Mosin Paint Job

[Refleks]

Picked up a bubba'd mosin for pretty cheap.  It wasn't in great condition so I decided to clean it up and try my hand at a rattle can job.  I've never done it before, but it came out better than I expected!

 

[TrickyNicky]

Holly cow that looks great!

Bet it will be pretty easy to loose in the field though, drop it in some tall grass and it'll be gone forever!

[Refleks]

Lol thanks, I need to give it a clear coat. Big question is how will it hold up to lubrication / cleaning...

[whiterx]

The paint job is surprisingly durable.  Don't expect it to be pristine forever but it will hold up.  When it gets beat up paint it again  I painted my sons nerf gun as practice a few years ago and believe me that thing takes more abuse than a M4 in Afghanistan.  Its still looks pretty good but it hasn't oiled or cleaned with solvents. 

 

Great job on the mosin!

[musicman]

I really like that!

That reminds me... somebody else camo'd their AR in a similar fashion awhile ago and I fell in love with it, even though I generally dislike camo guns. Guess I'm slowly coming around!

I'm waiting on PSA to ship my upper and a couple other parts to show up for a super basic under $400 ar build. I think that's the perfect platform to try my own rattle can camo!

Would you mind sharing exactly which brands/colors of paint you used?

[rugerla1]

That looks really good!

[hipower]

That's pretty sharp!

[Sidinman]

looks good.

[Refleks]

Thanks guys, I wasn't sure how it would hold up. Looks like it was flaking off too easily (I didn't prime it, lack of patience... ) but after the clearcoat and a week later it seems to be holding up much better. It will wear off eventually being a rattlecan job but I can always strip it and start over now that I know the technique.

This is what inspired me to do it:

http://www.xdtalk.com/forums/bolt-guns-precision-rifles/129928-let-s-see-your-mosin-nagant-rifles-4.html#post2287988

And I basically followed his directions. I initially used 3 colors of rustoleum camo paint (khaki, sand and some sort of green) but the khaki and sand looked almost the same so I ended up just using the 2 colors.

After a full base coat of the lighter color, I used plastic straw from a broom fanned out for the pattern, always pointing with the wide fanned out end "up" relative to the rifle like grass. I had never done it but got the technique down pretty quick, the trick is to hold the straw basically flat against the stock and lightly dust it with the green paint, holding it further away than you normally would. Make sure once the straw gets too wet you let it dry so it doesn't leave globs of paint on it.

The matte clearcoat made it shiny unfortunately Edited April 9, 2014 by Refleks

[TripleDigitRide]

Thanks guys, I wasn't sure how it would hold up. Looks like it was flaking off too easily (I didn't prime it, lack of patience... ) but after the clearcoat and a week later it seems to be holding up much better. It will wear off eventually being a rattlecan job but I can always strip it and start over now that I know the technique.

This is what inspired me to do it:

http://www.xdtalk.com/forums/bolt-guns-precision-rifles/129928-let-s-see-your-mosin-nagant-rifles-4.html#post2287988

And I basically followed his directions. I initially used 3 colors of rustoleum camo paint (khaki, sand and some sort of green) but the khaki and sand looked almost the same so I ended up just using the 2 colors.

After a full base coat of the lighter color, I used plastic straw from a broom fanned out for the pattern, always pointing with the wide fanned out end "up" relative to the rifle like grass. I had never done it but got the technique down pretty quick, the trick is to hold the straw basically flat against the stock and lightly dust it with the green paint, holding it further away than you normally would. Make sure once the straw gets too wet you let it dry so it doesn't leave globs of paint on it.

The matte clearcoat made it shiny unfortunately

As with almost all painting projects, preparation is key.