I like painted guns. I like to use my guns. A good combination? Depends on the paint.
Above are two different rifles that the surface was properly prepared and painted. The one on the left is a Krylon painted gun, the one on the right is an Aervoe painted gun. Both are similar in use, and have about the same ratio of time of painting to the amount of use. And it is fairly consistent with what I see across the board. The Krylon camo paint doesn’t tend to hold up as well to nicks. Small nicks tend to turn into big ones as the paint flakes away from the area of the initial spot. Krylon also tends not to hold up as well to bore cleaner if you accidentally get some on the paint during cleaning. The Aervoe seems to be a lot more robust as it comes to taking abuse.
Do take note that this is a small consideration to many. Guns around here get repainted as the wind blows it seems. A lot of guys will do some minor sanding down to the base coat, and change the paint scheme with the changing of the seasons. So, long term wear isn’t a consideration for some. However, if it is, Aervoe is probably the better choice. It is readily available from our friends at Brownells.
I like the looks of the one on the left better.
Honest wear on a working rifle is a beautiful thing
The finish on the parts may have something to do with adhesion also. Oa recent project saw me trying things a bit different, my usual method is to prep the gun and put on a coat of Krylon in khaki as a base. After a two or three day cure I add the pattern. This time I went with a base coat of Aervoe, cured for two days and then added Krylon and then airbrushed the whole thing Multicam using another type of paint.Then I sealed it up and let it cure another few days. I know it’s a bit elaborate but I wanted to see if I could pull it off. It came out a very nice, better than expected even.The base coat held up quite well and the sealant kept the pattern on better than usual.
After several months I decided to strip it down and put a more brown biased job on it for fall and winter and this is where things got interesting. I disassembled the upper all the way down to nothing as I was going to try a different rail system an was stripping paint off each individual part. Everything was all rosey untill I got to the Vltor upper. Aervoe would not come off, I don’t mean it was being a pain, it would not budge. The same spray on stripper I have used for years would not touch it. The same paint on my LMT lower fell off basically in one peice as soon as the stripper hit it and since the gun was prepped and painted in one piece I think the finish was the problem-if you want to call it that. Several hours of scrubbing with three different types of stripper later got the upper clean but it was work.
Basically I agree with your assesment Aervoe holds up better and as it goes on heavier coats everything faster. I plan to continue using Krylon for the pattern as it is cheap and available anywhere. I mask off places where painted plastic and skin are going to mix because I’ve yet to find a paint that will hold up for that.
It has been my observation that oil based paints out wear water based paints and so I prime plastic parts w/water based Krylon to place a barrier between the plastic and the oil, let dry for several days and then shoot oil base on top if desired
Jerry I will say, i kinda like the look of used Krylon. If i want something somewhat permanent i just default to a good coat of cerakote. pretty hard to beat.
Jerry, any thoughts/experience with Gunskin vinyl applique type camouflage?
They’ve got the two A-TACS schemes that I like; but I haven’t heard much about them in actual use.
Here’s the link: http://www.gunskins.com/products/ar-15-rifle-skin
Best, Jon