Quote Originally Posted by J. Baker View Post
It was actually an experiment Fred and I did in hopes of finding an easy way to do a MARPAT-like digital camo pattern. The stock is an old SSS/Stockade Woodchuck that was painted tan.

Rather than trying to make stencils we decided to make stamps by gluing 1/8" graph paper to a piece of 1x8" pine board, drawing patterns of various shapes and sizes on the graph paper, and then cutting out various patterns using a band saw. Once we had the wood patterns we glued them to some 1/8" thick foam rubber matting that we found at a local craft store (similar to toolbox drawer liner but solid rather than perforated). This gave us a surface that would hold the paint and also compress easily to follow the contour of the stock as we rolled it over the curves.

From there it was just a matter of using the stamps to add the three additional colors (a light/medium tan, coyote tan and a dark brown) to create the pattern starting with the lighter color and finishing with the darker. We found that having more or less paint on the stamps would result in the illusion that there were more than just three colors being used. We also found that due to the stamping process the edges weren't always perfect (small stamps were easily smudged) which helped to soften the typical hard, geometrically precise appearance of digital camo. These "happy accidents" are really what made this come out looking so good.

To finish the pattern we topped it off with a light coat of black webbing to give it some added depth and help tie it all together. We were very happy with the final result, but both agreed that the time and effort to achieve it made it cost prohibitive to offer as an option to offer to customers.

Here are a few more detailed close-up pics...







If I were doing it again I'd make the following changes...

1. Use 1/4" graph paper rather than 1/8" as the 1/8" is just a little too fine when cutting the patterns out on the bandsaw
2. Use some 1/4" thick foam sponge material (similar to the foam brushes you can buy at the harware store) for the stamps rather than the 1/8" thick matting. This would make doing the tighter radius curves in the grip and wrist areas much, much easier.
That looks excellent!!!!