Spray Paint Tips!

Spray painting a rifle or pistol may seem like a daunting task, but getting great results is far easier than you think! We've compiled a number of simple tips that can help you get professional results. Before using any of our stencil kits, PLEASE take the time to read through them. Success depends on patience and technique. While not difficult, it's extremely important and will be the difference between an incredible result, and your rifle looking like a hot steamy pile of dog sh*t. No one wants a hot steamy pile of dog sh*t.

-Take your time.  Taking your time and paying attention to details is what will get you the results you want. DO NOT RUSH. Grab a six back and make a day of it.

-Read the back of the can. The back of the can has some great info on it. Believe it or not, the people who make the paint actually have some good advice on how best to use it.

-Temperature and humidity. Temperature and humidity will play a significant role in how your paint turns out. Too hot or cold and the paint either won’t dry or will dry too fast. Both can lead to uneven coats of paint and too hot can lead to a textured, almost grainy finish due to droplets drying before they can flow together in an even coat. Humidity can cause similar issues with paint drying too fast in low humidity, or not drying properly in high humidity. Basically, tropical storms or blizzards are not a great time to paint.  

-Painting location. If painting indoors, make sure you use a respirator and/or have good ventilation. If painting outdoors, make sure you are sheltered from the wind and avoid direct sun on hot days. Also, pay attention to what’s close by, you don’t want a cloud of spray paint drifting onto your car or dog.

-Surface prep. This goes back to taking your time. Surface prep is probably the single largest determining factor in how your paint job is going to turn out. Take the time to completely degrease all surfaces and remove any oils. Our kits include extra-large alcohol wipes for this. Wear gloves while doing so, and when handling  cleaned parts to prevent oils from your fingers or Cheeto dust from getting on them. You can also use a cleaning agent such as Prep-All to pre-treat the surface if you would like. Surfaces can also be lightly scuffed with a very fine sandpaper to help paint adhere. After any surface prep, it is a good idea to use an air compressor to blow off any dust that might be left behind.

-Masking. While our stencils will give you what you need for an awesome finish, you will also want to mask off certain parts. For example, close your dust cover. You can also stuff packing foam, bubble wrap, sponge, rags, etc. into magwells and important areas like where the charging handle goes to prevent paint from entering. While paint might look good on the outside of the rifle, you don't want it inside.

-Paint techniques.  Not to sound like a broken record but take your time. Don’t try and do each color in one coat. Doing one heavy coat results in paint running, and pooling against the edges of the stencil. Once you remove the stencil, you'll be able to feel little ridges along the edge of each color and it will not look good. Spray each color in multiple light coats. I typically do each one in two to three coats. The lighter the coats, the better the results. It is important to also paint in an even sweeping motion. There are plenty of videos on YouTube that demonstrate this but simply hold the can 10”-12” from the surface and sweep back and forth, with each pass overlapping by 30%-50%. Make sure to go past the edge of whatever you are painting before switching directions and coming back. Additionally, NEVER start painting while the can is pointed at the surface you are painting. Hold it off to the side, press the nozzle, and then sweep the spray over your object.

-Clean your nozzles. Each time you finish a color, it's good practice to hold the can upside down and spray for a few seconds until paint stops coming out. This will prevent the cans from becoming clogged and ensure that you're able to use all the paint in the can.

-Applying and removing vinyl stencils. While it's important to recoat within a certain amount of time, it is also important to make sure that the paint is sufficiently dry before applying the next layer of stencils over it. Most paints require additional coats to be applied within 2 hours, and I would recommend waiting 45 minutes to an hour to apply the next layer of stencils. Most of the matte or flat paints are very fast drying and typically take 10 minutes or less before they are dry to the touch (if properly applied in light coats). When removing the stencils, the desire to pull them off as soon as the paint feels dry will be overwhelming. I would give it a solid 24 hours at least though. This will allow the paint to at least start to cure and will prevent the stencils from pulling any paint off with them. As far as applying the stencils themselves, I have found the best way to be to use the tool we provide to pick them off the sheet, and then keep them stuck to it while you slowly lay them in place. I generally start at the center of the stencil and work my way to each end of it, pressing down firmly as I go. You can use things like a credit card, the back of the hook on the vinyl weeding tool, or even a fingernail to help make sure it is firmly applied into grooves, or recesses. When removing, an exacto knife or the tool we provided works great, just be careful not to scratch the paint. You can also use a plastic scraper, or fingernail to peel up the edges.

-TAKE YOUR TIME.   I know we started with this one, but it is really the difference between a great job, and a crappy one. Do. Not. Rush.

-More resources. This page is a quick guide with some basic tips. If you're looking for more specific advice, there are plenty of resources out there such as YouTube, Google or Facebook. A lot of the info contained here, as well as the advice we used on painting our own guns, came from the Facebook group That's cool, now spray paint it. They will answer any questions you can come up with. Let them know we sent you!

 

Check out the video below for a complete walk through of using our Premium Tiger Stripe stencil kit, from start to finish. While the video covers the Tiger Stripe kit specifically, the methods and techniques used are a good guide to use with any stencil kit!

Enjoy, and good luck!