Painting a gun????

[KenSel]

I want to paint my slug gun and have a few questions.  I want to paint it with a Rustoleum paint so I can take it out in nasty weather and not have to worry about wiping it down and oiling it everyday.  Should I use a solvent to remove all the oil before I paint or would just wiping it down with a dry cloth be sufficient?  It's a Mossberg 500 slugster with ported barrel.  Is there a way I could maybe paint the action bars that would stop the rattling of the pump?  Also any areas that I should keep the paint away from besides the action?

thanks,
Ken

[gunnut69]

The action will need to be oil free for the paint to stick. I camo'd a Browning BPS 10 ga. and just broke down the gun and removed the oil with a clean cloth and acetone. The parts were then hung outside and painted with a spray can. I used a paint called 'BowFlage'. It has lasted well enough although there is wear on the piece where it is regularly handled. It has not rusted although I do regularly wipe it down with WD40,, Some paint brands want the surface of the metal bead blasted..to remove the bluing/parkerizing to improve adhesion. I did not do anything like that to my Browing. A search on this website should turn up serveral references to painting firearms.

[Doug B.]

I want to paint my slug gun and have a few questions.  I want to paint it with a Rustoleum paint so I can take it out in nasty weather and not have to worry about wiping it down and oiling it everyday. 

thanks,
Ken

Do a bit of homework on the brand of paint that you are considering. I have heard that the only "anti-rust" compound that you might be looking for is only in their primer, not their top coats. Maybe consider a Valspar anti-rust aerosol paint instead. Good product. 

[KenSel]

thanks for the input guys, I'm gonna do a bit of searching and see what I can find.

Ken

[Graybeard]

Check out my article on the Ol' Injun Tricks Forum on using Rustoleum to paint your guns. Most of your questions will be answered there. It has grown to several pages with comments from others doing it.

[Bingo]

   20 years ago I got an old shotgun that was all beat up. I filled in the stock with tiger hair ( fiberglass body filler) and sanded it down. I then took four different colors of spray paint ( red oxide primer, gray primed, flat black and flat green). I made 2 1/2 to 3 in. stripes across the barrel to the recoil pad. After it dried, I used the tip of a sumak tree ( It looks like a fern) and where I had green, I would sprits a fast shot of the other three color over the leafs. I did the same thing all the way down the gun. When it was finished, the gun had a fern leaf camo paint job that got a lot of complaments.
   The only thing I would suggest is that you practice on a broom stick and a 2x6 until you get something you like. A can of Killz spray primer will make the 2x6 paintable. Without that Killz the other paints will just soak in.
    Good luck and post some Pictures when you're done.

[KenSel]

GB,  I found your article and headed to Home Depot for some Acetone, Rustoleum auto primer and flat black paint;  it appears that great minds think alike sir as that was my original idea, but it seemed so simple I thought I better ask to make sure I wasn't leaving anything out.  Well we finally got a break in the rain here but I'm down with a horrible stomach flu that feels like death is most certainly imminent.  As soon as I can craw more than a few feet I'm gonna strip the Mossy down and give it a finish fit for the abuse I am sure it will receive in the future especially now that I intend to remove the scope.  After the paint job, I'm gonna try to replace the sights with fiber optics or paint them with some glowing paint and complete my nasty weather, shotgun only state, still hunting deer gun.

Thanks,
Ken

[vabowhntr]

I am a big fan of the Rustoleum grey auto primer.  I completely degrease and then spray on a number of light coats, letting dry for about 10 minutes between coats.  When done with the coats, leave it alone for 4-6 weeks to completely cure.  Then you can leave with this very matte finish, or use 0000 steel wool to lightly rub down to a nearly gun blued finish. If you ever ding up the finish it is only a couple of bucks to completely redo.

Just make sure you completely degrease before starting.