There are many ways and techniques to spray painting your rifle. But you need to ask yourself why
you are wanting or needing to paint your rifle so you can properly execute the paint job. Please note,
we are not professionals at painting or camouflaging rifles. We are simply sharing our experiences with
you. We will breakdown this process of painting Jarod’s Ridgeline Defense RD-15 LPR and give
questions you should be asking yourself.
Process
• Choosing a paint scheme you like
• Picking colors you’ll be using
• Buying materials needed
• Safety
• Cleaning the rifle
• Masking important items to not be painted
• Painting Process
• Unmasking & Inspection
Why am I painting this rifle?
1. Am I painting this to camouflage to my environment?
2. Am I painting this to match the gear I will be wearing?
3. Am I painting this just because I like the look of a painted rifle?
4. Do I have all the attachments I need on the rifle now? Or am I still waiting on parts?
Lets dive into these questions starting off with, Am I painting this rifle to camouflage to my
environment? This is a heavily packed question that can be broken down with a few examples.
We will be discussing how to paint your rifle to your environment. Not adding vegetation to blend
into your environment.
1. You’ll need to know what kind of seasons your area has and the common colors. For example,
New England has 4 seasons. Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. But primarily the most common
colors that we have effectively tested are bright and dark greens for Summer. Tan, brown and
gray for Fall, Winter and Spring and white for when there is snow fall. Will you be using your
rifle in all seasons? Then utilize all colors. If it is only used in a specific season then just use
those colors. This is how I have my rifle’s paint scheme setup based off my area and seasons.
My short rifle with just an RDS is painted with greens for the summer as vegetation is fully
grown in and my sight line is short due to the fullness of vegetation. Just a simple RDS is
effective for me. My scoped carbine is painted with tan, browns and gray for Fall, Winter and
Spring. Vegetation is dead which increases my sight lines drastically so a magnified optic is
needed for the longer distances. When snow has fallen, I add whites by hockey tape.
2. Are you painting to match your gear? Simply take the colors from the gear you most commonly
use and apply that to your rifle. The pattern is up to you and how creative you like to go.
3. Are you painting because you like the look of a painted rife? There are many different styles to
paint your rifle. Do your search on colors and patterns to come up with a design you like. Or if
you want to come up with your own. Get creative and have fun! Later on I will show you a way
we have painted our rifles
4. Do you have all the attachments you need on the rifle? Or are you waiting on more parts? If you
don’t have everything, the parts you add after, the paint job will not match to your paint scheme.
If your okay with it, then proceed. But if not, then wait until your rifle build is completed and
paint everything all at once together.
Now that you have answered the questions needed to execute your paint job. We can dive into
materials to purchase. For Jarod’s rifle we will be applying all 4 seasons to his paint job.
Paint
For paint, we like to use RUST-OLEUM CAMOUFLAGE spray paint. It has a nice flat finish that
does not shine in sun light. Durability is based off how much you clean, apply and cure the paint. Seek
manufacture recommendations. It will not hold up like Anozide or Cerakote. You are limited on colors
but they are the most common colors we use in New England. We will be utilizing Rust-Oleum
products of Deep Forest Green, Kahki, Earth Brown, and Primer Gray.
Masking Tape
You can use any masking tape you like or we can recommend 3M products used with automotive Or
Scotch Multi-Surface Painters Tape. It applies very well and is removed with no glue residue. To save
yourself some money, go ahead and use any leftover blue painters tape you have from painting your
house.
Cleaning Supplies
50-50 mixture of simple green and water will clean most contaminants from your rifle. Or dish soap
with hot water from your kitchen.
Once you have gathered all your materials, now it is time to prep. How much prep work you put
into it, the better results and longevity you will receive.
SAFETY
Safety should always be on your mind when handling a firearm. Ensure the rifle has been cleared and
put onto safe. If your painting the rifle with the magazine, know the condition of it and make sure its
safe.
Cleaning
Cleaning the rifle is up to you on how you want the rifle to look. If you like the rifle to show the paint
wearing from excessive use, no need to clean. The paint wont adhere correctly and wear off quickly. If
you want the rifles paint to hold up, then the cleaning step will needs lots of prep work to ensure its
clean and dry. You’ll want to keep cleaning the rifle until the paper towel is clean. This will take many
steps with a fresh new sheet of paper towels. You’ll want to spray your cleaning products onto the rag
and wipe down the rifle. If you spray liquid directly onto the rifle, you need to let the rifle sit a dry for a
few hours to make sure all the liquid is dry. I did a quick clean on Jarod’s LPR as he wasn’t specific on
how he wanted to paint job to come out.
Masking
This is where you need to tape off any important items you don’t want painted. Make sure anything
with lenses is tapped off, indicator markings like scope magnification, red dot brightness level, muzzle
device and trigger. You can tape off more items if you want but those items are the most important. For
Jarod’s I tapped off his KGM muzzle device, Leupold MK5HD lenses and markings, Aimpoint T2
lenses and brightness level mounted onto our PMM 35mm cowgirl mount and Geissele SSA-E 2 Stage
Trigger.
Painting Process
Similar to cleaning process on how you want the paint to come out. Painting process will result how
much you put into it as well. If you like the wear look, apply light coats of paint. If you want durability,
apply manufacture recommended coats. For Jarods LPR, I applied medium to heavy coats as it was
very windy out so It was difficult to get a consistent coat. With the LPR flat on the table, I applied the
base coat of Deep Forest Green that covered the entire rifle starting with the hard to get areas first and
finishing with the big surface areas. This will prevent running of the paint. Once dried, I used a wide
fan paint brush to apply Khaki (tan) around the entire LPR. Application was decided on my creativity.
Once that was dry, I applied Earth Brown with a new brush in a wider pattern. Finally finished off with
Primer Gray in a few spots. There is no specific spacing just applying paint to what I personally like.
The curing process is also very important to the end result. Let it dry to manufacture recommendation
for durability and longevity. If you want the wear, then jump right into training with it.
Unmasking
Once the paint is dry to manufacture recommendation or dry to the touch (no finger prints) go ahead
and unmask the rifle. Check for over spray if needed to be removed. Acetone works great but if it is on
the lenses, then ask the manufacture for recommendations on removing paint. Once unmasked, sit back
and enjoy the art you have created. THEN GO SHOOT IT AND SEND US SOME PICTURES!
