Looking for a good stock painter
- Thread starter Frank-NH
- Start date
Find somebody that paints motorcycles locally or send it to Tom Meredith.
Tim and I are in agreement.
Pete
You're 1 for 4901.
JerrySharrett
Senile Member
Dan H
New member
I have seen his work on another board.......very nice. And yes, he does motorcycles too!
I suspect taking a stock to an automotive or motorcycle painting specialist might get you good results, but perhaps at a higher price than you might expect. Or, if you're unlucky, the results might be disappointing, especially if you go for the lowest bidder. Applying primer, sanding the stock, applying paint, and finally clear coating along with all the associated gun cleaning, mixing, solvent disposal, etc. takes time and if a company is not set up to paint stocks on a regular basis, a sane painter is likely to ask a significant fee.
As an alternative, consider people who finish stocks all the time. I recently sent a primed and sanded McMillan stock to Tactical Graphics in Melbourne, Florida for a hydro dip job. They put on a two-tone base coat, hydro-dipped the stock, and then applied a glossy clear coat at a good price. Base price for a stock is a hundred bucks, but since mine had a cheek rest and I wanted a two-tone base coat, the cost went up to around a hundred and a half, which, as someone who used to paint a lot of cars, airplanes, and boats but who has since sold all his equipment, I consider this to be a real bargain. Plus they had a very quick turn-around and are nice to deal with to boot.
So, if you like the idea of a fancy design, think about hydro dipping. Here's my "Alligator" F/TR rifle.
_DSC6153-Edit
As an alternative, consider people who finish stocks all the time. I recently sent a primed and sanded McMillan stock to Tactical Graphics in Melbourne, Florida for a hydro dip job. They put on a two-tone base coat, hydro-dipped the stock, and then applied a glossy clear coat at a good price. Base price for a stock is a hundred bucks, but since mine had a cheek rest and I wanted a two-tone base coat, the cost went up to around a hundred and a half, which, as someone who used to paint a lot of cars, airplanes, and boats but who has since sold all his equipment, I consider this to be a real bargain. Plus they had a very quick turn-around and are nice to deal with to boot.
So, if you like the idea of a fancy design, think about hydro dipping. Here's my "Alligator" F/TR rifle.
_DSC6153-Editcommando57
New member
Mozella,
Very nice looking stock. What primer did you use before sending it to the vendor? I have a wood BR stock that has a troublesome paint job and thought about hydro-dip.
That stock is eye catching for sure and the cost seems very reasonable compared to another vendor in my home state. Thanks for sharing!!
Actually, I ordered the stock from McMillan "in primer" 'cause I didn't want their standard pebble grain paint job. Sure enough, they delivered it in primer. What they didn't tell me about was the VERY aggressive and TOTALLY UGLY stippled texture molded into the entire forward part of the stock as well as the entire hand grip area. It was a disaster and totally unnecessary for a target stock which I hardly even touch when shooting free recoil. What was McMillan thinking? Are they anticipating a new NRA class called, "Crawl on your belly through 100 yards of swamp mud in freezing rain conditions dragging your rifle with you and then shoot for score"? If so, that molded-in grip texture would be appropriate; otherwise NOT.
I spent quite some time sanding off that VERY thick texture and filling in some mold defects and other imperfections.
Anyhow, I went to the auto parts store and got a rattle can of automotive primer/filler and used several coats of that followed by careful wet sanding using a variety of sanding blocks. If you do something like this, take my advice and use a sanding block wherever you can even when it seems to be a PITA. A hard block 10"x2" block about 1/2" thick works well for the long straight parts of the stock. A smaller, thicker block made from high density urethane foam works well for areas which aren't quite straight. I only finger sand a stock in very tight areas where you can't possibly fit a block. Finger sanding with a small piece of sand paper folded in thirds is appropriate in very tight areas but will cause ripples on long straight areas and that will show up if you use a high gloss finish.
As an aside, I don't see the value in this rather expensive McMillan stock, especially when the very long delivery time is considered. However, in the end it turned out well and Tactical Graphics did a great job.
mwezell
Mike Ezell
Sounds like you did the hard work. I can appreciate someone plugging for a vendor that does good work, but the prep work is the main factor in the end result and how well it holds up over time. Most stocks have lots of pin holes and imperfections that need filled for a good end product. It takes a pretty fair amount of time to do it right and weight can quickly become an issue on BR rifles. Also, mold release residue can pose adhesion issues if not diligent. Use of a good adhesion promoter is good practice, IMHO. Gun stocks are harder than some might think, o do well. All the shapes and the size, particularly when spraying candy colors take a bit of experience to get a satisfactory job on. Not to mention the scrutiny and level of quality that most of us expect.
Mozella,
While I cropped your reply in the interest of space, I very much appreciate your detailed response. Thank you! Tactical Graphics web site will be getting a visit by me.
BTW.....nice scope too, I have a couple of those, lot of scope for the money.
Very true; however, much of the prep work is the kind of thing most anyone can do on the cheap. Proper painting takes a very large investment in equipment not to mention a good spray booth, without which you're just asking for a project which ends in tears. I sold my painting gear and most of my tools when I moved to Italy some years ago, so now I'm faced with farming out the kind of work which takes fancy/expensive equipment.
But prep work can be done by investing a few bucks in sand paper, making some sanding blocks, buying a tube of spotting putty, and making an investment of your time. And, it is likely to be time well spent because you're not paying a highly skilled painter to do the relatively simple task of precision sanding. Of course, like anything else, you can make a mess of this too, so as Clint says, "A man has to know his own limitations". But if one is handy, stock prep prior to painting isn't really rocket surgery; it's just time consuming. In other words, it's stupid, time-consuming, grunt work; perfect for most of us with time on our hands.
Then you turn the job over to the skilled professional with plenty of fancy equipment. His job is to use all his talent, know-how, and equipment over a short period of time. By splitting the effort this way you can maximize the bang-for the buck.
Bottom line: Stock finishing is a lot like good sex in that the prep work is critical to a satisfactory final result. But it's well within the capabilities of the rank amateur armed with a little forethought and the ability to use Google.
