Painting my rifle (attempted desert-ish camo)

C

Chris.K

New member
Hey guys, I just moved to Tucson, AZ in May and have been loving it! However, one thing I noticed is that everything, especially black objects, get HOT under this desert sun (duh)! I decided that my Remington 700 AAC-SD (.308 Win) would need a paint job if I was to minimize the desert sun's effect.

Here is a before photo of my rifle. Specs include an SWFA SS 6x42 scope mounted on Leupold rings/scope base and a Harris bipod.



Yesterday I picked up some Krylon camo paint, adhesion promoter, Rustoleum brown camo paint, and some matte clear coat and got to work! I'll be honest, it was hard to make myself scuff up the Bell & Carlson stock, but I think it was definitely worth it.

After scuffing, masking, and cleaning the rifle I laid down about 3 coats of Krylon Sand (I think) camo paint. Here is my rifle last night.





This morning I broke out some fishnet panty hose (my fiancé was really giving [beeep] when we went to Walmart to buy it). I put the fishnet on the rifle and sprayed some diagonal lines using Krylon olive camo paint. I then used some Rustoleum brown camo paint to fill in some of the blank areas. After 3 coats of matte clear coat this is the result I got.







Overall I'm pretty happy. Of course, it is by no means perfect or professional, and there are plenty of screw ups that you can see when you look at the rifle in person. I've already got a list of things I want to improve on when this paint job needs redone, however I welcome any constructive criticism that will improve my next paint job.
 
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Good job but "IMO" what you had to start with is closer to desert background.
Hat's off for not sending a chick to buy those fishnets though.
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Yea, it definitely turned out darker than I wanted. I didn't want to take the action out of the stock and mask everything off (yea, I'm lazy!). Next time around I'll see if I can get some lighter colors for the contrasting stripes.
 
If you check out black rifle workx on 5th just west of alvernon they do ceracote or at least get a idea of how stuff looks. They're to expensive for me.
 
It does look a touch dark ,but I'd say it's still better than having the black barrel and black scope sticking out for everything to see.
 
Well, I'm planning on picking up a .223 eventually, at which point I'll likely give the painting another go (a bit lighter next time around).
 
Looks pretty sweet! I really like using fishnets to give texture to the color scheme.

Might copy your idea.

How did you secure the fishnets to give it a uniform look???
 
Originally Posted By: hate2workI use merino wool and do a faux paint job on mine, but yours looks fantastic, yo should start doing them for money.

That is after you have your ffl and set up your business. It is illegal to put any color, permanent coatings, or paint on a firearm for money unless you have the BATF blessing.

Just thought I would throw that out there.
 
By the way OP, it is a good start. You have the "shine" off and that is number 1 goal. Your base is pretty close to the right tone, I would cut the darker brown by about 50% and open up your base color, then highlight the dark with a bit of black on the bottom of each dark section. Then your rifle will disappear.
 
Originally Posted By: D_BellHow did you secure the fishnets to give it a uniform look???

I simply put the rifle in the fishnet stockings.
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The only downside is that the places where the fishnet was not right against the surface of the rifle or scope (such as the area between the scope and rifle) did not get any of the fishnet pattern. Next time I will take some string and tie the layers of the fishnet together between the scope and rifle so the fishnet is right up against the underside of the scope.
 
Originally Posted By: bushyBy the way OP, it is a good start. You have the "shine" off and that is number 1 goal. Your base is pretty close to the right tone, I would cut the darker brown by about 50% and open up your base color, then highlight the dark with a bit of black on the bottom of each dark section. Then your rifle will disappear.

Thanks, I'll refer back to this post next time around and try to get it a little closer.
 
You need more texture....take a sea sponge and spray all colors used onto paper plates....hit the dark colors with light and vice versa....then it will disappear.
 
You need more texture....take a sea sponge and spray all colors used onto paper plates....hit the dark colors with light and vice versa....then it will disappear.
 
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