Video: Spongetarn camouflage paint job

[DrThunder88]

So, I've been messing around with spray paint again, and I decided to go a bit German. Of course, I did a video to go along with it too!

[big honkin jeep]

Cool Doc,
Sponge camo is darn sure an easy way to get a very good "pro" finish.
I've done a few stocks myself and think the next one I do will be a whole rig.
Though not a chemist, I prefer denatured alcohol as a degreasing agent for both plastic and metal. Not quite as easy because I haven't seen it in aerosol but also not as harsh as brake cleaner etc. and I don't have to worry about trans-dermal toxicity or possibility of melting synthetics due to some chemical agent I don't understand in an automotive product.
Keep up the good tinkering

[NicfromAlabama]

Pretty slick DrThunder. I might have to try this eventually. You make it look easy in your video. How difficult was it to master this technique?

[30-06shooter]

Looks good. I've been thinking about doing a tiger camo on my axis.

[DrThunder88]

Thanks all!

big honkin jeep: Denatured alcohol never really cut the mustard for me as a degreaser. It's a great drying agent, but it pales in comparison to mineral spirits and naphtha for degreasing wood and acetone/brake cleaner for metal. I've never had a problem with those other solvents disturbing injection molded plastic stocks. I think nylon is pretty inert in that regard. I have heard about stronger solvents eating away certain plastics. For example, I know the active ingredients in the brake cleaner I use are acetone and toluene. Both are known to attack Kydex (which is a combination of acrylic and PVC), but the exposure is so limited there's no damage. And the finish holds up fine, too. The cheekpieces I've painted are still looking good, despite being subjected to my face grease and weekend stubble.

Health hazards are another thing, and I take it seriously. The light blue gloves I use in the video are fine for the limited exposure to solvents in this application, but when I'm using acetone, I'm wearing heavy nitrile gloves. That stuff eats the light duty gloves for breakfast.

Nic: The technique is super easy to do. Within my first few dabs on the practice stock, I had a good feel for how much pressure to use to get the desired blotch of color.

30-06: I found synthetic sponges with finer, more uniform foam structure (like those used for washing cars) leave a more solid blotch of paint. I experimented with one, trying to get a good tiger stripe pattern, but I was never pleased with the outcome. I will say I like tiger stripes to break up the outline of a gun. I did them on my Taxis project, and just by looking at it you can see how the camouflage effect is working.