Rattle-can gun camo - show me your *bold* patterns

[RostokMcSpoons]

As I'm never ever ever ever ever going to sell my Double Eagle M906C, I think I might spray it.   I did have a Novritsch 'leafy' gun camo cover on it, but I do prefer the gun 'naked' because ... it looks cooler when it doesn't seem to have had a bit of salad wrapped around it...?

Some of you with long memories might remember I've sprayed a couple of guns before:

 

 

The F2000 was a bit of a homage to my favoured camo in Battlefield 4, but to be honest whilst it was fun to do, the results aren't brilliant close-up... the green painters masking tape I used didn't always make clean edges. 

 

 

The M16 did come out quite well with the scrim, but unfortunately I tried to fix a couple of areas that didn't look so good, and ended up making a pig's ear of it.   I'm going to start from scratch on this, maybe with the same pattern as I do for the DE.  

 

 

After all that I have a decent collection of camo spray paints, but I don't just to do a vanilla brown / green / black splotchy effect, and neither do I want to use the scrim net effect again - I want something a little bit bolder so that 

1) it looks interesting

and 

2) the camo actually does break up the the outline of the gun.  Y'know, camo that actually camouflages    

I'm therefore prepared to include a bit of white, bright green, or a bit of dark red (as I've already got those) into the pattern (sparingly though, probably)

I'd prefer something I can do 'freehand' with the spray cans, rather than having to use stencils or masking tape, but for the right result I could do that.

 

So if any of you have have some good camo jobs, please share them to give me some inspiration!

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[Tackle]

There's some pretty good stencils on ebay, brickwork, hexagons, tigers tripe etc etc, depends what you want to achieve, is it something with actual camouflage, or something that stands out as per your fn2000. 

Personally I've only ever sprayed a couple of my guns, fn2010 & an m14, in both cases I wanted a natural camo effect, so went with random dusting stripes/splodges etc using assortment of krylon. 

Made a point of removing or masking working parts/barrels. 

Left a good mix of painted & standard parts & got a lot of positive unsolicited comments on site. 

[JimFromHorsham]

Not airsoft but here’s two of my air rifles I’ve done , just Krylon & stencils then a clear coat over the top 

 

 

[gavinkempsell]

Not bold by any means but all rattle can jobs (except the blue one, remember... we don't talk about the blue one).

[RostokMcSpoons]

Nice paint jobs!

 

@JimFromHorsham I'm particularly impressed how you seem to get such nice clean edges on your stencil work... Are they paper stencils or stuck to the gun somehow?  What's the methodology?

[JimFromHorsham]

51 minutes ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

Nice paint jobs!

 

@JimFromHorsham I'm particularly impressed how you seem to get such nice clean edges on your stencil work... Are they paper stencils or stuck to the gun somehow?  What's the methodology?

adhesive vinyl stencils , inbetween the colours  

This one for example , 

 

base coat black 

 

add first stencil layer then overspray with olive ,

 

next stencil layer overspray with grey 

 

 

then some light dusting of black to blend a little , leave to dry , peel & reveal 

 

 

Optics & accessories to match / same method 

 

 

[RostokMcSpoons]

I've looked on Amazon, the stencil sets seem to typically go for around £20, is that about right?  Is that a sensible place to get them, or is a craft / hobby shop a better bet?

[JimFromHorsham]

7 hours ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

I've looked on Amazon, the stencil sets seem to typically go for around £20, is that about right?  Is that a sensible place to get them, or is a craft / hobby shop a better bet?

i bought a few sets from Ballistic designs when they were still running , you could try contacting them but I think they are out of stock , possibly not trading any more .

[Jacob Wright]

If you're feeling creative you could probably make some from sticky back vinyl like they sell by the roll in hobby stores?

[RostokMcSpoons]

34 minutes ago, Jacob Wright said:

If you're feeling creative you could probably make some from sticky back vinyl like they sell by the roll in hobby stores?

 

Yes, I've actually already got some in the garage from when I covered my kitchen cabinet doors (too lazy to repaint them), so that's a great shout!

I can print out some camo stencils or even just free-hand cut some splotchy shapes - job should then be a good 'un!

I'll experiment on the M16's stock which is already ready for a repaint 

 

Edit: maybe I'll save myself from some curvy-cutting, and go for a take on the geometrical styling of Swedish M90 camo (already one of my faves)

Edited August 5, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[Neptune]

15 hours ago, JimFromHorsham said:

If you bought that grau blau recently, where did you buy it from?

[Tackle]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154199487109

Here's where I got a couple of stencils, lots more in stock, quite llke the "eros" for a giggle, not sure what I'd put it on though ? 

[JimFromHorsham]

7 minutes ago, Neptune said:

If you bought that grau blau recently, where did you buy it from?

400ml Military Style SPRAY PAINT (Army Spray Paint - Panzer Grey) https://amzn.eu/d/i5tb744

9 minutes ago, Neptune said:

If you bought that grau blau recently, where did you buy it from?

sorry , wrong one , 

 

400ml Military Style SPRAY PAINT (Army Spray Paint - Grey-Blue) https://amzn.eu/d/3mCcvCi

[RostokMcSpoons]

I'll have to experiment with the vinyl I've got - it'll be considered 'permanent' stickiness, and it might lift the base coat off.  I can buy low-tack vinyl specifically for paint masking though, £15 for a roll.

This should be a fun little project though, thanks for the ideas 👍

[Jacob Wright]

I do love M90 😍

[RostokMcSpoons]

2 minutes ago, Jacob Wright said:

I do love M90 😍

 

I had an interest in the Vorticism movement back when I was at school studying History Of Art, it definitely reminds me of that...

 

 

[Gryph]

I painted up my Rossi L119A2 recently. It's not much, but it turned out better than I was expecting. Picture quality is pretty shocking!

[RostokMcSpoons]

Nice scrim net paint job there.  But that's not a style I'll be doing again.  However I'm very interested in the rifle, how is that running for you?

[Gryph]

Cheers! It's the first paintjob I've done so I'm pretty pleased I've not messed it up too badly lmao

 

Rifle wise, I've not had the chance to get out and about with it too much yet, so take this with a pinch of salt.

Externally it's nice. It's decently weighty and it doesn't feel as flimsy as other stuff I've used. The charging handle is decent too and doesn't get stuck while I'm trying to adjust the hopup like the specna rifles I've used do. Performance wise it's snappy and it's nicely accurate (I do play indoors though, so I've not got any problems with wind)

Edited August 7, 2023 by Gryph

[RostokMcSpoons]

2 hours ago, Gryph said:

so I've not got any problems with wind

 

 

Lucky you.   Yesterday I had four pints of London Pride on top of a roast beef dinner, and it was enough to make the cat's eyes water

[RostokMcSpoons]

Right, I got bored - too bored to wait for some low-tack vinyl to appear, so I went and bought some modeller's masking tape (Revell brand) in the hope that it'd do a better job than the green painter's tape I was using previously (spoiler: not really)

 

So my M90 Homage happened...  I did the colours in the wrong order, so there's more khaki than green, was intending the other way around, but actually this looks nicely 'disruptive' so it's fine.

 

 

It's not perfect when inspected closely (damn it, vinyl might be the only way to do it really nicely), but I'm happy with it.

It'll look even better when worn / weathered, as the khaki is brighter in sunlight than this pic shows ... which brings me to a question:

@JimFromHorsham you mentioned a light dusting of black to blend it... would you recommend me trying that across the whole gun?  I've previously spoiled my M16 with side-spray that drifted across from a bit I was touching-up, leaving a lot of big blobs, is there a knack to getting a really fine dusting?

[gavinkempsell]

You might think it's rough but looks good from here, I'm planning a DPM rattle rif, dunno which to use tho (might practice on a two tone(we don't talk about the blue one))

[RostokMcSpoons]

One thing I found when doing this today... Most of my spraypaint cans failed on me.  The Halfords ones still work well.  I'm sticking with them for my future paint jobs, where possible!  It's a shame they only do the green, khaki, brown and black though.

[Jacob Wright]

I like it! Might not be perfect up close but I’d say it probably helps the RIF blend in at a distance 👍🏼

Good job!

[JimFromHorsham]

15 hours ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

Right, I got bored - too bored to wait for some low-tack vinyl to appear, so I went and bought some modeller's masking tape (Revell brand) in the hope that it'd do a better job than the green painter's tape I was using previously (spoiler: not really)

 

So my M90 Homage happened...  I did the colours in the wrong order, so there's more khaki than green, was intending the other way around, but actually this looks nicely 'disruptive' so it's fine.

 

 

It's not perfect when inspected closely (damn it, vinyl might be the only way to do it really nicely), but I'm happy with it.

It'll look even better when worn / weathered, as the khaki is brighter in sunlight than this pic shows ... which brings me to a question:

@JimFromHorsham you mentioned a light dusting of black to blend it... would you recommend me trying that across the whole gun?  I've previously spoiled my M16 with side-spray that drifted across from a bit I was touching-up, leaving a lot of big blobs, is there a knack to getting a really fine dusting?

the light dusting is exactly that , make sure your cab is fully working and not spitting , and spray a fine mist from 18”-24” away , do it outside with the gun hanging , I had mine on a wire by the stock so it’s easy to turn . 
 

dusting , this is the key word . You can use any colour you like but obviously light colour will lighten it , dark colour darken 👍🏼