Painting problems

T

toppermost

New member
I have never painted a gun.

Generally speaking, I am big proponent of the "guns are tools" philosophy. Little scratches, dings, holster wear, do not bother me (as long as I know I am never going to sell it). Def a function over form kind of guy.

So, if I do a paint job (just for fun) on some of my old glocks, ruger 10/22's, I am wondering:

1) do gun cleaning solvents dissolve generic spray paints? could it then get into the action, bolts, etc...

2) do I have to mask the living crap out of these things? or is ok to get minute amounts of generic spray paint "inside" the weapons. I am not talking about the action, bolt, etc. They will be stripped bare before. I am talking about tiny bits of overspray under slide, in the magazine well, etc...

Thanks!
 
I've painted a few and never had problems with solvents. I don't drench the gun but do clean them once in a while.:) I masked off the barrel and moving surfaces and over spray is no issue. The paint does get small chips from normal use but I'm like you, it's a tool and doesn't have to look perfect.
 
To paint a gun, you must remove all traces of oil and old paint if the gun was painted. This can be done with lacquer thinner or paint stripper. You will need paint that can take hi temps if you paint the barrel; IE. Hedder paint.

Yes you must avoid getting bore cleaning solvents on the paint or wipe off quickly if you do. Overspray can be cleaned with whatever solvent is on the paint label for thinning or removing.

Some of what appears to be paint on many firearms is actually powder-coating. You can powder coat at home, but that would be subject of another post.
 
Solvents can and will remove most generic paints, like Krylon and Testors, etc. That isnt necessarily a bad thing, just so you know that it will, and take a little bit of care when cleaning.

Things like Aluma Hyde II are more permanent, which isnt a bad thing either, it just depends what youre looking for.

Ive used both, and for the most part, prefer the ones I can remove.

As far as masking things off, I used to get crazy and take things apart and try and get everything just right, these days, I just mask what I dont want painted, and have at it.

The most important thing is degreasing the gun on the original paint job. I have painted over old paint jobs without issue too. I just degrease that too, and then paint.

I havent bothered painting any handguns (yet), but I did consider using Aluma Hyde II on one of my Glocks frames. If I were to paint a handgun, Id probably use one of the more permanent types, as they tend to have more wear issues than the long guns.

These shotguns were both painted with Testors and used and cleaned regularly for over 20 years. Same paint, no touch ups. If you look close, you can see the wear points at the grips, comb, and handguard on the 1100. They are there on the Mossberg too, just not as noticeable.

ry%3D400


This is the 1100 after removing the paint a couple of years back, and adding a different stock. As you can see, the paint is gone, and all I used to take it off, was Gun Scrubber, Hoppes, a couple of pieces of steel wool and a toothbrush.

ry%3D400


This was my last paint job, my M&P15 in Multicam....

ry%3D400
 
This is what you do not want to do, . . .

At least, . . . I wouldn't,..........:D

May God bless,
Dwight
 

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