If you just want to match the rest of the gun in black, Brownells makes a paint called "Aluma Hyde II" that works very well, and comes in a lot of different colors. Ive done a bunch of AR furniture sets with it and they come out nice and look like a factory job.
Ive done all sorts of stuff with it too, including a bike, and it holds up well to hard use.
You do need to follow the directions to the letter though, and it takes about a week or so to cure.
Brownells has a number of videos on painting, and they apply to most paints too, not just what they sell.
I did my MP5 in it after bead blasting it and parking it. The stock is the factory HK finish, as a comparison.....
Things like Testors and some of the Krylons, and others, will come off with a little work, if you dont like the job or want to change it up. Things like AH II will likely need a bead blast.
Ive been painting guns in camouflage since the late 60's. Works great, especially when bird hunting, and depending on what you want, and how anal you want to get, it can be easy or it can be more difficult.
Any more, Im into easy.
This is a more anal job in German Flectarn. The base was AH II in OD, the rest, Testors Military Flats model paints....
This is a little more current, one of my AR's in Multicam....
Same gun on the pattern....
Multicam is super easy to do, and all you need are a couple of sheets of printer paper with some random patterns cut out to use as a pattern.
With any of them, prep is very important. Degreasing being probably the most important part, followed by what you're going to do with the gun while it drys. You want to figure that all out and set it all up prior to starting.
I use Gun Scrubber to degrease. I usually do it a couple of times, once overall, and then again, just before I start. You'd be amazed at how much crap bleeds out with a good degreasing.
I also degrease my hands with it and make sure they are oil free.
I used to break the guns down and do the individual parts, and still do for certain things. Its more work, but you dont always want to paint the whole gun.
For camo jobs, I just spray the whole gun in one of the lightest colors as a base, usually a light tan or a shade of sand, or whatever the main color of the pattern is, and then go incrementally darker with each of the other colors.
If youre going to use a clear coat, you need to be careful, and not mix enamels and lacquers. They dont mix well, if at all, and a lacquer overcoat can keep an enamel from curing/drying right, and the whole gun will feel sticky.
As far as the paint taking a beating, its actually a good thing. The paint job usually gets better with age.
This is the same gun above a few years down the road......
If you look close, you can see the wear in places, but for the most part, it doesnt really wear off all that much. Usually just in the high traffic places. Its easily touched up if it bothers you.
Paint is also a great finish saver and rust preventative. Ive stripped hard use hunting/truck guns 25 years after painting them, and the blueing and wood underneath looked about new once I got it off. There were a couple of spots where the paint had worn from handling over the years that showed some wear or discoloring on the bluing or wood underneath, but it was a lot better than it would have been if it hadnt been painted.
The paint takes a lot of the abuse from the lighter and even some of the heavier scratches and dings too.
