Painting a rifle stock?

[Grayfox]

I have a Springfield M1A Scout/Squad rifle that I bought used. Love the rifle, but it has a woodland camo synthetic stock that I absolutely hate. I do like the feel and weight of the stock, just don't care for the color.
I have considered painting it black, my preferred color, but I'm concerned that I may just screw it up. Will the paint hold up? Will it chip, flake, etc. I'm thinking about using the Krylon stuff specially made for plastics.
looking for advice from those who have painted a stock before. How did it come out? Did it hold up? Did it last? Any advice?

 

[cololab]

I'm reluctant to vouch for how well any paint will hold up as the object being painted, or overpainted, may react adversely to any new paint. Obviously, preparation of the surface to be painted is key.

That said, I've used black spray epoxy paint and Krylon paint to cover badly damaged and repaired wood and fiberglass stocks. Epoxy paint has been very durable and has worked fine. Krylon or Rustoleum type paints cover very well. While they are not as durable as epoxy paint, touch ups of wear spots are easy; particularly if you use quick drying paint.

 

[Ματθιας]

How well the paint sticks on to anything will depend entirely on the prep. What ever you paint has to be CLEAN and oil free. Especially on the oil free part - even the tiny bit of oil on your skin.

+1 on epoxy.

 

[Engine49guy]

First, alot of people go the other way and paint their wood or black stocks camo, that being said my bet is u could save alot of effort by trading your stock to someone that has a black one.

Alot of people paint their stocks or have them hydro dipped.
Not sure how paint will hold up on the flimsy plastic stocks, it does really good on the old gi hard plastic stocks if you prep the surface correctly and give it a good primer basecoat to adhere to or at least scuff the surface and remove any oils.

 

[LVSteve]

Just be sure to do a better job than Carlos did on this Mexican 1910 shortly before he threw it into the barbed wire near Nogales. Click for fullsize.

 

[AlHunt]

First, alot of people go the other way and paint their wood or black stocks camo, that being said my bet is u could save alot of effort by trading your stock to someone that has a black one.

Alot of people paint their stocks or have them hydro dipped.
Not sure how paint will hold up on the flimsy plastic stocks, it does really good on the old gi hard plastic stocks if you prep the surface correctly and give it a good primer basecoat to adhere to or at least scuff the surface and remove any oils.

Hydro dip is an interesting idea. A little spendy, but who knows?

Wood Grain Hydro Dipping Kits - My Dip Kit

Maybe Pink Camo, or a Punisher motif?

 

[Lee Barner]

Lee, hi-heat engine paint. painted several over the years and it stays well. Lee

 

[SweetMK]

I paint LOTS of stuff,, mostly AG equipment,, tractor accessories,, etc.

Tractor Supply sells enamel paint in quarts (and gallons),, AND they also sell hardener.

If you mix the hardener EXACTLY as instructed,,
you end up with a finish that is as durable as most car finishes.

The biggest problem is that you have to delay application for 30 minutes after the hardener is mixed into the paint.
THAT seem like eternity, when you want to get the paint on.

The hardener also makes the paint incredibly glossy!!

That might be a negative,, maybe you could start with a matte or flat enamel paint so it is not so glossy.

Put a couple coats of the paint on without hardener,, then, apply the last coat with the hardener.

The hardener treated paint is SO HARD,, sometimes subsequent coats do not stick well.

Four years ago, we decided to replace our main door on our home.
No one wanted to do the install, because there is brick inside, and outside.
SO, I decided to paint the door,,
The wife picked a color, I mixed tractor enamel paints until I came close to the color she wanted.

I prepped, and painted the door,,
We have 4 grandchildren that live almost next door,, they come over a lot.
They are in and out the door constantly,,
Four years of heavy use,, the door shows zero signs of wear,,

 

[chiefdave]

The substrate must be operating room clean or the paint will eventually peel. Use a degreaser like Purple Power to remove all gun and body oils. You also have to determine what the stock is made of. Fiberglass and nylon require different paint.

 

[Grayfox]

Upon reflection, I've decided to leave it alone. I certainly don't want to mess it up and that sounds like just what would happen.
I'll keep my eye open for a good used one and hopefully sell this one to help cover the cost.

 

[jeffrefrig]

I don’t know the gun, but can the stock be changed without being a pain? I only asked because I have seen rifle stocks for sale before but I never paid attention as I don’t need one. Heck, if you’re thinking about painting it (I would try light gray) the stock has to come off? If you do paint it try a couple before and after pics for the rest of gun guys to ogle. Good luck.

 

[Ματθιας]

Upon reflection, I've decided to leave it alone. I certainly don't want to mess it up and that sounds like just what would happen.
I'll keep my eye open for a good used one and hopefully sell this one to help cover the cost.

It's not that big of a deal. Just make sure the stock is clean and oil free. Get a decent black primer for plastic, and spray some light coats. Black primer is going to be flat/matte and will give good coverage so that's all you'll need. Let dry between coats and touch up as necessary. Done.

 

[smoothshooter]

Black can get awfully uncomfortable when out in the hot sun. Dark brown l, or better yet medium to dark gray would me hard to beat.
Do the best prep you can, spray it, and if it chips later on simply touch it up with more paint, and move on.

 

[Hawg Rider]

As others have suggested, proper surface prep/cleaning is the key. Once the stock is removed, you might even hit it with some 400- or 600-grit sandpaper to very slightly rough up the surface. Make sure the stock is squeaky clean, and then simply paint with a couple of rattle cans of your choice of spray paint color. I've had great results with Rust-oleum and Krylon (Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.). You can follow that up with a couple of coats of Clear Coat (matte) spray to help protect the paint color. It will eventually start to wear, but it's easy to touch up. I would suggest Flat Dark Earth or Desert Tan, depending upon where you live. Black does tend to get hot when out in the sun. It's an easy DIY project, and will last a long time with proper care. Good luck.

 

[cmansguns]

Buy a practice one and have at it

Numrich has well used original GI Fiberglass stocks for $21.65. Don't know if these are brown or black but for that price and a can of your choice spray paint you at least will get the practice out of it, and who knows, the one you get might be a decent one that you can just change out.

The key is that at least the Numrich one is identified as being made of fiberglass.

 

[Engine49guy]

Charlie,
I just checked Numrich, those GI stocks are a good deal even include the hinged metal buttplate and sling swivels, ( the gi fiberglass stocks did not have metal magwell plates Ike the wood stocks).
Great starting point and unlike the new nylon stocks those do not flex, only downside is they tend to be a but heavier than nylon.
At that price probably makes sense to get 3 and use the pick of the litter and experiment on the other two.
Btw those hinged buttplates are the same ones used on the wood stocks and worth that price alone.

 

[dave1918a2]

The only glass stock I painted was a Brown Precision I put on a Winchester model70. The paint has held up remarkably as I did it 35 years ago. The paint I used was a textured spray paint for a non-slip surface in bath tubs or shower floors.

 

[CajunBass]

I painted this Sears Roebuck pump gun about 40 years ago. I hunted it hard for years, riding in the gun rack, tossed into the bed of pickups, or bungee corded to the roll bar or my Jeep. It was slung over my shoulder on a Bubba sling rig (a hose clamp was involved) for many a mile, but for the last 30 years or more, it's pretty much just guarded my safe since I stopped deer hunting and went to bass fishing. I get it out once in a while these days to clean and oil it.

I did the camo job myself, with some stuff called "Bowdull" in rattle cans. Obviously it was made for bows, but worked just fine on Sears shotguns. I don't think I even did anything to "prep" it, but I may have wiped it off with a damp rag. It was a long time ago.

The stuff never wore off. As a matter of fact I tried to take it off and couldn't. I'm sure there's a solvent somewhere that would have worked, but I was too lazy to look real hard.

 

[DHernandez]

Prep is everything. Give it a good even light sanding and then hit it with acetone, then Cerakote it. You will never have a problem.