Thoughts on painting precision rifles?

[12guagecody]

thinking of painting my savage 308 multicam, one because i plan on getting a full set of multicam clothes, two because that pattern works really awesome here in new mexico, and three I think the barrel will heat less from the sun if it is a tan color instead of black.

can krylon be removed from metal and plastics? the action scope and stock?

will painting my rifle destroy its value? i dont plan on selling but i do look at my guns as an investment

 

[kyhunter]

as far as heat absorption and retention go I dont see it maing any difference. Krylon can easily be stripped with brake cleaners, acetone, etc It just takes a little bit of elbow grease. And as far as value goes it will hurt its resale price if you dont strip it prior. Durakote and the like hold up much better but I have seen a krylon'd hunting rifle and it held up for its intended purpose just fine

 

[Ash]

As far as resale value, painted rifles in my area are the bottom-of-the-barrel in pricing and tend to sit and collect dust right beside badly-sportered milsurps.

 

[M-Cameron]

Have you looked into those non-adhesive camouflage wraps?

They are like a camo ace Bandage you wrap your gun in, and they peel off easily leaving no residue

 

[taliv]

as far as heat, yeah, tan will be much more comfortable to grab with your hand on a sunny august day. however, i don't think it will make a difference as far as shooting. krylon will definitely not help its resale value.

 

[rugerdude]

Krylon will hold up just fine, and is in fact how military sniper rifles are painted. Resale value depends on the buyer. If the buyer likes the paint job and it's well done then they might be willing to pay a little more, but the trouble is finding someone that really likes it, whereas nobody is going to have a problem if it's in factory configuration.

 

[adelbridge]

If you are worried about spooking game I wouldnt bother , they will see gun movement way before they process black/stainless/krylonflague. If you are worried about fashion get it camo dipped. Krylon jobs never look good to me and you will have to be careful with bore cleaners.

 

[SabbathWolf]

Leave it black and get something like this....

http://www.ghilliesandstuff.com/store-products-GHIL-R-Ghillie-Rifle-Wrap-(Jute-Thread)_41239436.html

 

[rondog]

In my world, paint and firearms are two words that don't belong together. But that's just my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions.....

 

[Skylerbone]

I've tried the camo wraps before which worked great during a November hunt in Canada but turned both my shotgun and muzzleloader to rusty sticks after a single day of October deer and turkey hunting in the Midwest. Proceed with caution based on humidity.

IMO, a rattlecan finish will hurt resale value but absent any particular collector value to begin with, it won't be worthless. If value is added to the rifle by means of utility to the shooter then that benefit should be weighed against any potential (and likely) detriment to monetary value. A good finish may or may not add monetary value though probably not enough to recoup the cost of a professional coating.

IOW, only you can decide if it is truly worth it.

 

[jmr40]

It's a Savage, not a Holland and Holland. Yea, resale value will be diminished somewhat, but it isn't an expensive rifle anyway. I wouldn't do it to something that is a classic rifle that will someday appreciate in value. But on rifles like this I'd do it if I wanted to. Getting it off, and looking good afterward isn't easy, but touchups are easy and changing color or camo patterns is as easy as buying another can of Krylon.

 

[Ash]

IF a $400 rifle drops to $200 because of the paint, that is a significant drop in price (anything that drops value by half is significant) By the way, how do you know what will, and what will not, become a classic some day? Should a fellow who painted his Winchester model 70 in 1959 be lashed for reducing the value of his classic?

 

[45_auto]

IF a $400 rifle drops to $200 because of the paint, that is a significant drop in price (anything that drops value by half is significant)

For some people $200 is significant, for some it's not. Typical lawn service fees here are two to three times that every month, and they're not considered a significant cost of home ownership. Ever priced slip fees, maintenance, crew costs, and fuel costs on a Sunseeker Predator 130? Or been seriously interested in collecting Bugattis or Holland & Holland doubles? Something as basic as a tailored H&H shooting jacket costs over $6,000, and the current backorder on those is over a year!

http://www.hollandandholland.com/pdfs/bespokeprice.pdf

By the way, how do you know what will, and what will not, become a classic some day? Should a fellow who painted his Winchester model 70 in 1959 be lashed for reducing the value of his classic?

No one does, and I don't really care. My investment strategy doesn't depend on hoping that mass-marketed, low-cost consumer items become "classics". Go look on Gunbroker, pre-64 M70's in common calibers typically sell for between $600-$800. Most expensive one you can find, like new with a rare stock and rare caliber is less than $3000. The difference in value between a painted pre-64 M70 and a typical used pre-64 M70 would be a couple of hundred dollars at most. There's a huge difference between a "NIB" collectible and a "used" classic. Once it's used, it's pretty much just another shooter.

 

[bigdaa]

It's a Savage. She likes to be rode hard and put away wet.

Before you throw Krylon on, take the stock off and pool up a bit of your favorite stripper down there where it won't show to see if your stock is going to get eaten away.


What I'm saying is "don't take the trip if there is no way home"

The DuraKote suggestion..............I have that on one of my 870 riot guns and it is very nice, very tough.

Seems to me, the tape on camo is a nice idea, leaving you with tape residue to deal with. Often times the best tape residue remover is acetone, so test that in a discrete location on the stock while you are at it.

That is my 2 ¢ give or take a penny.

 

[MarkR]

Two words: baby poop.

 

[taliv]

uhh, wow. must be a "european" paint scheme haha

 

[bigdaa]

Or African Warlord.........

 

[SabbathWolf]

yep. Looks African.

 

[Z-Michigan]

The FAL in post #15 has a typical Rhodesian camo job. That was widespread if not universal in actual Rhodesian service, and driven mostly by what colors of paint were available - it was OK but not great for matching the local foliage, but was much better than all black. (I recognize that this rifle is probably some collector's application of a Rhodesian camo rather than something applied in Rhodesia in the 1960's.)

 

[Jackal]

I will not buy a painted rifle myself. It destroys resale value and is just a silly "tactical" thing to do. Unless your in active military sniper duty and plan on engaging human targets, painting is just too cheesy/hokey, in my opinion.

 

[Skylerbone]

Jackal, do you hunt in a white t-shirt and jeans?

 

[breakingcontact]

If it's something you want to keep long term, knock yourself out and enjoy it.

I wouldn't do it to any finely blued and wood guns however.

 

[Jackal]

Jackal, do you hunt in a white t-shirt and jeans?

I have yes. Coyote's dont care so much what you wear, its movement that sets them off. Same with most animals. You wear blaze orange when deer hunting right?

 

[Ash]

And you don't hunt turkeys with a rifle.

 

[TCB in TN]

My youngest wanted one of his .22s painted. He liked the cammo, tiger, and zebra stripped guns from one of his video games. We rattle canned an old beat up Marlin 60 in a synthetic stock. He liked it, we had fun, it didn't do anything to the gun that can't be undone, and even if it did, it was worth it to him and so it was worth it to me.

After that I took an old beat up rusty 1975 mfg Win 94 30-30 and cleaned up the stock and rattle canned it a stainless metal color. It don't look bad, in fact every time I hog hunt I get offers on the little gun.

If you plan on keeping it, and you like it, do it. You don't need to make anyone else on here happy.