Tips for painting an injection moulded plastic stock?

A

Aabradsh

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Hey guys

I have a Savage Model 10 Predator, with the ugly snow-camo (now faded to beige) stock. The metal has been stripped, and is blued, under the previous hydro-dip camo job, so I’ll likely leave that be.

I’m planning to do a rattlecan paint job on the stock, thinking that even if it doesn’t turn out, it’ll likely still look better than it currently does.

Current plan is to pull the barreled action and bottom metal off the stock, ruff it up a bit, with some fine sand paper, tape off the butt pad and bedding area, hang it with a wire, then prime it and paint it with black, brown, green, and tan.

Any other ideas? Or does it sound like I’m on track? Any recommendations on paint to use?

Tips and ideas would be appreciated!
 
Not sure what kind of colour scheme you want to do but the tried-and-tested Krylon makes for easy painting over plastics. It will rub off but just as easy to touch up.

There are many plastic specific primers and (self-primer) paints that properly etch.
 
You can use different types of foliage as a stencil, but it may be hard to find this time of year though . I've done a few in the passed and they turned out great.
 
Yes, degrease the stock first. When you are done your painting use a good clear coat to finish it. Otherwise your nice paint job will chip very easily.
 
Right on, I hadn’t thought of degreasing it, that makes sense. And clear coat is a good idea too.

I’m not worried about foliage, I was just going to paint the whole thing black, then do blotches and stripes with green, tan, and brown.

Appreciate the tips
 
Degrease
Spray in a warm and well ventilated place
Use a face mask
Shake can well
Use several light coats
When finished turn can upside down and spray to clear nozzle
Take nozzle off can and clean in thinners
 
Don't forget to rough up the stock a little bit with some fine sandpaper to promote a better surface for the paint to stick! What I would do:

1. Sand the stock a little bit
2. Wash with water to remove any dust and particles
3. Degrease with rubbing alcohol (nail polish remover / acetone could react and melt the plastic depending on what it is)

And I don't need to tell you the steps on how to paint as others above have done a fine job of explaining it.

Regarding paint - I've done a number of stocks and I found that Krylon (especially their flat camo color series) works very well. Do not use stuff like Molotow - they have an insane amount of colors and I used them to paint my Glock 34 for this reason as I wanted to so a cheap urban camo. The paint is thicker and chips much more easily compared to Krylon, which also dries faster and is easier to apply
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. If you want to do stencils, I found that putting painters tape onto wax paper is a great way to make DIY stencils. You can draw on the tape using a pencil or marker and then use an exacto knife or scissors to cut them out. It's pretty tedious but it pays off if done right! See picture below.

20200829-195810.jpg
 
If you want to do a blotch paint job, look up how to use pieces of sponge to get that effect.

My advice:

Degrease your stock as others have said
Krylon camo works very well, as does Aervoe
Use many light passes, allowing the paint to dry in between- you can speed this process up with a hair dryer or heat gun
In lieu of foliage I like to use mesh laundry bags for texture. I find that light, angular stripes and mesh texture work very well together
I will go against the grain and say do not add a clear coat; it adds sheen that I don't want on my gun, and I like the look of the paint as it wears
At the very end, (prior to clear coat if you go that way) grab a can of flat black and give the stock a very fine misting from some distance away to help hide any sharp lines or extreme contrast; it makes a huge difference in making it look more "natural" of a pattern.
 
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