Painted my AR...

Andy in NH

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BCM upper, DPMS lower, Aimpoint H-1, AAC M4-1000 Suppressor.

I used DuraCoat on the upper/lower/other parts and DuraHeat on the barrel and suppressor.

The camouflage was formed using DuraCoat's "ChainLink" vinyl stencil.

I doubled up the stencil on the suppressor and the VFG, but now think that was too much.

Otherwise I'm happy with the results.

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Thank you for all the positive comments.

I like it!, does the sheen go away?

I have an AR (SBR w/suppressor) that I painted in FDE about two years ago. The sheen has diminished, but has not completely gone away. The lighting conditions that the picture above was taken in probably does not represent the true appearance of the rifle.

Fantastic! Have you done one in camo pattern?.

I've done a few rifles with plain old rattle-can Krylon. Even through they are the "camo" colors and/or "flat" tones, there is still a little bit sheen visible.

This is my favorite so far:

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Here is a couple others (just the stocks really):

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great job! let us know how it stands up to firing heat and cleaning solvents.

Today after zeroing, I shot a number of VTAC 1-5 Drills to heat the barrel and suppressor up. They smoked quite a bit as expected, and I'm sure it will taper off. The rifle (sans suppressor) will be used this weekend in a carbine class, so it will get a good workout.

The SBR mentioned above is doing pretty good. Although the color on the suppressor has darkened with use, it still looks good and has a few character marks.

Here it is (a YHM Phantom) newly painted:

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And then after about 2k rounds, including a carbine class and some informal practice.

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Most of the dings at the muzzle end of the suppressor are from scraping and hitting the barricades. I don't think the paint does well with abrasion resistance when hot. Then again this was photographed before Duracoat's recommended full cure time of 3-6 weeks.

I use Hoppe's #9, Prolix, M-Pro 7, and CLP to clean my guns. While I don't scrub the paint with those solvents, I have not had an issue with the paint coming off when exposed to them.
 
Looks awesome.

Looks like someone held it behind a chain link fence at Hiroshima.
 
Fantastic! Have you done one in camo pattern? I think that will be one of my winter projects.

I want to do a Winter camo some time. I may practice with cardboard first. Not sure if I will do white, and then add black, or just put some sticks on the black and spray over them like a stencil. Anyone have any ideas on this? Is Krylon OK, or should I go with Rustoleum? This will be just for the front and rear stocks only, not the metal.
 
wow i had to squint just to see the gun in the picture haha. excellent. ive seen the m1a on m14.com, that is excellent work.
 
Any way to do that with Cerakote or another durable paint?

Not sure, I was doing some googling and found on another forum where he posted that stuff.

I'm guessing to achieve that kind of 'splatter' look with cerakote, you'd have to actually splatter it on, or mask the stock, then peel off the area. I'm wondering if a similar pattern could be achieved with hot glue? Those damn strands of glue get everywhere, maybe use them to your advantage? Put down a base coat, "splatter" with hot glue, put down your color coat, peel and voila? Not sure.

ETA: If it's oven cure, not sure how the hot glue would hold up.

ETA2: There's a lot of DIY's for 'splatter painting' on google, but I can't imagine globs of paint on a stock would work out too well..

ETA3: Not bad for a kid and a latex glove.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U35Yip3IpAk
 
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Thanks for the additional comments.

I apologize for the late response to questions - I was out of town for a few weeks.

... I may practice with cardboard first...

Great idea. I practice on a short piece of 2" x 4" to see how the masking and color scheme works.

...How did you achieve that pattern?


Yup - that's the stuff!

Here is the rifle on the range during a recent carbine course. I guess the pattern works if I find myself in a rock quarry.

ChainLinkARatVTACClass.jpg


The rifle also shoots really well. Zero malfunctions at the carbine course and last weekend I fired an Appleseed Rifleman's score on a known distance course (out to ~350 yards) with a 4 MOA RDS, my own reloads and the suppressor.
 
I'm not a huge fan of painting absolutely everything the same. I like a little color contrast. I personally would have left the stock, grip, and barrel/suppressor black. But that's just my opinion. Nice work man.
 
Looks like a solid job. I would have alternated the direction of the pattern a little bit, like maybe have the lines going horizontal on the grip and magazine?

I really like your M1 patterns.
 
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