Prepping wood stock for paint?

[tula]

Any suggestions for prepping a wood stock to paint it? Going to do a camo job but not sure it will stick to the varnish, sand it first? Or just rough up the varnish with sandpaper?

 

[CyaN1de]

Give it a good sand with 180 or 220 grit. If you are using Oil based paints there will be no issue with adhesion. If using water based paints then prime the stock with a good bonding primer first.

 

[tula]

Was aiming to use krylon flat camo spray paint.

 

[supernova]

Just degrease it. Krylon isn't terribly durable, I haven't found any difference between no prep and fully sanding/priming/sanding/degreasing. Doesn't seem to stick to primer or sanded primer any better than bare plastic and metal. It will get scratched and chip just the same either way.

 

[tula]

Doesn't matter to me if it gets scuffed, I'll be painting it now and then anyway to match my environment.

 

[tula]

What about rustolium paint? What's the durability of that? Any better than krylon?

 

[ivo]

A good way to prime wood is to use something like Zinsers 123 or Zinsers BIN (a shelac type primer) that bonds well. I haven't used Krylon my self but any half decent paint will stick to these primers like glue and are very hard to scratch or peel.

 

[rl4930]

Cerakote sticks to wood like glue. I spent 14 hours refinishing a nice walnut stock for a buddy that "accidentally" got the stock cerakoted along with the action.