DIY: Paint Your Guns

Recently in our little surviving Outdoors men/woman group on Facebook had some conversations about painting your gear. To me its pretty simple but the varied opinions from friends and acquaintances prompted me to do this write up for this month to share. Misconceptions and strong opinions were rampant, and mostly based on here say and not their own personal experiences. As per tradition we should dispel some of these myths and explain why you should/could paint your gear cheap and efficiently.

Should you paint your guns? If so, why?

I do not want to look like a LEO.
I also do not want my firearm to stick out like a sore thumb if I have to leave with it (being all black).
Its a tool, there are many like it, this one is mine.
If I take my tool into the woods I want it to blend in as much as possible.
Tactical boogaloo.
I also do not want to look like military if there is a time when both of us are in the same area.
It is also the cheapest easiest way by far to customize your weapons.

Most say no but some use their firearms as tools. If they are tools then its fitting they should go with what job or occupation you have for it. Are you going into the woods with it? Are you hunting with it? Are you a prepper type? These are all great reasons to paint your gear. Camouflage is important. If you use your firearms as tools and don't just store them away I say have at it. Paint your stuff up how you choose. Chances are that an all black gun and all black gear doesn't exactly go with those environments.

As for purists who say not to paint them, its like a car collector not putting miles on a car they love. It doesn't make any sense. Enjoy your things how you see fit. Also spray paint can be removed fairly easily. Unlike other methods like cerakote or duracoat. All methods will wear eventually. No matter how much you paid to complete your project.

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Supply List

Firearm
Spray paint colors - fitting for your job assigned to tool
Blue masking tape
Razor
Brake Cleaner
A suitable place to paint, well ventilated


It would seem like there would be a bunch of steps to do this properly but the truth is its straightforward. Yes, its easier than you thought. And I will walk you through how I chose to do it. With this being said I am at best a professional amateur. Meaning I have done this a handful of times to various items with no problems what so ever. There are a ton of ways to do this and many options but I chose to keep doing it this way after seeing results I liked.

If you can wait for a warm day that would be best. The paint dries better and will set up faster I think.

First step is to degrease the entire gun. You may use Gun Scrubber and pay $9, or just use brake cleaner. It does the same thing. Spray the entire gun down and get all the greasy spots. Get anything residue wise off of it first. Be aware of open spots that you do not want to get brake cleaner on. Like expensive optic glass etc.

After is degreased tape off any areas you do NOT want painted. This means your grips and rubberized areas especially. It will gum up and will be the opposite of operator. Sticky nonsense isn't fun so don't spray grips or rubberized parts unless that's a beast you want to mess with. Also T markings on rails, all of your glass, and your pins or parts for pop up sights. Be smart. Don't get paint inside your barrel, so block it up with tape. Use common sense here folks it isn't rocket science. Extend your stock if its adjustable all the way out. And remember to flip your selector switches, raise your sights and then lower them after you gone over it once or twice. Easy to forget these things.

If you taped everything up  you can pretty much paint with whatever colors you choose. I highly suggest something that fits your environment for the job you assigned your tool. My project for this was already painted grey so the background colors came through when I used netting to make a reptile scale pattern on it.

For paint its pretty simple too. Use matte or flat colors only. And if you are smart you will look at paint suitable for all of the surfaces you are planning on painting. So plastic, metal the whole works. Get something that will work for everything. Rustoleum has some really good cans for under $5.

Camo series ones are popular too for this sort of thing for obvious reasons. And stay away from the shiny stuff or Krylon. They use red rocket dog dick caps I absolutely despise for these projects that have an adjustable fan tip that clogs easy and generally works like shit. Avoid Krylon if you can.

When you start to paint go slow. Do not try to cover the gun the first time around. Just lightly dust it. Spraying 7-10 inches away I found works the best. It depends on what sort of coloration you want and patterns you are going for. Base coat may take 2 - 4 light coats. Then the top coats with the other colors may only take 1 - 3. All of it is greatly dependent on what you are wanting to do. My first initial grey paint job was 4 coats total and it worked really well. Later these added greens and patterns took 2 to finish it off. If you do it light, 6 - 10 coats will not be a big deal. Take your time and do it right the first time and get confident in what you are doing. Flip switches, raise sights, and move your stock appropriately to cover it all how you want it in the end. 

Paint doesn't need to be perfect. Imperfections make the project disappear in the woods and in the field. Change angles of spray, and your distance to change the coloration and spray pattern particle size. I'm not going to get into this here but you can look online for how to do some patterns that may work good to break up the outline of a solid black rifle in the field. Its going to wear. So battle worn will be the eventual reality if you at all use the tool you are painting. Precise painting doesn't matter for this. Special ops guys literally throw their firearms in the dirt and hit them with rattle cans 15 minutes before they leave for work. Being particular isn't going to do any good in my opinion. You are trying to go away from uniformity, and break up that guns shape as much as you can.

If you masked everything off right (AR15's you leave BCG in, charging handle, and just close dust cover) then after multiple coats of paint it should all be just fine. Check tape a few times and make sure no over spray gets in places you don't want it. Like on your glass.

Let it dry in the heat if possible. The longer you wait the better usually. It takes a week or two for everything to dry inside and to not be sticky generally. So be patient. Wait to take it out. I mean it. Wait. Wait longer than you anticipated. You can remove the tape and check your job out. If you don't like how it turned out you can also re tape and repaint it as needed. But give it time to dry 100% completely. In Summer time these project will dry faster in hot and less humid climates.

For my pattern, I used a laundry bag like you would be issued in basic training. It makes scales on the base coat like a lizard or snake would have. With the bag closer the scales are more defined. For a more blown out appearance you can lay it where its not as close to the surface for a blurry scale pattern. Turned out better than I planned.

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Why bother using spray paint?

Its forgiving and its cheap. If you ever screw up just paint over it. You can also remove it easily with brake cleaner and some love. It also makes it harder to sell the firearm. So if you love it paint it. It will be more difficult to move this way. Or so I have found. I don't care about degrading the value of an item I am beating like it owes me money. That excuse is stupid to me. "Why are you painting it, now its gonna be worthless..." I do not care. If I am using it and its being worn then its mine to do as I see fit. I never have cared for that reason for not doing something like this. If I am customizing it to suit a job then that is enough reason for me to continue doing it to my gear. Unlike most people with strong, uneducated opinions, I actually use my equipment. So if painting it makes it more suitable for what I am doing I do not care what someone else things or says about my gear.

For less than $20 in most cases you can paint anything. Just be smart about taping it up and prepping it properly. Be patient. Also if it gets cold and seasons change you can change the pattern easily for the price of one can to update it for the season. For instance, in the Midwest it gets real brown and tan in Winter as vegetation dies out. One can of tan can fix your firearm to match better in just a few minutes.

Other paint options are expensive and pointless. And that's money you probably should be putting into ammo and training instead.

Self defense is part of self reliance, a core tenant for the ways of the Norse and the old world. If you can't defend yourself and overcome challenges that come your way, then your ancestors clearly did not reach you and give you the memo that it is important. With that being said feeling familiar with your platforms of choice, suiting your surroundings, and having your head on a swivel is all part of that. The rifle and pistol is the modern axe or sword. Do not go into the field without it.

Stop making excuses. Paint your gear (if its suitable for its job) or don't, and get out there and practice with your tools.

Hail the Old Gods!
Hail the Folk!
Hail the Ancestors!