Stock painting...

F

feffer

Member
I have a couple of McMillan stocks that I purchased with pre-colored shells...the color was baked in. I would like to refinish at least one of these with a nice paint job. No fancy air-brushing, but just a nice single color metallic with glossy clear-coat finish. I believe those I've seen are a type of automotive paint job. There is some info online about doing this, but I'm not sure if I want to try it myself. Is a diy approach practical? If so, could someone point me in the right direction. If not, who specializes in this...as I said I'm looking for a nice glossy red or blue metallic finish, not a bank breaking air brush masterpiece. I asked at a local auto-body shop, but they weren't interested...or helpful. thx!
 
Try Accurateshooter.com

Enter stock painting in their search engine. There is a tutorial by Mike Ricklifs.

Hope this helps
 
If you've never painted a stock, likely you will spend nearly as much as having it painted. Further, it may not look as you intended. Contact a stock painter! The cost may seem a bit high but unless you have the stuff already and know how to use it it's a bargain.
 
Thx for the replies. Wilbur hit my worry exactly. I like to work on guns, am pretty bold, and have pillar bedded a number of stocks...which turned out very well...
but I have a feeling this sort of painting is over my head. Maybe if I did 4 or 5 for practice...but then there goes the budget.

I did search quite a bit before posting and saw Mike Ricklif's tutorial. Almost makes me think I could do it. I know Tom Meredith is a trusted stock guy, so I will give him a call.

I am curious though, has anybody here ever done one...successfully?
 
If you want to keep it local, find one or two places that do motorcycle tanks, etc.
 
feffer said:
I have a couple of McMillan stocks that I purchased with pre-colored shells...the color was baked in. I would like to refinish at least one of these with a nice paint job. No fancy air-brushing, but just a nice single color metallic with glossy clear-coat finish. I believe those I've seen are a type of automotive paint job. There is some info online about doing this, but I'm not sure if I want to try it myself. Is a diy approach practical? If so, could someone point me in the right direction. If not, who specializes in this...as I said I'm looking for a nice glossy red or blue metallic finish, not a bank breaking air brush masterpiece. I asked at a local auto-body shop, but they weren't interested...or helpful. thx!
Click to expand...

As Tim suggested, I've had a few stocks done by guys who specialize in motorcycle paint jobs.
Here's one from a few years ago that I had painted while at the Sturgis Rally. It's a McMillan stock like yours:

Landy

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s004.jpg


s003.jpg
 
The problem with a car painter or motorcycle painter is they like to paint with a lot of paint. Just tell em you cant have more than 4oz of paint on it. If you dont watch em theyll put a pound on it. Ive been known to paint a few over the years
 
I did briefly try the auto-painters...the ones I talked to weren't interested. I'll have to check out the motorcycle shops.
Landy, thx for the pix. Was that first one molded in color from McMillan, and just clear-coated or was the random pattern painted on? The pin-striping on the rimfire is really nice!
 
The biggest problem with the motorcycle painters is they do not use the correct paint. They can and most times can paint your socks off but if any solution gets on the stock it will bubble. Now I know you are not suppose to get cleaning solution on your stock, but it happens. Give TM a call and talk to him.
 
feffer said:
I did briefly try the auto-painters...the ones I talked to weren't interested. I'll have to check out the motorcycle shops.
Landy, thx for the pix. Was that first one molded in color from McMillan, and just clear-coated or was the random pattern painted on? The pin-striping on the rimfire is really nice!
Click to expand...

Yes, one of McMillan's standard molded in colors but that finish is now hidden under a layer of paint and many clear coats. Pin striping was done by air brush.
I know absolutely nothing about paint, so I relied on others to steer me in the right direction. As already posted there are knowledgeable as well unknowledgeable painters and other concerns that may need to be addressed before anyone randomly selects a painter who specializes in areas other than stocks.

Landy
 
Wilbur said:
Nice rifle (really nice).....who made that concrete thing it's on? :)
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Wilbur,

That's my test bed. A cubic yard of concrete I had them pour when building my test facility many years ago. It was simple and easy. At nearly 4,000 lbs, it's pretty stable for anything I mount on it. LOL

Landy
RailGun1.jpg

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Facility1.jpg
 
Ditto, on what others have said about having someone who knows what they are doing when it comes to stock painting. I had painted several stocks for myself years ago back when you could get Dupont Lucite acrylic lacquer and some with Imron. I had Michael Kavanaugh repaint some of the stocks before he went into the Navy and quit doing it. The two I had painted with Imron had lost 4 ounces of weight when they came back. I never painted another stock myself as it was pretty obvious I didn't know how to do it. 20 coats of paint is not what you want on a benchrest rifle.

Neat test tunnel. How long is it? I guess that the block of concrete can be picked up with a front end loader and moved to where you want it.
 
Almost looks like my brother's farm buildings...except for the long tunnel coming off the shed :p He put his range outdoors. I'll have to send him these pix so he can think about his future indoor range.
 
feffer said:
Almost looks like my brother's farm buildings...except for the long tunnel coming off the shed :p He put his range outdoors. I'll have to send him these pix so he can think about his future indoor range.
Click to expand...
Multi-purpose, depreciation is 1/2 Ag & 1/2 personal.
Don't build a tunnel unless you do a ton of research. Mirage will render a lot of them to useless status unless many variables are accounted for.
Landy
 
I just did a McMillan and liked how it turned out. Steps involved:

1) Sand the surface with 400 grit paper
2) Lay down two light coats of grey epoxy primer
3) After 48 hours, sand that with 800 grit
4) Shoot single-stage Urethane with a small Devilbiss gun. One mild tack coat followed by two medium coats 15 minutes apart.

Priming:





Primer sanded with 800 grit:



Paint supplies:











All of this only added a few ounces to overall weight.

-Lee
www.singleactions.com
 
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