How do I camo a gun?

[Skillet]

I have an old Sears & Roebuck pump action 20Ga. I got it from my Grandfather when he passed away. Unfortunately, he did not maintain his weapons very well. The blueing is almost completely gone, and there was some rust on the barrel. I got the rust off, but the barrel is just exposed steel, and it keeps flashing over, every time it gets wet. I want to camo the whole gun. I can't afford to have it professionally dipped, it's about $120.00. i've seen several people attempt DIY gun painting, and it doesn't come out well. Most of the guns I've seen, the paint does not seem to adhere well to the metal, and you can scratch it off easily with your fingernail. Anybody know how to prep and paint the metal in a way that will result in a durable, matte finish? The wood is not an issue, I've sanded it, and I'm sure the paint will adfhere to it. Any advice would be really helpful. Thanks!

Edited December 27, 2011 by Skillet

[Gthphtm]

Clean the metal,plastic,wood with Acetone (the one sold in pain stores or paint section of a hardware store) not nail polish remover it has oil in it.I used different colors of krylon spray finish with a satin clear finish.It is holding up for 3 years now.I cut out different shapes in paper,squigely lines,leaves tree branch shapes and overlapped them.

[Skillet]

Thankyou, I will try that.

[NYDeer]

US Army Directive for camo gun painting..

http://images-kitup.military.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Weapons-Painting-101_FINAL.pdf

[wooffer]

I had an old Remington receiver blued at http://precisionbluing.com

It was 30 years old and very badly rusted. I tried to blue it myself but it didn't look right. Precision Bluing is here in NY and they did a nice job, a very nice job. It literally looks new.

If you want to paint it then check Brownells.com. They sell paint that you spray on then bake. Supposed to be very durable, but I personally never tried it.

Precision Bluing I have used and can vouch for them.

You also have the option of wet printing. See it here on youtube at

Edited January 11, 2012 by wooffer

[Red]

that video was pretty cool

[NYDeer]

Thanks for the Precision Bluing link..

As for the wet film transfer, I like the best, but many outfits don't want the legal issues of working with firearms..

OCC used a place in upstate NY for the 'Money Bike' fore a guy in NYC if I remember correctly..

Edited January 11, 2012 by NYDeer

[Forest Hunter]

Im the cheap man so i buy the realtree camo duct tape and cover over everything that does not move on the gun. They say duct tape has a million uses

[WNYBuckHunter]

Thanks for the Precision Bluing link..

As for the wet film transfer, I like the best, but many outfits don't want the legal issues of working with firearms..

OCC used a place in upstate NY for the 'Money Bike' fore a guy in NYC if I remember correctly..

That would be Tarjac, and they have no issues with working on guns. I am having them do my bow and some accessories for me over the winter. They do great work.

There is also a ceramic coating that can be applied, which is impervious to water, etc. it costs @ $150 to do on a gun. Talk to your local gun shop, as most of them know a place to get it done. I talked to the guys at Avon Gun Supply about it not long ago.

[wooffer]

I think Precision Bluing may do other finishes too, but not sure. I was just happy to find a shop in the state that still did real bluing. They weren't easy to find when I serached the internet looking for bluing services.

Duracoat is one of the paints you can apply and bake. Here is Brownells link to the paint finishes. http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/cid=0/k=paint/t=P/ksubmit=y/Products/All/search=paint

You can go www.youtube.com and find people "Duracoating" their firearms. Looks nice too.

[wooffer]

I also found a video on Brownells website showing how to paint your firearm.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=11837/GunTechdetail/Brownells-Spray-On-Paint-Series

[Larry]

use paint