Minor nitpick, but I'd have left the bolt knob unpainted; it'll wear off pretty quick anyway during use.
I said in post #7 That will be one of the 1st things Ill replace... it for some reason is the Only thing on the gun that will rust, I've shot it in the rain, It had to sit for a full 24hrs in the wet case with only a light coat of oil on it beforhand... the next day there wasent a spec of rust anywhere on the gun except for the damned bolt handle! maby I wore off the oil when shooting... anyways It will be going soon.
I painted the scope caps, bolt handle, and bipod off of the rifle... that way if I remove the bipod, or caps it wond be a masked off area.
Very nice, excellent job. I want to paint my AR but haven't been able to work up the nerve. Maybe someday.... (sigh)
Just take it all apart, mask off everything you dont want painted, let it sit for a few hours, come back to it, and double check it!!! I almost forgot a few things... put an earplug in the barrel and paint away, just remember its better to do 5 light coats on the base coat than one heavy one... I did mine Dark to light because the stock was alread green, but most people do it light to dark... After I was dont i shot it from about 2' away with a Very Very light coat of each color to give it a shadowey look, and to brake up the outline of the wheat grass.
I did the same thing to my 870, it turned out Great!!! almost better because I used 4 colors...
My M4 was easy, I also put it in the oven for 15min @ 150* just make sure you take out the recoil buffer and any other plastic parts!!!! This will help the paint to harden... and I have noticed after about the 1-2 week mark the paint is rock soild!!! It will wont chip, but it will wear off Little by Little, I think my Ar took about 2 years & 600-1000rds of HARD use to look worn and ready for a new coat. then just use some MEK or acetone and wipe it down and recoat...