DIY Gun Painting (56K beware, if the links work properly)

k well i tried my hand at painting a couple of days ago. ive had alot of experience with painting models and smaller stuff. alot of big brush work (re did someones deck). and i did some stencil work in art awile ago. i have compiled a couple of tipps and trick along with pics to help the lerning process.

starting out
first off you should figure out what paint scheme you are going to use. by scheme i mean pattern (homemade or store bought) and colors(tan green browns are all very good for general but that could mean neon green, black/brown and 70's couch tan). before i even picked up a spray can i started drawing patterns by hand on an extra notebook (this is where study hall comes in handy ). try using computer programs such as MS paint, or Photo Shop to see how your rifle will look when you apply certain colors. choose what looks best to you. i would try to have a lighter color as you base then work your way up. remember green is only useful when you are surrounded by green foliage (late spring, summer in Ohio). i personally used a Khakki base followed by OD and REALLY dark brown stencil fills.

Gun Disasembly

i would disassemble you weapon by parting out the major parts of the gun(scope, body, barrel)

Rifle disassembly: [img][/img]
[img][/img]

i would have posted pics of an AEG disassembly but image hosting sux so none of that today. when i can i will update.

Prep

anyways.... the next important thing to do is tape the areas that you do not want painted (scope lens, etc etc). if you have scope covers take them off and paint them separately so you can get the insides too. make sure the tape does not make contact with the lens as it will leave the residue on the lens and cleaning lenses without special lens cleaners can damage your lenses.

scope cover using electrical tape: [img][/img]

do this to all parts that need to be the origional color(scope dials or zoom dial) or if contacted with a foreign substance(ie. paint ) will be damaged.

Base Coat
the base coat usually will be you lightest color, usually. you can paint over any darker color with a lighter color. you need to do 2-3 coats of the base color on you gun.

Rifle Body: [img][/img]

Rifle Barrel: [img][/img]


Stenciling
hers the hard part. i made my won stencils out of something called plasticard. basically its just a thin sheet of plastic that you can pick up at the local hobby store, or even a fabrics store. you will have to freehand your pattern on. once that is done you should poke a whole in the middle of the particular pattern and cut from the inside to the edges or the pattern. DO NOT CUT FROM THE EDGE OF THE CARD TO THE PATTERN, YOU WILL GET A LINE OF SPRAY AWAY FROM YOUR PATTERN. the easiest way to handle stencils are by cutting them into smaller squares instead of keeping them all on the big sheet.... like i did........... boy was that a mistake.........

stenciling in action: [img][/img]

to maximize your camo you should try to keep the stencil on the gun in certain areas and about 2in off the gun in other. this will make a shadow effect on you gun. another cool thing to do is spray the stencil for a little then quickly move it up so that you smear the paint a little. i dont recomend doing this alot but if you do this on 1 or 2 patterns then it looks pretty cool, and it adds a nautral depth that isnt there. there for breaking up the outline even more.

shadow effect: [img][/img]



Finished Product
wow now you have a darn good looking gun, every noob and vet are jealouse and best of all. it works as well as it looks.

heres some of the final pics of the gun. the person who i painted it for was overjoyed to say the least:

[img][/img]
[img][/img]

what do you guys think? i hope this guide will beneficial to at least a few of you. good luck with painting in the future

sticks

Wow this is great. Nice pics was a great help. Gave me an idea of what colors to use when i paint my gun. Another great post sticks.

Viper,

Nice guide sticks. I like the paint job

This is a great guide, and thank you for including pics (makes it more enjoyable to actually see what you're talking about). The gun looks great! I've thought about doing something like this to my L96, but I'm still not sure

just the cost of shipping and maybe half the paint costs.

ill PM you tonight about the specs that are needed.

sticks

Well don't get in a hurry, i don't even have the money to get the gun yet. let a loan money to get it painted. But don't worry once i get my gun, i'll work on the money to get it paint.

oh, if its ok with you i'll send it to you!

When you use the plastic primer...do you have to rough anything up?

by plastic primer do you mean the rustolium stuff specifically for plastic? If so then no you don't need to do any sanding at all just apply it like normal. I didn't use a primer on the above gun because if my friend didn't like it I wouldent have an extremely hard time stripping the paint. I would recomend you go to a hobby store and pick up a can or two of some flat clear model finish, primers are used (usually) as a thicker first coat which is designed to allow the paint to stick to the surface better. Since your gun is already painted the guns stock color acts as a primer. Leave the clear coat out if you want the paint to wear a little. If not then apply atleast 3 even coats of the clear coat. The first coat shouldbe a dusting, but make sure you cover the whole gun. The second coat should be a normal coat but hold the can about 7-8in back from the gun. The third coat and any that followshoulh be a normal coat.

Good luck! I demand pics once your done

sticks

If you aren't as awesome as Sticks... a good ol, tigerstripe is pretty easy to pull off.



You can even add some "custom" features like your nickname on the stock.

Very nice Seabass. I just painted my new TM VSR G-Spec, ill have to post pics!!

Did you do the stencils by hand, it looks really nice I thought about doing somthing like that to the M4. Plasticard would not co-operate though .

sticks

I was wondering. If your hands are wet. Or it's raining. Does the oil from the paint sticks on your hands?
Mike

If your talking to me then no it doesn't stick to your hands. My brother shot that pick under me and it was a particular sunny sunny day out and the light reflected off my arm weird.

sticks