Sponge camouflage rifle testing

[Small's]

Im toying with the idea of camouflaging an my hunting/shtf AR15. If any of you hunt then you probably know that you can be fully camo'd out but if your carrying a solid black gun it sticks out like a sore thumb. My plan is to do the whole gun optics and all. I have two old test guns that i tried different patterns on both sides of each gun . All of the guns started out with a base of khaki over the whole gun. I took sponges "about 2inches square" and a pair of pliers and chunked up the bottom of the sponge to break up the pattern. First side of shotgun got olive drab green stripes. Then next i took the can of khaki and sprayed it on a paper plate and dabbed the sponge in it then went over the green with it. After that hit the khaki with a sponge of green paint over all the khaki. After this i tried some flat camo brown in random spots then did the same with flat black. Here is the first pic next to the AR i plan on painting.

I was pretty impressed with how well it blended in up against the tree. The half of the barrel dont count it was a different pattern. The other side of this gun got covered in an apple bag and part was painted brown and part green. It looked really cool but didnt blend in near as well. Plus the sponge would be super easy to fix ups chips/ nicks. Next pics is the shotgun and a muzzleloader that i was trying to get an atacs look on it

 

[Rayne]

I'm impressed with that paint job too. Nicely done.

 

[Small's]

Here is an upclose of the shotgun
Here is the shotgun with a base of khaki/green and the muzzleloader with a base of khaki/brown. The muzzleoader is a little darker overall.

And last of all is the other side of the shotgun which has the snake
Skin look from an apple bag. The end of the barrel and the bottom of the stock are khaki base with green over spray. The middle of the barrel is khaki with brown over it."it would work pretty well in the fall" and by the trigger is a brown base with khaki over that "not so hot" the snake skin looks really cool in person but doesnt function nearly as well.

First pic about 10-15" away

I cut the sponges into about 2" squares for ease of handling and not printing to big of a space. The sponge painting was almost idiot proof and would be super easy to touch up +++. The atacs attempt on the muzzleloader came out pretty neat but took alot longer to do and would be harder to touch up. I wasnt trying to mimic tree bark either it just happened to blend in really well with it. Anyways what do you all think? Opinions?

 

[Kedric]

Very well done! I'm impressed both about how easy it was and how effective it blends in with the bark.

 

[Icarry2]

I'd set it down and loose it if it was too well camo'd.. Nice work..

It reminds me of a guy who "got a deal" on a camo 4 wheeler cover, used it once, still hasn't found his 4 wheeler.. LOL

TJ

 

[FestusHaggen]

those came out nice, I'm tempted to give it a try. I wonder how a textured paint would work for the base coat?

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Always impressed with the ingenuity of INGO members.

 

[djones]

Very impressive! Thanks for sharing

 

[rj3438]

Nice work. Is there a reason you used a regular sponge and tore it instead of using a sea sponge with natural holes?

I'd like to do a project like this and in my research had seen recommendations to use a sea sponge. Curious if you had tried or thought about that and settled on your method fro a reason.

 

[Mosin Mounts]

I've been thinking about something similar, but a cornfield pattern. I'll use a portion of your technique. Thanks!

 

[Small's]

I didnt have a sea sponge at the moment but will probably buy one. I was just at lowes and seen a textured desert rustoleum that was pretty close to khaki. It would make it nice and grippy im sure. Still waiting on a good buffer tube to come in stock and maybe a larue mount, flip caps for the xtr then i will be ready to paint it.

 

[Manatee]

Nice job! I've been toying with idea of camo on an AR. The sponge technique looks very good.

 

[Cerberus]

Looks good next to the tree. How does it look around vegitation?

 

[Bull1315]

Very nice job. I did a camo pattern on my FAL in a leaf pattern but I like the way that looks using a sponge.

 

[Small's]

I laid both guns up in the woods about 20yards away. They were laying in last years fallen leafs and looked pretty good. Its hard to hide something in grass unless its tall grass "like a field". I was going to do a leaf pattern but i dont think the leaf job can blend in as well in different settings. I thought about doing a grass camo gun with khaki, brown, then a little bit of green. I seen a really good example on a one of the forums i forget which and it was really nice. 90%+ of the time im out, im in the woods. So for me i think this will work really well for what im going to be doing. Its kinda the same idea as digital camo, atacs and natgear. It blends in well in most settings. "a do it all camo" You take lets say mossy oak obsession camo. Its great in the spring/summer but doesnt do near as well in the fall/winter. It has to much bright green. Oh and its takes no effort to touch it up if some scratches off. Sponge it lightly and your done. My ar is definitely getting sponge painted soon along with some other gear.

 

[Cerberus]

You are right. No pattern or color combination is ever going to work everywhere. We humans tend to always think patterns, when sometimes a solid color tends to blend in better. I really wish one of the paint companies would make rattle can spray paint in that good dark USMC coyote brown.

 

[Bull1315]

My FN.. more of a Summer camo i guess

 

[Bull1315]

My next one will be done with a sponge. <thumbs up>

 

[Hookeye]

I like patterns that break up the outline, am not overly concerned with blending in.

 

[3gunshooter]

Did mine last year.