Stock Painting

[Liven The Dream]

I have been checking the post on this Subject !
I have a A-5 McMillan in Como . I am think of a Paint job to a Black ,Olive etc.

Has anyone had good luck doing this with a Rattle Can ? If so what Brand of Spray Paint ?
I have a back ground in stock finishing and body and fender, in my past life !!

Thanks,
Don

 

[JRS]

For cost and ease of application, shaken (rattle can). For durability, uniform coating and unlimited colors, stirred (spray gun). If you can find the colors you want… Dupli-color rattle can is good stuff.

 

[NewLiberty]

Rustoleum.

 

[Steelnecktie]

I had a camo A-5 stock with some flaws in it, I sent it to McMillan and they painted it for free. Very respectable.

 

[Dale700]

I personally would not have the intestinal fortitude to attack a good stock with a rattle can , I have seen automotive paint jobs that look great , even laminated with automotive polyurethane clear was beautiful.

 

[vahena]

I have done a 6 ppc stock in rattlecan in black, I could have had the paint shop do it for 200.00 but I wanted to do it myself also added an 1 1/2" to the but stock for my LOP, with very light plastic material from my exterior risers, formiced glued the blocks on , routed and filled the seam with body putty and wet sand, wet sand and wet sand.. Anyway get all the inperfections out, and I mean all of them, and spray it with whatever color you want, light coat at first , let dry then add another coat and so on. let dry completely and wet sand again and again ,repaint and wet sand again. I sprayed a saten coat and then used auto compound with a drill and buffer and then used polishing auto wax to bring it to a mirror , and I mean mirror finish, like glass.
I spent alot more time, maybe 40 hrs or more on it and could have had it done for me but like I said, I like to do almost ever thing I can myself as I am retired and have the time and skills. Good luck
Rob

 

[BenPerfected]

Would you do paint work on your truck/car? It might work out, but if you want it perfect hire a pro. If you are flexible on color, most painters will have numerous cans of left over paint that could be inexpensive. The cost for a pro paint work is in the numerous coats of clear with sanding between each coat.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

I charge 300 for a stock finish, weather its a solid color, marble or just clear coat. The quality of the materials is key. Anything out of a can will scratch easily and look like shit in short order. The clear I use cost $450 a gallon. The reason is, less expensive clear doesnt dry as hard. You will always have a slighty sticky break away in the bags. You will have to use stock tape with cheap clear. A clear coated wood stock ends up with about 90.00 dollars in clear on it. I sublet the work to a friend at the body shop. In my opinion the $300 he charges me is a steal. So I guess my opinion is, your stock has a very durable gel coat, which you would be covering with the least durable finish you can find. It will look terrible in short order. Mcmillan uses a 2 part epoxy paint called polane from sherwin williams on their solid color stocks. Its not cheap and it would be worth sending it to them.

 

[J P Brown]

I used bed armour in a spray can. It came out good.

 

[lloydx2]

Listen to Alex. You really want to put a 2 part system on it. Anything non activated is
going to suck. But you could just wipe it off with Lacquer thinner when it starts looking like crap
I would a least go the Dura Coat route. Sounds like you have the spray equipment already

 

[vahena]

I have done a 6 ppc stock in rattlecan in black, I could have had the paint shop do it for 200.00 but I wanted to do it myself also added an 1 1/2" to the but stock for my LOP, with very light plastic material from my exterior risers, formiced glued the blocks on , routed and filled the seam with body putty and wet sand, wet sand and wet sand.. Anyway get all the inperfections out, and I mean all of them, and spray it with whatever color you want, light coat at first , let dry then add another coat and so on. let dry completely and wet sand again and again ,repaint and wet sand again. I sprayed a saten coat and then used auto compound with a drill and buffer and then used polishing auto wax to bring it to a mirror , and I mean mirror finish, like glass.
I spent alot more time, maybe 40 hrs or more on it and could have had it done for me but like I said, I like to do almost ever thing I can myself as I am retired and have the time and skills. Good luck
Rob

I might add, if you dont have the skills and patients and enjoy working on your projects, for this time consuming project at home, Pay the money to a pro.and be done with it. my project turned out as good as a pro but I have work in the painting field yrs ago, and have 47 years in the construction field, not many things I cant do.

 

[JRS]

Rock chips repaired via rattle can:

 

[Patch700]

I think you should ask yourself what are the expected goals of the finished product.. As mentioned by Alex , durability is going to be an issue. I have painted one of my working shotguns in olive drab and it was very easy and the initial look was great.
However being that this shotgun is a daily carry on the farm along with a beside the nightstand "Middle of the night assistant to the door answerer" I wasnt to concerned with it looking perfect.

And having said that it does get scratched but in this case i merely remove the butt along with the forend and shoot it again whenever it needs it.

Does it work? Yes... Does it hold up? My answer is no.. For my mossberg it fits the bill.. For my rifles that I have to look at while I'm shooting them , i would spend the money for a proper paint job.
Good luck , let us know what way you go with and show results.

 

[284winner]

I've done this method on numerous stocks. Typically there's no paint in any configuration that works without proper stock prep. Stocks ARE painted prior to hydrographic dipping but more for a base. There are places that will prep and professionally paint a gun stock for around 60-80.00. Personally thats the route I would go. Usually Canned painted stocks become rubbed or scratched and eventually look very bad. Especially from bench type shooting. Not so bad if toted on a sling or carried. Best I found was Krylon textured(sand finish texture) followed by a matte clear coat. It seemed to hold up the best. The rustoleum camo cans are ok but numerous coats need to be applied. Even then they will eventually rub off.

 

[lloydx2]

You can use 2 part systems at home. That will last. It just cost more than a bomb can
If your going to put a lot of time in something why would you use something that stays
soft. That is not solvent resistant. When clearing colored wood laminates Ultraviolet screener
is something to think about if the gun is going to be in the sun. I have seen colors turn
green and yellow (the red burns out) because of inadequate UV protection. Why put all that work into something. For a little more $ in material you could have something.
I am a retired 40 year car painter. I see guys fall into this trap too often. Lots of talent. But building Castles Made Of Sand

 

[JRS]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained For the rock chip repair, I used a HOK rattle can and finished it with a PPG ceramic clear coat via my airbrush.

 

[Hntndad]

I have a lot of experience finishing gunstocks. My advice, call McMillan and find out what they would do for you first.

Stop by your local non-commercial retail chain body shop. Take your stock and discuss with them options. They can easily match any color your looking for. I highly doubt they will attempt a 2-3 color black, olive etc...
Recently, my paint and body manager color matched painted and cleared my running boards on my Nissan Titan for $100.00. Said if I was in no hurry he would do them while he was doing other small part paint work (door handles etc..) and a set of running boards is probably about 6 gunstocks. At least!

You state you have some experience with stock work, painting and finishing. As you know the finished product appearance is all in the prep work. I use a spray gun setup and have the means to deal with isocyanates. There are no rattle can 1k spray paints that will provide a long term durable finish on thier own. If I were a do-it yourselfer wanting to attempt this for the sake of self gratification and did not have a dedicated finishing area, I would wait until temps in your area reach the 70's. Prep the stock as if you were finishing an automotive panel. (Sand, prime, seal etc..) tape off bedding surfaces and use an acrylic spray paint. Allow sufficient flash off and top coat with 3 coats of 2k clear (SprayMax 2k clear glamour)
I would do this outside and I would put together a small 10x10x 8ft frame that you can completely cover and staple down plastic. On one side you cut a +. Insert box fan and tape plastic around the perimeter. On the opposite side cut a + and insert a household heat pump filter. Tape plastic to perimeter to seal. Purchase a A2/P2 type resperator mask and go to it! When it doesn't turn out the way you want. Sand down and start over. In my opinion, unless you are just dead set on doing it yourself for the gratification of it all (trust me, I completely understand!). Option #1 and #2 above could save you a lot of time, $, frustration and provide a longer lasting product in the long run. I certainly wish ya luck and hope that in the end you end up with something your very proud of.

 

[Wirelessguy2005]

Personally I would recommend duracoat. I had a stock professionally prepped and painted with automotive paint and then cleared afterwards with a good automotive clear. Initially it worked well however in short order it started chipping very easily. Since then I started duracoating my own stocks and that has held up well as long I prep them properly and allow them to fully cure prior to using them.

 

[Hntndad]

Personally I would recommend duracoat. I had a stock professionally prepped and painted with automotive paint and then cleared afterwards with a good automotive clear. Initially it worked well however in short order it started chipping very easily. Since then I started duracoating my own stocks and that has held up well as long I prep them properly and allow them to fully cure prior to using them.

Application error if the clear started chipping very easily.

 

[Wirelessguy2005]

I highly doubt it was application error in this instance as this shop has been in business for a long time and they do quality work. It wasn't only the clear that chipped. In my opinion it's best to use a paint that was specifically built for firearms such as duracoat. Just my 2 cents.

Application error if the clear started chipping very easily.