I've read on several treads about using BBQ paint for a matte finish on rifles. I was curious and spray painted the trigger guard on a beat up Swedish m38 I have and really liked the colour and finish. But how durable is it really?? I probably doesn't compare to Dura Coat or the fancier coating, right? I would like to have a similar finish on my Model 70 7mmRM but I don't have the balls to spray paint my "good" rifle and would rather pay the extra $$ for a Dura Coat finish or maybe it's all in my head. Those of you who tried the BBQ trick, how durable is it.

Howdy, My brother in law read a thread, maybe the same one, and tried the BBQ paint on his M70. It looked good, but started coming off after about a month of hunting. Ended up stripping it down and putting on Dura coat.

Good Luck
Bill

You can make a painted rifle look like new in minutes by touching it up. I like the pre-made camo paint by either Rustoleum or Krylon.

In the Army we used Bowflage, the removable archery tackle paint, on sniping rifles. We could get a custom paint job quickly and then remove it for inspection. That's nice if you hunt year round since you can tune your paint job to the vegetation. It's also a good way to try having a painted rifle before you commit to "real" paint.

I love nice blued/walnut rifles, but all my serious rifles are painted.


Okie John

I tried the BBQ paint route..but it didnt last very long..and I ended up striping it all off and applying KG industries GunKote..same finish the Navy Seals use on their weapons..it is extremely durable and will not chip or peal off. Only thing drawback is that if it is applied according to directions the only way to remove it is by sandblasting it!!

I now prefer this finish over a good blued finish..rust is a thing of the past..and I can get it in a variety of colors (which can be mixed for custom colors). A 16oz can costs 28.00, but you can do 4 to 6 rifles with a can...so it really is quite reasonable..

Zeeriverrat1

I’m afraid when it comes to putting BBQ paint on a rifle I have a severe case of “anal glaucomaâ€...I just can’t see MY ASS doing that!

I'm glad to know i'm not the only one who has a problem with spraying a rifle with BBQ paint.
I think Dura Coat will be the way to go to get a matte black finish on my Model 70.

I did that on my Browning Stalker BP-10 shotgun. I cleaned the old finish and then degreased it with acetone. I heated the metal up to about 250 degrees with a heat gun and then sprayed it. It does wear off, but it has served me well for hunting geese in some very sloppy conditions.

I will jump on the Dura Coat bandwagon myself this spring.

No matter what finish you apply, the quality of the result is dependent on how meticulous you are with the metal prep. That means blast the metal, degrease it, heat it and apply your finish de jour. The hard part usually is getting access to a stove large enough to bake the finish on.

I haven't found anything that you put on at room temperature to really work.

lawndart

Not that I’ve ever really bothered to look at the label on BBQ paint...but isn’t it the same stuff as heat resistant header paint you can buy in auto parts stores?

Not real proud of it, but I have an old ruger 77 that I painted with bbq paint. degreased it, hung it in the hot south texas sun and painted it and let it dry. its held up better than some of my blued guns. I think I painted it 8 or 10 yrs back, I'ved used the gun quite a bit also. I wouldnt do it on a nice gun.

Rick, thank you. I kept reading this and thinking, "My god they have to be kidding."

My god they have to be kidding must come from those who don't give their guns rough duty. I used a 500 watt halogen shop light to heat my barrelled action after it had been thoroughly degreased to the point it was too hot to touch and sprayed it with a thin coat of Rustoleum clean metal primer. Make sure you let it completely dry before you put your next coat of paint on. This rifle I used a satin brown also by rustoleum, with a soft gray for contrast. This will make a tough rust free surface with a little upkeep will last for years. I did this to my 7x57 which I use for hog hunting and it has to put up with boats and water along with my favorite, mud. Did the stock too. What a rifle! I call it ugly.

rickt300

I don’t drag my rifles behind my truck much (any more!)...but I’m pretty hard on equipment and have never really had a problem with the bluing or parkerizing getting beat up.

Maybe I’m getting old but something just doesn’t feel right about taking a rifle and painting it with stuff made for BBQ’s. Just my opinion.

Those of you over 50 might recall the original Fram oil filters for cars that came out in the early 1960’s. They were for the old cannister type oil filters and allowed you to use a roll of toilet paper instead of the more expensive paper elements. I asked an old garage mechanic what he thought about them and his simple reply was: “What is toiet paper made for?â€

That pretty much sums up for me the issue of painting rifles with BBQ paint. Now...I’m all for using BBQ sauce for lubricant on my rifles cuz it gives me something to snack on while I’m out hunting!

Rickt300,
The "My god they have to be kidding" in this case came from someone who hunts with his wood and blued rifles in very unforgiving circumstances. Each year with fairly heavy use in Washington and then in the Frank Church Wilderness area in the middle of November for a 10 day hunt, hunting daily on foot from a base camp at 4200 feet to mountain tops at 8000, in rain and snow. Mine are maintained daily and cleaned up. They stand up to it nicely as long as I do my part to keep them in good shape. My idea of that differs a great deal with using a spray can.

Now my use may be light duty next to yours sitting in one of those elevated tree stands waiting for a deer to come to the timed feeder, but I doubt it. Now if you want to toss them in the back of your truck, you just might be onto something. Of course you can cook on yours with no harm to the metal.

Just shows how different people's experiences can be. Most painted rifles I know of aren't maintained every day Chic; that's the whole point. They live on front seats and back ends of trucks year round, never see the inside of a house between paint jobs. We take our favorite guns to Mexico for paint jobs becuase it so much cheaper there...

BTW, what the hell does 8000 feet have to do with anything . We just can't figure that one in Houston (max elevation 26.775 ft and sinking!)

Back to the topic, painted rifles are like the Hi-lift jack in the back of your truck. Its a tool, stoopid. By May there are usually corn shoots growing out of the action from the spilled deer corn we put in those feeders; you must be very carefull to grab low down by the base or you'll leave roots in the chamber. Sometimes we leave a lot of extra headspace just in that case.

Green zinc chromate primer is my personal favorite. In the spring it really compliments the corn shoots.

quote:

I haven't found anything that you put on at room temperature to really work.

Lawndart,

Ever tried Aluma-Hyde from Brownells?

tiggertate,
The 8000 feet had to do with "light duty". You try it sometime. Hiking up mountains and the isn't easy on the man or the equipment. And if you don't maintain it even if you sprayed frigging paint on it, there are more things that can go wrong and they will, then when you most need it, you will know what stoopid really is.

For a long time the most beautiful gun I had ever seen or handled was my Grandfathers Model 12, 16 guage pump. I learned to hunt with that gun, and spent many a day in the duck blinds with that gun. I don't think there was any blueing left on that gun. After the dog was dried and fed, the decoys put away, and us warmed up, then we cleaned the guns. Shoot that was the best part! Wasn't ever a problem with rust as long as the gun was oiled.

I just can't imagine putting paint on a real gun, maybe a Savage or a Mossberg, but not a real gun.

quote:

Lawndart,

Ever tried Aluma-Hyde from Brownells?

I put some on the aluminum motor mount for my duck hunting canoe. It really cut down on the shine. Maybe I'll use it for a topcoat on my BP-10. That would be piling insult onto injury, eh? A can each of coyote brown, desert tan and olive drab and a handful of tulie (cattail) stalks and you can custom camo the old Grumman canoe behind your garage.
It still scrapes off pretty easily. Hard to fit the canoe into the oven though.

I think I'll try the Aluma-Hyde on the little roto molded "poke boat" knock off next to the canoe rack. It will probably stick better than the Hunter Specialties spray paint that I put on a while back.

lawndart

since we are having fun spray painting guns, the reason mine ended up painted was, the guy I got it from never did blue it. He spray painted it with cheap flat black spray paint, told me he would touch it up ever yr or so, I thought he was out of his mind but didnt say anything. I bought if from a guy that had hunted more than anybody I ever met in my life, he was getting a divorce and was selling his guns. I couldnt get all the paint off of it so I re did it, but used Hi temp paint.

By the way, the guy I got that beat up 284 from shot grand slam sheep with it, 4 trips to africa, more book Kansas whitetails than I had ever seen on one wall and much more. I don't think any of the game he killed with it complained about the paint.

Most of my Mexico hunting buddies kids have taken whiletail with it, I took it to Mexico 6 yrs straight if I remember just so the kids would have a gun to shoot, not much recoil. No tellin how many head of game the old guns taken.

Scopes painted to.............but not the glass part you look through.

quote:

In the Army we used Bowflage, the removable archery tackle paint, on sniping rifles. We could get a custom paint job quickly and then remove it for inspection.

Hey okie john,
Did you use a cut up puss pad and OD 100 mph tape to build up the comb?

lawndart

the brits sure sold off enough painted guns....

Sorry Chic, even I would consider it, for a hard core working gun... hang it out in the texas sun some day in august... you'd have to hang it by 8 and paint it by 11:55... because if you let it hang any longer than that, it would just ignight like wd40!!!

jeffe

In case it wasn't obvious enough I was funnin, Chic. We even have 8000 feet here in Texas. And I spend most of my year walking pipeline R.O.W. everywhere from the Rockies to the Pocono Mts. Even get to upstate New York from time to time.
Why, just two months ago I was north of Seattle looking at the Olympic pipeline. Thought about staying and doing the tourist thing but the folks there are too damn grouchy.
Yeah, I know a little about that.

Billy, I tried to send you a link through the PM but it isn't going thru. The new software may not like links. Try www.cdnninvestments.com. You have to download the catalog as a .pdf file to see firearms but what you're looking for should be in it.

Anyone ever tried powder coat? Is it too thick?

I would bet one could make a product to spray can the polyester onto the part. I would think fine polyesther in a solvent would do. Once it is on the part, bake it in the wife's oven. Anyone ever hear of such a thing? I do not mean that junk that Brownell's sells with Teflon or the baking laquer.

Maybe I’m missing something but it seems to me that a “painted on†finish like Rogard or Wilson’s Armor-Tuff is a far cry from using a can of frigging BBQ paint from the hardware store...which is what started this thread in the first place.

To each his own...I guess!

My modem quit on me a couple of days ago (never painted it) but I sure feel tha pain you guys go thru maintaining your rifles "every night" when you don't have to. Texas can be tough on rifles because it rains, can be freezing and 80 degrees on the same day in less than 3 hours and humidity is something else. Hog hunting is a very close range affair and flat paint is better than gloss blue and polyurethane any day. I much prefer a rifle that I don't have to dissasemble and seperate from the stock "every day". Most of my rifles have synthetic stocks where painting could be called an improvement and stainless barrels. I use Mauser actions almost without exception. I do have a few "Ladies canoe paddle" rifles for the rare occasions I am sitting in an enclosed blind waiting for a deer to appear but for the most part I hunt public land in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and Wyoming. For those of you who think a rifle has to be a thing of beauty as opposed to a solid reliable tool well then remove the silver spoon.

One tip for those that don't have an oven...

I have painted gas blocks for AR15's, then laid them on the dash of my truck during the summer. That works to bake on the finish in one day.

rick300,

I have several rifles coated with Rogard...and I have a 1911 built by Wilson combat that has their Armor-Tuff finish on the slide and frame...but that is a far cry from spraying down a firearm with friggin BBQ paint!

I don’t think anyone on here was stating that the use of any of the numerous “painted†finishes was “tabooâ€...we were only stating our opinions on using BBQ as a finish on a rifle.

If your rifles are only “solid and reliable tools†then why even bother to paint the outside surfaces at all? A few dings, scratches, and a little rust on the outside of the rifle isn’t going to harm the hunting accuracy or reliability a bit.

quote:

Originally posted by lawndart:
Did you use a cut up puss pad and OD 100 mph tape to build up the comb?
lawndart

Yep. Had to get rid of them before inspection, too. I really miss 100 mph tape.

Okie John

I never recommended BBQ paint. It is just not tough enough for the job at hand and I am not a fan of flat black anyway. Baked on enamel finishes are very tough. So You would prefer dings and rust to a properly applied finish?

quote:

Originally posted by rickt300:
I never recommended BBQ paint. It is just not tough enough for the job at hand and I am not a fan of flat black anyway. Baked on enamel finishes are very tough. So You would prefer dings and rust to a properly applied finish?

Pardner...we must be losing something in our “translations.â€

Like I told you, I have several weapons with “painted†type finishes on them...and find nothing wrong or objectionable to those finishes.

This thread started out when someone asked for opinions about using BBQ paint for a rifle finish...and that’s what a bunch of us were replying to. I don’t believe anyone said that properly applied baked-on finishes were bad.

As you so eloquently point out...BBQ paint is not a good choice as a finish for rifles because it chips and peels very easily...you and I agree!

Oops, my modem has been down for several days and I didn't read all the posts.

Okijohn - www.sportsmansguide.com. They have some 100 mph tape.

I would at least get the thing parkerized. It is $85 from my smith and he can do several colors. Then paint it any camo colors you want .

painting a gun, holy jumping Bubba!!

C'mon Ray, you know blueing doesn't stop rust much and does wear off. Think of all the colors you can get, the beauty of it all.

quote:

Yep. Had to get rid of them before inspection, too. I really miss 100 mph tape.

Okie John

I used to put a piece around the top of each guy's boots and on the back of their head gear. Then I would write their blood type on it. That will wipe a grin off someone's face.

lawndart

Paintin rifles??

One of my mexican concrete customers lived in Texas. He told me He customized a rich Texan's Mercedes 500sl with a lathe,plaster, and stocco paint job and built a brick bar'b'que in the trunk. Had to put ford truck leaf springs on the rear .

I don't see anything wrong with painted guns. All any finish is trying to do is provide rust protection. I've used hi temp header paint on guns before as one of those "I'll put a real finish on it later, but I just want to go hunting right now" things, and just never needed to go back and change it. The flat black color is just as good as anything else, especially when it sits in a plastic stock. I've had more rust problems with my blued guns than painted ones, and they have all been used in similar conditions.

Have you looked at any surplus Enfields lately? Note the paint...

A side question: has anyone used the Wheeler Engineering Cerama-Coat? How does it compare to other bake on finishes?

the captain,

I’m pretty sure that header paint and BBQ paint are about the same thing.

If nothing else, I guess this thread has pointed out why Baskins Robbins doesn’t just sell vanilla ice cream!

I rather prefer Bar-B-Que sauce as a finish. that way, in case I get lost, I can eat the finish off my rifle.

Paint does not belong on a gun.