My DIY paint job

[CASH]

I've been wanting to paint my Stoeger M3500 for a while.  I bought it brand new in a black finish which I don't mind, but after a few days in the woods and duck ponds, the finish was taking a beating and the shiny metal was starting to show through.

I used a combination of Krylon and Rustoleum paints in ultra flat.  The project actually took me about 3 weeks, but that's only because I would let it sit for days at a time in between coats mainly because of the high humidity here.  I finished it up with 3 coats of Krylon Clear Matte Finish.

I started with a base coat of Khaki and then used an artists sponge for the remaining colors.  On a funny note (to me anyway), I was going for a waterfowl look as this is my bird gun, but somehow in the process I unintentionally went back to my Marine Corps roots and ended up more of a woodland/digital pattern.  All in all I'm happy with it though.  It's my first camo job on a gun so there are some lessons learned.

[coyotetrpr]

Nice looking shotgun. Good job

[Gold Spur]

That's an awesome looking camo pattern and shotgun. 

[gobblergls]

Wow! Now that's a great job!  When I started my 20 gauge single shot project, I didn't know about sponge painting.  I do now and if I do another gun, it will be with sponges.  These DIY paint jobs probably aren't as durable as a commercial dipping.  However, any marring or loss of paint can easily be repaired.  You did a fine job.  How did you prepare the gun's surfaces?  Gil

[Deputy 14]

Nice job. 

[savduck]

I freaking love it.

[KYStalker]

Nice pattern.  I just did a DIY paint job on my old 16 gauge that I posted to the 16 gauge section.  I used brown in my pattern but after seeing your gun I think I like your color scheme better.  I was cleaning my gun with hoppe's and noticed that the Hoppe's will strip the paint finish off, so be careful not to get your gun solvent on the outside of your gun.

[vaturkey]

That looks awesome Cash !     

[allaboutshooting]

You did an excellent job and it looks great. There's just nothing like a personalized gun and it's great to see folks use their own imagination and do it themselves.

I appreciate your sharing the pictures.

Thanks,
Clark

[CASH]

Thanks guys.  I enjoyed doing it.

 How did you prepare the gun's surfaces?  Gil

I wiped down all of the surfaces really well with Acetone and sanded the plastic parts with fine sandpaper to make sure the paint stuck.  Of course wear rubber gloves to keep skin oil off the gun.

[drenalinld]

Sweet paint job!

[Old Gobbler]

Bob , that came out quite well !!!!   

[DUCKDIGGLER]

Nice work man!

[WiLL B]

Looks really good!!

[hookedspur]

Very well done, cash