I picked this poor Mossberg up during a trade; it was simply thrown in. The Mossberg’s previous life was a Duck gun and it was obvious that it was neglected. I stripped it apart and realized that there was a bunch of rust and it looked awful. I do not know how I failed to take a full-length picture of it, but I did.
So I decided to try a rattle can camo with a twist. I have ZERO artistic ability, but figured why not give it a try.
First, I had to get all of the necessary supplies. I got some super coarse sandpaper and some fine as well. Mineral spirits to clean and cut the paint with, is also on the list.
I bought one can of automobile primer.
Next up was brown, green and black camo spray paint. I got the Rustoleum, but Krylon will work just as well.
Then came the fun part, I got taupe, nutmeg, hunter green and flat black paint from Home Depot. I got the smallest cans, since they had to custom make the colors.
To put that paint on I picked up two brushes, size 3/8 angled and ¼ angled.
Finally, I picked up a clear coat matte rattle can, to keep my masterpiece intact.
Preparation is key. It is the preparation that is key. Have I mentioned that preparation is key? I sanded, and sanded and sanded. MOST of the rust quickly disappeared.
However, the pitting on the receiver was intense.
I could have stopped there, but since I knew that preparation was key I kept sanding. After I was satisfied with results, which took a ton of sanding, I cleaned the surface to make sure it was ready for paint. Remember preparation is key! I applied coat number one of primer. After it was dry, I lightly sanded it and wiped it down. I then put on coat number two.
It was looking better already. I applied both coats on slightly windy days and it helped. Since it was windy I could not continuously spray. So, I did not get any runs (in the paint). Take your time, keep the can several inches away, and put on light coats.
Next up was the brown. Again two light coats and ample drying time is a necessity. No trade secrets here.
After the brown, I reassembled the weapon. This way the camo would be even across the whole weapon.
The fun part starts now. Time to put on the green. I grabbed some wide width leaves/grasses. Hold them on the weapon, then spray on green directly on top. Change the direction the grasses and spray again. Change the grasses to a different angle and spray. Repeat this all over the weapon. Take your time, you want brown to show through. Remember use the wider width first.
Now find some thin weeds/sticks and apply the black. Change the angle after every spray. Black is dark so if you want a darker weapon use more, if not use it sparingly.
Just as a note, I am very OCD about items being dress right dress and was worried about the green and black. However, it came out awesome and I promise it is very easy to do. Just keep changing angles and remember it is camo, you cannot mess it up.
Now it looks like 90% of spray can, camo painted weapons. I wanted something else, so I kept going.
I hated art in school and did not graduate from Herron School of Art. This next step is easy to do and “mistakes” are covered by the next layers of color.
Remember this was a duck gun, and will be mine this year. So, I added reeds to the camo. I tried to make it look like the reeds were starting from the edges. Use as many reeds as you see fit for your weapon. The first color is the taupe. It is actually very easy to do. Simply brush on the reeds by doing long strokes. Add as many or as few as you would like. Make sure they go in different directions. Vary length and width as well.
Next, apply the nutmeg directly over the Taupe. But leave some of the Taupe showing through. I also used some of the nutmeg to make nutmeg colored reeds. YMMV. I even left some of the taupe uncovered. My fiance wanted to help since it looked so easy. I promise those are her fingers in the pictures!
After the taupe and nutmeg have been applied its time for some green reeds. These reeds can be separate. We did not put nearly as many as I did with the taupe. Again, its whatever look you want, and you CANNOT mess up!
Finally, comes the black. If you use too much, it will become very dark. We used it to accent about 10-12 total reeds one each side. That is it! Small amounts of black makes it appear that there are layers of reeds. If you use too much it will all appear on the same level and will not give depth.
Finish her off with a coat or two of matte to protect it. In this picture, there is only one coat.
Alright, now for the After Action Review, AAR.
I would love to do this again. I am glad I got to try it on a cheap weapon first. But I would not hesitate to do this on a more expensive weapon. Next time I will use several more wide width weeds with the brown spray paint. This will allow more brown to show through. If I do another pump, I will put less paint in the areas that there is movement. Note that I did not apply any reeds under the front handguard on the magazine. A semi-auto will have less external moving parts, so it will wear less quickly. Overall I am 100% pleased with the outcome!
Now to find something else to paint!
So I decided to try a rattle can camo with a twist. I have ZERO artistic ability, but figured why not give it a try.
First, I had to get all of the necessary supplies. I got some super coarse sandpaper and some fine as well. Mineral spirits to clean and cut the paint with, is also on the list.
I bought one can of automobile primer.
Next up was brown, green and black camo spray paint. I got the Rustoleum, but Krylon will work just as well.
Then came the fun part, I got taupe, nutmeg, hunter green and flat black paint from Home Depot. I got the smallest cans, since they had to custom make the colors.
To put that paint on I picked up two brushes, size 3/8 angled and ¼ angled.
Finally, I picked up a clear coat matte rattle can, to keep my masterpiece intact.
Preparation is key. It is the preparation that is key. Have I mentioned that preparation is key? I sanded, and sanded and sanded. MOST of the rust quickly disappeared.
However, the pitting on the receiver was intense.
I could have stopped there, but since I knew that preparation was key I kept sanding. After I was satisfied with results, which took a ton of sanding, I cleaned the surface to make sure it was ready for paint. Remember preparation is key! I applied coat number one of primer. After it was dry, I lightly sanded it and wiped it down. I then put on coat number two.
It was looking better already. I applied both coats on slightly windy days and it helped. Since it was windy I could not continuously spray. So, I did not get any runs (in the paint). Take your time, keep the can several inches away, and put on light coats.
Next up was the brown. Again two light coats and ample drying time is a necessity. No trade secrets here.
After the brown, I reassembled the weapon. This way the camo would be even across the whole weapon.
The fun part starts now. Time to put on the green. I grabbed some wide width leaves/grasses. Hold them on the weapon, then spray on green directly on top. Change the direction the grasses and spray again. Change the grasses to a different angle and spray. Repeat this all over the weapon. Take your time, you want brown to show through. Remember use the wider width first.
Now find some thin weeds/sticks and apply the black. Change the angle after every spray. Black is dark so if you want a darker weapon use more, if not use it sparingly.
Just as a note, I am very OCD about items being dress right dress and was worried about the green and black. However, it came out awesome and I promise it is very easy to do. Just keep changing angles and remember it is camo, you cannot mess it up.
Now it looks like 90% of spray can, camo painted weapons. I wanted something else, so I kept going.
I hated art in school and did not graduate from Herron School of Art. This next step is easy to do and “mistakes” are covered by the next layers of color.
Remember this was a duck gun, and will be mine this year. So, I added reeds to the camo. I tried to make it look like the reeds were starting from the edges. Use as many reeds as you see fit for your weapon. The first color is the taupe. It is actually very easy to do. Simply brush on the reeds by doing long strokes. Add as many or as few as you would like. Make sure they go in different directions. Vary length and width as well.
Next, apply the nutmeg directly over the Taupe. But leave some of the Taupe showing through. I also used some of the nutmeg to make nutmeg colored reeds. YMMV. I even left some of the taupe uncovered. My fiance wanted to help since it looked so easy. I promise those are her fingers in the pictures!
After the taupe and nutmeg have been applied its time for some green reeds. These reeds can be separate. We did not put nearly as many as I did with the taupe. Again, its whatever look you want, and you CANNOT mess up!
Finally, comes the black. If you use too much, it will become very dark. We used it to accent about 10-12 total reeds one each side. That is it! Small amounts of black makes it appear that there are layers of reeds. If you use too much it will all appear on the same level and will not give depth.
Finish her off with a coat or two of matte to protect it. In this picture, there is only one coat.
Alright, now for the After Action Review, AAR.
I would love to do this again. I am glad I got to try it on a cheap weapon first. But I would not hesitate to do this on a more expensive weapon. Next time I will use several more wide width weeds with the brown spray paint. This will allow more brown to show through. If I do another pump, I will put less paint in the areas that there is movement. Note that I did not apply any reeds under the front handguard on the magazine. A semi-auto will have less external moving parts, so it will wear less quickly. Overall I am 100% pleased with the outcome!
Now to find something else to paint!
