I want to paint my AR...

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Creature

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I do not want to cerakote my AR, I just want a rattle can paint job. Rustoleum and Krylon both have camo colors in their line up, but I have been taking a serious look at Aervoe paints which have a reputation of being more durable.

As far as color choice goes, I live in south eastern Virginia, so desert tan or sand is probably not the best color choice for my rifle. I am leaning towards olive drab, field drab or earth, which seems to be more appropriate for my surroundings. Suggestions are welcome!

So, does anyone have comments about or experience with Rustoleum, Krylon or Aervoe spray paints or color choices?

Post a pic of your painted AR...and list what type of paint and the specific color/s you used.
 
I did mine using the Reustoleum brand camo paint, dark brown and olive green colors. It turned out darker than is probably best and if I do it again I'll probably lay down a tan coat on the whole rifle first. I haven't taken it out shooting or hunting yet so I'm not sure how durable it will be.
 
A friend of mine painted his AR using Krylon Fusion Camo. He used brown, olive, woodland light green, khaki, and light brown. Alternating areas of light and dark he broke up the lines of the gun with spray over pine branches and thin palm fronds. When he was finished he applied Krylon 1311 which is a clear matte overspray to protect the paint. This is for use in mainly heavily wooded terrain in the northeastern part of the country.
 
Ive used Krylon on a couple guns and its held up well. Plus if you scratch the paint off its easy to repair.
 
I always try to observe what type of vegetation is in my area and what color spectrum does it take on for a good portion of the year. I should note that I've never spray painted one of my guns yet, but I've experimented with some foliage as stencils and I'm definitely going to do one of my shotguns sometime.
 
This is my truck gun. I'm in Tampa Bay, so my decision had to be something that would work for the Urban terrain, as well as the woods. I used Rustoleum OD Green for a base coat, then gave it some mists of Primer Grey before doing a topcoat of Matte Clear. I liked the concept of "Disruptive Grey" but it really needs some green to be functional in the woods.

It's starting to chip a little bit here and there, but in the broad scheme of things, it only helps contribute to the camo concept.

Some folks have commented on my "grey" rifle, while others have spoken about it as being "green." As far as I'm concerned, that translates to "Mission Accomplished."

psa-upper-6.jpg
 
I'm planning to paint my truck gun, 12 gauge Remington sportsman 48, once the mag extension comes in.

Lay down a light base coat. A light brown or tan for a woodland or desert scheme, then build up the darker colors.

I did my Savage .22 with a combo of Rustoleum and Krylon, turned out OK, but I should have not painted the stock and the barreled action separately.
 
How long does it take for that spray paint smell to go away (if ever)?
Click to expand...

I know this is a tardy response to the question, but it has been my experience that the smell should go away in a few weeks. The way to ensure this is to make sure you let each coat dry for the required duration before moving on to the next coat (or color). Most people run out of patience when doing these types of spray jobs, then they wind up layering several coats of wet paint in an effort to just get it done. The end result usually winds up glossy and it takes forever to dry, giving off fumes during that time.

The hardest part about painting a gun is growing the stones to do it and accepting the fact that the gun is just a tool. The good news is that it can be removed with any number of paint strippers/solvents, combined with some elbow grease and more patience.
 
Nice looking rifle, boricua9mm!

I have Aervoe Field Drab and some other colors inbound from Brownells. I live in south eastern virginia and I think that FD will work very well as it has just enough of a greenish hue to blend with woodlands and a earth/coyote color to blend with everything else.

This rifle is painted in FD. I think it is exactly what my rifle needs:
68mm10.jpg

I will post my rattle can experiences and photos of the process as I can.
 
Not an AR, but a Marlin 25 .22LR.

Rifles003-1.jpg

Krylon Camo rattle can with Water Oak leaves as stencils, as well as Palm fronds.

I did this rifle many years ago, and it still looks good today. It has some scratches, but they're not noticeable.

No smell noticed, shortly after painting. Once it cures, all of the smelly solvents are evaporated.

Surface preparation is key to getting a durable finish. Wipe everything down well with mineral spirits, or rubbing alcohol. Do not touch it with your hands after wiping it down. The oils from your hands are counter productive to a durable finish.
 
In order to remove all traces of CLP & grease from my rifle, I was going to first use brake cleaner to blast all the nooks and crannies...and then place my rifle in an acetone bath.

Should I use mineral spirits instead?
 
I use "synthetic safe" Gun Scrubber to degrease. Brake cleaner will work too, but its not always "plastics" friendly.

I usually do it twice. There always seems to a little left the second time around, which I usually do right before I paint. I also degrease my hands right before as well.
 
So I have been experimenting with Aervoe paints and have my color choices down to two colors...Field Drab and Olive Drab.

Here is how they look against the back ground of where I live. The OD is quite light while the FD is quite brown. Not sure which one works better.

img_7410.jpg

Olive Drab:
img_7411.jpg

Field Drab:
img_7412.jpg

OD on the left side, FD on the right side:
img_7413.jpg
 
i'd say a mix of the two would be fine.

i am not a camo expert, but i think generally dark objects stick out on a natural background more than light objects. and it's easier to make an object darker than lighter, generally. so going with a light base is rarely the wrong decision.
 
I agree that the OD is better as a base than the FD. My mind was pretty much made up on the FD until I saw in person just how well the lowly OD works all by itself.
 
I would use both as a base, paint sections in FD, sections in OD. Then with a mesh bag (or whatever), highlight it with tan and brown to make the camo pattern.

I used that approach on my bolt gun, base color was both OD and a darker tan.

P1020173-1.jpg
 
IMO the OD is slightly more camo'ed for your background. I want to paint too :)
 
You can actually do a real good surface prep by using mild dish soap and hot water. With a bit of scrubbing, it will get rid of organic material and grease & oil. Solvents do a good job of removing grease & oil but a poor job of removing organics. You'll know when the surface is clean when the rinse water flows off in a sheet. If it beads up, the surface still has something on it. You can dry the water with compressed air. For rattlecan paint job, you can keep the prep work simple
 
My degreasing was done with a mix of Purple Power and water. That stuff takes everything off. The ZEP brand's version of the same thing is even stronger. I use this stuff to remove thick carbon deposits from my serviceable 9mm suppressor. Use gloves! :p

Mineral Spirits will yield unsatisfactory results. I tried that before when coating a Glock in Alumahyde II. Complete waste of time; I had to degrease again and re-spray.
 
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