Advice for spray painting?

[Reece_Spurs]

Some of you might have seen my thread on my M14, well, paints arrived, and before I go ahead and respray the two tone parts, just wanted to stop by and ask if anyone has any tips, this is the gun so you can see which parts need respraying http://www.justbbguns.co.uk/product/549/2-TONE-GUNS-PRO/462/PAINTED-AEG-RIFLES/3125/GG-M14-AEG-BLUE

Basically the barrel, top part and the stock cover. The barrel is metal, as is the stock, the top part is polymer, not sure if that makes any difference

Was going to go with masking taping the wood and metal parts around the sights, but just wanted to ask if there's a better way to go around spray painting?

Cheers in advance.

 

[Happy]

When I spray paint my rifles I completely disassemble them and only paint the parts I want to. A lot more time consuming but I'm always paranoid some paint will get in and ruin the gun - had it happen with a g36k I got in a trade which the previous owner had spray painted. It ruined the motor and had clogged up the hop up - soon got my money back for it.

Anyway, point I was trying to make was that is what I'd do with your rifle if you want to keep the wood effect as it looks like it will be a bit fiddly applying masking tape to that.

 

[Sitting Duck]

Remove what you can is best advice rather than mask up as Happy said....

decide if to strip paint with Fairy Power Spray

but this doesn't remove thick multiple coats of 2-tone as easily as some say

often it will need a good overnight soaking and toothbrush away - repeat etc.....

Time consuming and still might not get every single spec off

Or you could respray the parts but maybe sand off or at least key the surface prior to a couple of coats of Krylon

Plastic parts I think Plastikote is perhaps a little better than Krylon but not sprayed metal stuff so can't say for sure

I have said WTF and just went nuts sanding away a thick blue coat off a plastic stock & grip to reveal a plastic wood effect underneath

was as smooth as a baby's ar$e - still time consuming but yes it did have a sort of mahogany effect on it when done

the ideal sultion might be a bit of Fairy Power, brush off the worst, quick sanding to take off any large specs left in exposed areas

then spray up a good few thin coats to avoid runs etc....

That way the paint will adhere well, plus if it does wear off or become battleworn there is less chance of blue showing through

which always looks f*cking horrid imho

That is my take on it and probably what I would consider to make a nice job it

time consuming but I am a bit of perfectionist sometimes my own worst critic

Have a think and maybe test a small area to see how you might wanna go

 

[Berto]

Well I'm in the same boat, used fairy power spray but as the gun had been sprayed green, then black then green again, the power spray didn't really do much. So my plans are to sand down the parts, primer them and then a couple of coats of black and then a final clear lacquer to stop chipping etc. prep work is the most important part tho, don't just do a quick sanding, take your time and do a proper job.

 

[Hibernator]

Assuming it's the same as a Marui, the top cover is held on with a clip so is easily removed. The butt stock should just be held on with a couple of screws. You can get the receiver out of the stock by swinging the trigger guard in the right direction, the receiver will just pull out of the stock - I don't think it needs any special tools (but been a while since I stripped mine!).

Here's a video guide. It's not like you need to do anything difficult like take the gearbox apart

Then just worry about taping up the bits round the barrel that you want to spray.

 

[jcheeseright]

When painting guns I just put screwed up newspaper in the magwell and the end of the barrel and crack on. The gearbox is pretty well sealed up and the hop unit can't get paint inside it if you seal the magwell and barrel.

Complete disassembly and taking gearboxes out etc is massive overkill.

 

[Reece_Spurs]

Assuming it's the same as a Marui, the top cover is held on with a clip so is easily removed. The butt stock should just be held on with a couple of screws. You can get the receiver out of the stock by swinging the trigger guard in the right direction, the receiver will just pull out of the stock - I don't think it needs any special tools (but been a while since I stripped mine!).

Here's a video guide. It's not like you need to do anything difficult like take the gearbox apart

Then just worry about taping up the bits round the barrel that you want to spray.

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Cheers for that mate, I've seen a different video of the dissembly and it does look very straight forward.

The top cover i'll just take off aswell as the stock as you said, they won't be a problem, its just the barrel. Is that fairy power spray good then? I've got some very fine emery cloth here at work aswell as some super fine sandpaper used for polishing glass etc, could I just use the emery cloth first then smooth it down after with the sandpaper?

 

[proffrink]

I'll say the obvious too because many don't: Follow the instructions on the can. The manufacturers know their paint better than anyone, and holding it too close, too far, not shaking it, not cleaning the head, not leaving it long enough to dry or not properly preparing the surface etc. all results in a worse finish; all of these things are covered on the back of the can.

 

[Dannn]

If its all metal, strip it totally and get it anidised, its a much better job and won't scratch off.

 

[GingerBreadMan]

It does depend on what look you're aiming to achieve. Obviously you're looking to cover up the blue so as said by everyone, take time with prep work and read the can and maybe even disassemble as it may be easier than masking the rest of it. I would also try and remove as much blue as possible before painting over.

However if you are going for a used look, the. Just spray on as jcheeseright said as it will wear down in places.

 

[Reece_Spurs]

It does depend on what look you're aiming to achieve. Obviously you're looking to cover up the blue so as said by everyone, take time with prep work and read the can and maybe even disassemble as it may be easier than masking the rest of it. I would also try and remove as much blue as possible before painting over.

However if you are going for a used look, the. Just spray on as jcheeseright said as it will wear down in places.

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I really quite like the used look, especially for a old school style gun like this, but I don't want the worn parts to uncover blue

Quite a few have suggested fairy power spray, is it really that good? Isn't it a degreasing spray for ovens etc? Best way to use it?

I might try the spray as many have suggested it, but I'll also sand off (hopefully) most of the paint with super fine sandpaper and emery cloth.

 

[Sitting Duck]

Fairy Power Spray is about the best safe paint stripper out there

Stripped off the thick green 2-tone from a Long Raider RIS and got 99.9% off

and still kept the white number markings on the plastic RIS

(very very minor specs here n there that you have to really look close in nooks/crannies)

But it didn't fly off straight away - it needs a good soak for hour or two

and stubborn areas - jeez Zero One really boat that paint on not just outside but had a a good covering right inside too ffs

stubborn areas will need more work or even a soak overnight

It is safe - I actually left it in soak for 36hrs coz I forgot about it but was fine

People use it on loads of stuff - repainting plastic models etc......

But though it is very good it isn't a straight away immediate stripper and won't strip off really thick multiple coats straight away

Moderately strong but delicate is what I'd call it

about £3:50 at Asda Tesco etc.... - it is an oven cleaner but only get this - Mr Muscle or Dettol oven cleaner is not as good

and grab a toothbrush - little baby kids one for tight nooks n crannies - get those from ya local poundlandshop

will take a bit of time if you want good results - but that goes for anything in life I guess....

Most of your stuff could be metal so you could just use sand/emery paper to get the worst off

But if you got or may still get some other 2-tone stuff it might be a wise consideration to grab a bottle

for use on delicate plastic areas - well it not at least you will have a sparkling clean oven

 

[proffrink]

If its all metal, strip it totally and get it anidised, its a much better job and won't scratch off.

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Piecemeal anodising is not cheap, but it is a good suggestion for larger projects.

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

Get a pro to do it.

I cant spray to save my life which is why when I get chance after hes sorted out his move I am going to get Lozart to do mine. Rather pay someone than run around with a badly sprayed gun.

 

[Lozart]

Get a pro to do it.

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This.

And not just because he said me. To be fair if you're just looking for a colour change then you're right about rubbing it down first - go for a final finish around 600 grit, superfine sandpaper will be too smooth fop the paint to grip properly. I'd make sure you get all the blue off, down to metal if you can but it's not an absolute must. Then get thee to Halfords and buy some grey primer (you may need to get plastic primer AS WELL not instead of for the plastic parts) and some matt black paint. Primer first then colour but work in light coats. DON'T try and get full coverage in one go or it'll run and look shit. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE CAN. If it says allow 30mins between coats then do it.

It's not rocket science but if you want a good result, don't rush it.

If you want a more "gunmetal" type finish, once it's black grind up some soft pencil lead with some sandpaper and rub it lightly over the black using a bit of cotton wool. You'll get a nice grey, metallic effect. Seal it with some matt clear coat (PlastiKote is good for this).

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

This.

And not just because he said me. To be fair if you're just looking for a colour change then you're right about rubbing it down first - go for a final finish around 600 grit, superfine sandpaper will be too smooth fop the paint to grip properly. I'd make sure you get all the blue off, down to metal if you can but it's not an absolute must. Then get thee to Halfords and buy some grey primer (you may need to get plastic primer AS WELL not instead of for the plastic parts) and some matt black paint. Primer first then colour but work in light coats. DON'T try and get full coverage in one go or it'll run and look sh*t. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE CAN. If it says allow 30mins between coats then do it.

It's not rocket science but if you want a good result, don't rush it.

If you want a more "gunmetal" type finish, once it's black grind up some soft pencil lead with some sandpaper and rub it lightly over the black using a bit of cotton wool. You'll get a nice grey, metallic effect. Seal it with some matt clear coat (PlastiKote is good for this).

Click to shrink...

This is exactly why I am getting you to do it. Being in engineering I am good at the tech side but artistic wise if it doesnt say crayola on the packaging I am out of my depth.

 

[Reece_Spurs]

This.

And not just because he said me. To be fair if you're just looking for a colour change then you're right about rubbing it down first - go for a final finish around 600 grit, superfine sandpaper will be too smooth fop the paint to grip properly. I'd make sure you get all the blue off, down to metal if you can but it's not an absolute must. Then get thee to Halfords and buy some grey primer (you may need to get plastic primer AS WELL not instead of for the plastic parts) and some matt black paint. Primer first then colour but work in light coats. DON'T try and get full coverage in one go or it'll run and look sh*t. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE CAN. If it says allow 30mins between coats then do it.

It's not rocket science but if you want a good result, don't rush it.

If you want a more "gunmetal" type finish, once it's black grind up some soft pencil lead with some sandpaper and rub it lightly over the black using a bit of cotton wool. You'll get a nice grey, metallic effect. Seal it with some matt clear coat (PlastiKote is good for this).

Click to shrink...

Unfortunately I don't know anyone who's got experience in this sort of thing. Otherwise I definitely would.

I have everything I need, bar primer, silly question, but how important is primer? Some have suggested it, but some others, even on youtube videos havn't bothered?

I bought some fairy power spray today aswell, so, should I use that to try and get as much paint off as I can, then sandpaper the rest off, use the heavier grit last, then primer, fine coat of matt black, wait, respray etc? As for the plastic heat shield on top, not sure how easy that's going to come off? I believe it's polymer, but using sandpaper on plastic doesn't sound like a good idea

Cheers for the advice though, helps alot.

 

[Reece_Spurs]

Sorry for the double post, just picked my gun up to have a look at the paint job, and it seems I can actually scratch bits of paint off with my thumb nail JustBBguns shoddy paint job might actually be a blessing in disguise, this might be a much easier job that I thought!

 

[Lozart]

I have everything I need, bar primer, silly question, but how important is primer? Some have suggested it, but some others, even on youtube videos havn't bothered?

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Depends really. How quickly would you like the paint to fall off? If "in a matter of hours" is your answer then don't bother with primer.

The ones on Youtube are most likely painting over plastic with Krylon Fusion. This doesn't need a separate primer because it already contains an adhesion promoter (or primer in laymans terms).

If the surface finish on the gun is sound (even if it is blue) then to be fair you could probably get away with just keying that with some red scotchbrite and painting over the top. My issue with that is that whoever 2 toned it wouldn't have done the surface prep properly so it may very well flake off taking your nice new top coat with it. As with many things in life, do it properly - do it once.

 

[Reece_Spurs]

Depends really. How quickly would you like the paint to fall off? If "in a matter of hours" is your answer then don't bother with primer.

The ones on Youtube are most likely painting over plastic with Krylon Fusion. This doesn't need a separate primer because it already contains an adhesion promoter (or primer in laymans terms).

If the surface finish on the gun is sound (even if it is blue) then to be fair you could probably get away with just keying that with some red scotchbrite and painting over the top. My issue with that is that whoever 2 toned it wouldn't have done the surface prep properly so it may very well flake off taking your nice new top coat with it. As with many things in life, do it properly - do it once.

Click to shrink...

Just ordered grey primer and and white plastic primer. Cheers for the advice