Any krylon camo painting tips?

[1KPerDay]

So I hate my crappy cheap PITA AR-15 and am going to paint it camo so I don't have to see it. I got krylon "camo" paint spray cans in black, brown, deep green, and army green. I cheaped out and didn't get romantic desert wasteland or whatever it is tan is called lately.

I'd like tips from people who have successfully applied krylon spray paint to their rifles/objects/cats/whatever. And remember... this is a half-assed rifle so I want to make sure I do a really half-assed job on the camo.

NOTE: my previous Krylon painting experiences resulted in a fingerprint-and-mosquito-ridden, gloppy disaster of a paintjob on my motorcycle helmet, which I promptly gave to my brother.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

I don't think I've ever seen anyone request a paint job out of hate, but it made me laugh.

 

[Doc7]

The videos on YouTube all indicate the key is multiple passes from the directed distance on the can. Your "gloppy" helmet makes me think you were holding the can too close and/or making too heavy of a pass. It's really a finesse technique to spray, you aren't using a can as a roller.

 

[1KPerDay]

But I want it done NOW....

 

[MErl]

The use a brush. I've never seen an AR done up like a FAL from South Africa.

Pics of SA camo

Put it on nice & thick

 

[bainter1212]

Yep the spray can finish is all about technique. Light coats on a hot surface worked best for me...
Oh and don't forget a quality primer properly cured first.

I have an artist friend who painted up a camo pattern for ume on an aluminum boat once. He held a branch with leaves & such over the surface and lightly painted over it like a stencil.....it came out looking stellar. I have so far been unable to duplicate it (I am the opposite of an artist )

 

[rcmodel]

The very best tip I can think of?

Shake the can until the steel ball bearing rattles.
Then shake it another minute or two.

Then, blow the unmixed paint out of the tube & nozzle on some waste paper before getting down to the real business at hand.

rc

 

[1KPerDay]

Thanks

 

[Al Thompson]

Degreasing the rifle and using painters tape to mask off stuff you don't want painted is key, IMHO.

 

[Jaxondog]

My tip for you is don't panic. It will look like $#%! to half the people anyway. Don't worry about it, just have fun. First go outside and grab a handful of weeds, no not pot but it would work. I use mostly the top or end of a pine branch, some long dried weeds, and some very small leaves on the stem. Then get ready to paint. First, clean it, degrease it, prime it, sand it if you desire, then start shaking or mixing if you are using an airbrush. I only use the airbrush on high paying jobs. The pics below were painted using a rattle can. I have started with every color I know on these things and somehow they always blend in at the end. Like I said...don't panic. The further along you get the better it look's. [ to half the people ] You can start with any color but if you want certain stages to be a particular color then you will have to plan on it. I find that starting with a light color for the base color makes it so much easier for the other colors to stand out. Heres one other tip...if you feel you have messed it up in a spot with a smear or wrong color, just let it dry and spray another color over it. I usually spray mine one solid color for the base, then another color in 4 or 5 spots, then another color in 4 or 5 spots, then its time to spray over the leaves in contrasting colors. Just have fun.

 

[1KPerDay]

Looks great!

 

[Jaxondog]

Designs are endless and there is not just one to judge by...have fun.

 

[Coldfinger]

Exhaust header paint. High heat tolerance and chemical resistance. Just FYI

 

[Sunray]

Lightly sand the stock first.
BBQ paint is made for Al. Comes in flat black and is heat resistant too. However, is your stock not black already?
Think in terms of the purpose of camouflage for the 'pattern'. It's to break up the shape of the object. Remember there are no straight lines in nature. And green is usually only good in warm seasons.

 

[spitballer]

Exhaust header paint. High heat tolerance and chemical resistance. Just FYI

Header paint - a winner!

 

[shootr]

Proper distance. Clearing the spray tip. Clean, etched or lightly sanded, warm surface - all common sense stuff apply. I've seen the leaves/ branch stencil work well. I crumpled up a Bounty sheet, sprayed the contrast color onto it and just dabbed here and there. Used different Bounty sheets for different colors. Shot a couple coats of clear when I was done and let the whole thing cure for a couple weeks. Actually looks pretty good.

 

[Joe Demko]

Thoroughly degrease the rifle. After you degrease it, handle it with nitrile or rubber gloves so you don't get skin oils on it. Mask the bits you don't want painted with masking tape. Trim the tape neatly so you have clean lines between painted and unpainted.
Shake the can etc as per what rc said.
Use your lightest color first as your base color for the whole gun. Apply a couple-three light coats, letting the gun dry thoroughly between coats. I hang the gun using coat hanger wire so I can move around it for complete, even coverage. I also use an old halogen work light to "bake" everything while the paint dries.
Use your darker colors to make a pattern on top of the base color. There are lots of ways to do this. Stencils are available if you want to try to duplicate one of the commercial or military patterns. You can cut samples of local foliage and hold it between the gun and can while you spray. One of my favorite methods is just to spray random streaks of the darker colors. Don't worry about overlap or symmetry or trying to make it look like a movie or video game gun. The more random your results, the better. I do this in several sessions, baking in between.
The better you prep, the better your results will be. Proper curing is just as important. Getting too wrapped up in patterns isn't, IMO.

 

[greyling22]

you can lay masking take on wax paper and then cut it to form stickers you can use to make irregular blobs with clean lines. At least that was a technique we used on plastic models when I was into those. Worked really well for making the neat camo paint jobs to wwii spitfires.

 

[Joe Demko]

Re:South African camouflage with a brush

I like that.

What is your reason for camouflaging a gun in the first place? If that reason is to break up the outline, rather than just an esthetic effect, soldiers have used paint just slopped onto the guns to good effect in many places.
Because of this thread, I have an urge to do my wife's 10-22 up now.

 

[LAGS]

When doing a camo pattern, you have to decide of you want the Base Color Dark, then each top color gets progressivly lighter colors.
IE; Forest green or something like Olive, then followed by Tan then a Sand.

Or the Base can be Sand, then you start with the next shade Darker, then the next shade darker.
But I found that if you stay in a color progression and do not jump back and forth with the colors it comes out with a depth or dimension.

I picked up some plastic plant branches of different sizes and shapes to use on larger projects like boats or storage boxes.
But the leaves off the plants you will find in your yard will do fine for small projects.

Also, hold your Stencils just above your work surface, and do not try to make patterns with the leaves laying Hard against your work.

Also on the base coat.
I paint my base coat Solid, then I fog Stripes on the rifle with a shade of paint that is just a little darker or lighter than the base coat.
Then I start on the Patterns with the color progressions.

If your rifle is Black, then that can be your Base color.
Just fog on the stripes in like a dark Grey or Green, then do the colors like Tan, then sand.
It all depends on if you are just trying to break up the shape of the rifle, or actually get it to blend in with the area you are hunting or hiding in, Like a Turkey Blind
Another trick to break up large areas of solid solors, is to use Screen fabric or netting as a stencil.
I use the nylon bags that Turkeys are packaged in for netting.
It gives it that fine line pattern and if done in fogged stripes it breakes it up nicely.
You can find netting in a lot of different patterns and spacing, from like I said Nylon Net Bags, to even sports jerseys, and even window screen fabric.

 

[greyling22]

http://forum.snipershide.com/sniper...38725-krylon-how-techniques-products-use.html pretty good tutorial on 2 different rifles.