The Pros and Cons of Painting your AR

[Doc Safari]

Again, you haven't spent much time in the sun with a weapon then. It's not for being cool when you shoot it, it's for being cooler when you aren't shooting it (among other reasons). Any weapon will get hot when shot A LOT.

Granted, if you are looking to preserve resale value and look more than you shoot thing, painting probably isn't for you.

Dude. I live in the desert Southwest. I've been out shooting in 104 heat. At that temperature a plastic handguard heats up almost like a metal one. A barrel takes forever to cool, if it even does so before you get home.

[Doc Safari]

As time goes on the more DD's Tornado (gray) color grows on me. I keep Rustoleum camouflage cans around as they make it stupid easy.






MIL-STD-1913 rails, M-Lok, and KeyMod all have covers that aid in breaking up a rifles profile and help mitigate heat from hot barrels. They also serve to protect from heat energy from the sun among other things.





With that mindset, one could argue that the average person literally has no reason for an AR to begin with. I grew up a Star Wars fan, one thing George Lucas did that made the universe he created different from all the other sci-fi stories is that it was very old and everything was dinged up, battle damaged, rusted, dented in, and heavily used. IMHO the most baddass gun pics on the web are from SOF personnel with their heavily used rifles with worn off amateurish rattle can paint jobs.

LOL. I was watching a YouTube video last night where the guys from Nutnfancy were shooting a worn cop M4 that they loved cuz it looked all "Boba Fett" 'n shit. Guess it must be a cultural thing, like deliberately finishing your weapon to look like a battlefield pickup. I just don't see it. My guns have honest wear (some horrendous), but I've never artificially aged or rattled canned any gun. I agree that battle worn SOF rifles look badass, but they have legitimate tactical reasons for such. For some civilian living in an apartment in the middle of town to try to make his gun look like an SOF battlefield relic just seems like wannabe behavior.

But hey, people are correct: It's your rifle. Paint it if you want to.

I don't object, by the way, to professionally rendered camo paint or other finish jobs. If I did I'd have to sell my Colt M4 with factory Vietnam tiger stripe camo. It's waaaaay cool. I'm just saying that taking your AR out in the backyard with a couple cans of Krylon is just bubbafied amateurish nonsense. Sorta like pasting fake bullet holes on your vehicle. It's like when you built models as a kid and instead of using the factory professionally rendered decals you tried to freehand paint the insignia on your airplane or whatever. Just looks like someone with too much free time and probably not much artistic skill.

[Circle_10]

LOL. I was watching a YouTube video last night where the guys from Nutnfancy were shooting a worn cop M4 that they loved cuz it looked all "Boba Fett" 'n shit. Guess it must be a cultural thing, like deliberately finishing your weapon to look like a battlefield pickup. I just don't see it. My guns have honest wear (some horrendous), but I've never artificially aged or rattled canned any gun. I agree that battle worn SOF rifles look badass, but they have legitimate tactical reasons for such. For some civilian living in an apartment in the middle of town to try to make his gun look like an SOF battlefield relic just seems like wannabe behavior.

But hey, people are correct: It's your rifle. Paint it if you want to.

While I don't object to the idea of painting one's guns, I do agree that artificially aging or wearing your paint job to look "battle worn" is quite lame.

[RHINOWSO]

Dude. I live in the desert Southwest. I've been out shooting in 104 heat. At that temperature a plastic handguard heats up almost like a metal one. A barrel takes forever to cool, if it even does so before you get home.

Yes yes, uphill both ways in the snow. Paint offends your sensitive side, just be honest.

Come out of the closet as just a hater for hater's sake. Be free!

ETA - I forget that some people just need something to talk or complain about. This thread has been a great reminder.

[Doc Safari]

ETA - I forget that some people just need something to talk or complain about. This thread has been a great reminder.

Oh, all right. Truth be told I'm wanting to be convinced I should camo one of my AR's. Hasn't happened so far. Keep trying.

[Inkslinger]

Oh, all right. Truth be told I'm wanting to be convinced I should camo one of my AR's. Hasn't happened so far. Keep trying.

So if the majority of the posts conveyed the sentiment that only real shooters paint there rifles, you would be on your way to the hardware store for paint? Is the entire purpose of this thread to determine what the cool kids are doing? Are black rifles for the hipsters of the AR15 community?

[Doc Safari]

So if the majority of the posts conveyed the sentiment that only real shooters paint there rifles, you would be on your way to the hardware store for paint? Is the entire purpose of this thread to determine what the cool kids are doing? Are black rifles for the hipsters of the AR15 community?

I just want to see that rattle-canning your AR is not the same as wearing a Punisher skull T-shirt to the range.

[Inkslinger]

I just want to see that rattle-canning your AR is not the same as wearing a Punisher skull T-shirt to the range.

Timers and targets are how I judge, not what you’re wearing. YMMV...

[aznginf]

Who really gives a shit? Some folks need to just calm their tits.

[Doc Safari]

This is my camo AR. Factory Colt. Professionally done. Doesn't look bubba although one could argue Vietnam tiger stripe is so 1960's.


colt-paint2.jpg


Point being: it's not an amateur hardware store paint job that just screams mall ninja. Like it or don't like it you can tell it was professionally done. It looks like it "belongs" there because it came from the factory with that paint job. If it were done by a professional aftermarket finishing house, same thing.

That's the difference I'm pointing out. I don't mean to piss on anybody's paint job. Paint it whatever color(s) and patterns you want. I'm just saying that in my humble opinion a home paint job is about like a home gunsmithing job. Whether or not it's quality depends to large degree on who and how it was done and whether or not it looks like some dude with too much free time wanting to run around in the woods playing militia.