be a good idea if you don't like the way it ends up.  Try that, then go with the perm paint like Krylon after you have your system down.

If you really like the Krylon, you can go with the DuraCoat clear over the top of it.  That would be a way to save some cash and still get a durable coating.

I used the Krylon and had good results. I did not use primer.  Just degrease the metal (Watch the brake cleaner on plastics,  I melted a G3 stock and grip with it.  You can also use Brownells Alumihyde.  It is an epoxy and holds up great but takes almost a week to dry.

I would leave all the metal parts alone.  Stripping those later is not nearly so easy as changing furniture.  Also, adhesion to the metal is more difficult, if for example, your receivers are black teflon coated (DPMS).

Krylon and other similar paints will burn off the barrel, making a gooey mess.

BUT, just doing the furniture alone will break up the pattern well enough.

Further, in a letter from Mr. Choate, I asked about painting the stocks, to camo a black Choate stock I had, what paints they used on their camo models.  He replied that the most important thing was not the paint... they used an automotive type enamel, but the prep of the plastic.  He advised lightly bead blasting the plastic before painting.  

I will note that the Choate Zytel stocks are slicker than the textured surface of AR stocks, so this may not be as important.  You might just try going over any shiny spots, such as the smooth surfaces of the pistol grip, with some 320 grit silicon carbide paper.

Prime it with gray automotive primer first.  I have used the zinc bearing "cold galvanizing" spray for this.  The gray is a good base color and can show through and look good.

I think good defined camo is better than the fuzzy sprayed effect.  I like to use simple stencils I cut from old manila folders. Remember, tiny details will not be visible at distances.  Big and bold is good.

Alumahyde II, it's one of the more durable finishes I've yet to come across.


If you want a more permanent finish then you might consider the Brownell's Alumahyde II.   Be advised that it truely does take a full week to reach a full strength cure, maybe even longer depending on storage conditions.


On one of my rifles I've made a base pattern using two colors of Brownell's Alumahyde, OD Green and Earth Brown.   Then over the top of this I have used Bowflage to bring out whatever pattern I'm going for.    The Earth Brown and OD Green are year round colors for my area, depending on season I can quickly touch up the pattern by adding darker greens or lighter browns.     As the bowflage wears down it will return to the base pattern which is still useable.



If a person winds up wanting to change the pattern a lot then Bowflage really is the answer.    Changing the patterns with more permanent finishes really means a lot of work in stripping the finish to reapply a new finish, the alternative of having multiple layers of build up is pretty unacceptable to most folk.

I saw an ad on TV last night for a new plastics paint made by Krylon. It supposedly bonds to plastic on a molecular level.

[url]http://www.krylon.com/product/gp_product_detail.asp?sgID=GP07[/url]

Here's another vote for Brownell's Alumahyde2. I'm in the process of building two Imbel FALs and I'm using Alumahyde2 for their finish and so far I've been very pleased with the way the stuff adheres to both the metal and plastic on the FALs. I'm using satin black for the metal work and OD green for the plastic on the FALs.

I recently camoed the wood and plastic forward handgrip on my Polytech M-14/S using a camo kit that I bought at Wally World. I sprayed  a coat of satin Polyurethane over the finished camo and it's been very durable and looks great.

7th

I'M JUST INTERESTED IN PAINTING THE STOCK SET (ie. the plastic parts)

I'm looking for any useful info on preparing the stock set, any tips, tricks, or techniques people have found useful when they have painted the furniture on their ARs.

I'm NOT interested in bowflage, I don't want something that is removeable.

Looking for any kind of interesting paterns, etc.


Thanks,

I did my Bushmaster AK with the Krylon Ultra Flat paint from Walmart.

It turned out pretty good. I degreased it well, gunscubber, then alcohol. I taped off the sights and prepped a couple spots first, the inside of the dust cover and the safety in one position. when that dried, I closed the cover and moved the selector. I used the sand as a base, then OD finished with the mud brown.

I hung it in my backyard from a tree, coat hanger through the rear sight and AK brake. The patterns I traced onto two layers of heavy duty aluminum foil backed with either masking or duct tape. This allowed me to form it around places. I eye balled the patterns from some woodland BDU's, made a bunch so I had a variety. It took me a bit to do, but after the base coat of sand, I placed all patterns on the whole rifle and did all of the OD. I made separate pieces so the sheet with patterns fit around the handguard and part of the front sight tower as an example. I tried to keep the pattern slightly away from the surface so it had a blended border. I don't like the manufactured look, It looks nice when you are paying 2-3 hundred for the job, but nature isn't like that.
Remember a few things, BLACK is not a natural color, so I would leave it out. Use lighter colors on the high spots, darker on lower places. So, the end of the barrel, corners, etc should be light. Create irregulat patterns, and don't have them run the length of the weapon. You want to make it appear as if it's not one piece. A noticed a nice example of a camo job, if you go to new arguy's sir/firsch demo, scroll down and it shows a operater with a weapon that is cammied. Notice the way most of it is done, it blends well.
I didn't clear coat it, it wears well though, it will get nicks, oh well, touch it up if it bothers you. All it takes is patience! Good luck, let me know if you have questions. I could get a pick to your email if you send it and you can post it if you like.

If you only want to do the stock, I would use the Aluma-Hyde II or the HS camo. You can put these in your oven on 175 or so once dry and to speed up the process. Otherwise, 2-3 days hanging in a hot attic work well.

Mark

I just did My M1A last night.

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