Product overview and mini review
www.gunskins.com
Gunskins are a weapon covering, or "wrap", which offer a variety of colors and patterns for your weapon in addition to providing a decent level of protection from scratches and impact. Gunskins is based in Oregon, and is made in the USA. The vinyl coating is waterproof, nonreflective, and is a matte finish. These are a few of the more attractive features for many hunters, but the level of attraction is for more than just hunters covering up their brightly blued 870 Wingman.
Camouflage templates are available for coatings of all styles, but if you are spraying the weapon yourself, the templates alone are going to cost roughly $20. Now add in the idea that you may be butchering your own weapon if you aren't artistically inclined, or are the type of person willing to take a spray can to your personal items. Of course spray paint is cheap, but two part coatings, thermal cure, and other "nicer" finishes are certainly more costly.
If you want to send your weapon out to be coated in a pattern, the pricing is usually a few hundred dollars. What I've found with the various upper end coatings is that they all chip and scratch. That doesn't overly bother me personally, but I can understand that many people aren't going to be happy when their new coating is marred. When I say that all of the coatings have had issues, I mean all of the most popular ones. I don't blame the companies, but in being honest and impartial I haven't found them to be the magic shield that many people seem to think they are. The writeups from the companies all sound fantastic, but reality has seemed to be a bit different in my experiences.
This is where Gunskins comes into its own. There are a variety of sizes and offerings, from scope kits to ARs, to universal gear. Prices start $10.99, and go up from there, but a pistol runs around $30, and an 8"x50" sheet is available for $40. A quick check of their website shows 30 color and pattern variations, which should give most people a few different options to consider. Whether you want "Muddy Girl" TM pink pattern, Vietnam era Tiger Stripe, OCP, or are looking for one of the A-TACs patterns, you can probably find what you want.
Installation is done with hair dryer or heat gun to help the material cling to the proper shape, and it goes without saying the surface should be clean and dry. The material can be placed, removed, and placed again if mistakes are made, which means the most you have to lose is a little cash and a little time. Obviously the more complicated the item, the longer it will take. A quad rail is going to be much more involved to make "perfect", than a tubular rail like MLOK.
Removal is done by use of a hair dryer or heat gun, and no residue is left on the weapon, which is pretty slick if you like to change things up for winter and spring, or your girlfriend claims one of your weapons as her own and wants her own personal touches.
Personally speaking, I don't mind spraying many of my own weapons , but when it comes to the weapons which are more spendy like the MP5s, I wouldn't be hosing them down with cans of paint. I've had Gunskins on a couple weapons for close to a year, and while these aren't hard use training beater guns, they are still used on a regular basis and have held up well.
Below are a couple pictures of weapons we have borrowed, or that we own. You should be able to figure out for yourself whether this is a product you need, want, or that you figure might make its way onto a Christmas list.
Lastly, for companies or websites which want a camo with their name worked into a camo theme, that is an option as well. Call or email Kevin the owner, and talk to him to figure what amount you would need to order, or what prices might be. He was able to throw together some Stickman logo ones for me for marking equipment, and his crew was able to do it pretty quickly.
www.gunskins.com
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks