Painting guns with brushes?

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Dave L.

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Hey guys.

I'm an artsy sort of person, and I like adding my own personal touch to things.

I'm wondering what kind of paint I should use to paint polymer and finishes on guns - finishes like black oxide, black chrome, polished hard chrome, and bright nickel especially. But I want to paint it by hand, the old-fashioned way, using just my set of paint brushes. I don't like airbrush tools and fancy sprays, I never did. But I'm concerned that acrylic paint will simply dry up and flake off, and I'm also worried that the thinner contained in oil-based paints like the kind I use on model airplanes will damage the polymer or the finishes used on metal.

Is there anything 'safe' that I could use on polymer and finished metal that I can apply using an ordinary paintbrush?

- Dave.
 
chromes, phosphates and other conversion coatings are ussually dipped or applied via cathodes in tanks. You can buy copies of them in paint, generally spray bomb..but it ussually looks like ####. The only paint that might look ok applied with a brush would be a very flat paint, as it wont show the brush strokes.. get a sprayer and do it.
 
How about stocks?

You can paint the stocks. So the metal may not be the best to work on but you can use the stock as your canvass. It then could be clear coated with automotive clear to protect the work.
 
I would think the whole of the Dura-coat line of coatings would be brush friendly.
When you write about damaging "the polymer" I'm assuming you mean the synthetic stock material? Or do you mean the "varnish" applied over the wood?

Both of these would be resistant to any common oil-based paint thinner. You might also have a problem getting the standard sorts of paints to adhere.

I am unaware of any sort of common metal finish appied to firearms that would be damaged by any normal paint.

And there's nothing wrong with brush-painting. The Rolls-Royce and Bently coachworks didn't stop brush painting the main finish until the '60s, and of course much high-end pin striping is still applied by brush.
 
To get consistent and smooth coverage an air assisted system is what you need . Acrylic paints are best left to painting your living room, as they are thick and not very durable, and provide next to zero rust protection. Using any of the acrylics would not damage the metal finishes , but would gum the gun up if it were painted in a tight area.And chances are it will flake especially if there is no porous finish for the paint to adhere to.
 
You need to talk to a pinstriper. Check your yellow pages for one or talk to your local good autofinisher or bike shop. There are paints specifically made for this purpose which are extremely durable. Google up "pinstriping" and you should get some interesting and useful info.
 
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