# Painting a Synthetic Rifle Stock



## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

I have a Savage 111 Trophy Hunter in .243 that I really love to shoot, but hate to look at. I decided to try and paint the factory stock and it was a fun little project. 

I removed the barrel, cleaned the stock with rubbing alcohol, taped off the places I did not painted, and very lightly sanded the entire stock with a medium grit piece of sandpaper to help the paint attach.

I started with one base coat of Krylon Tan and let the first coat dry for one hour before applying the additional coats. In the end, I did a total of 5 tan coats, waiting 15 minutes in between coats. Next, came the webbing - I had to practice on a piece of cardboard a couple times to get the look that I wanted. I applied one coat of webbing and let that dry for 20 minutes. The webbing adds a cool texture when it dries. Lastly, I applied 2 coats of clearcoat.

All in all, it does not look super professional, but it looks a lot better than before!

Has anyone else done anything similar? How do you like it?


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Thats cool, I want to do that to my boys Axis. Let me know how durable it turns out for you.


-DallanC


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## bekins24 (Sep 22, 2015)

I think it turned out pretty good!


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## willfish4food (Jul 14, 2009)

Very sweet DIY paint job!


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## Bob L. (Jan 11, 2015)

Great job!


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## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

I agree with the others--looks pretty darn good to me!


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Thanks for the kind words!


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## waspocrew (Nov 26, 2011)

Very nice! I'm interested to see how it holds up - if it lasts, I'll have to give it a shot!


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I love it. I'll bring 3 or 4 rifles over Thursday.

.


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## Kingfisher (Jul 25, 2008)

as a teenager i refinished a Remington 700 in a 308 caliber. had no clue what I was doing. refinished the whole stock. looked great. first shot was always dead on. every subsequent shot kept rising and to the right - as much as 8 inches. for years I putzed with that gun. duh. got it re-beded and clear of the varnish and now it shoots true. helps to know what you are doing and very simple mistakes can have big consequences...


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## Bo0YaA (Sep 29, 2008)

Looks great, and really curious how its going to hold up. Keep us informed, Ive got a few in mind if it lasts.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

I am curious as well as to how it will hold up. All my Googling of this process seems to show that the paint will start to show wear, under normal use, at about year 3. One review claimed to have a 10 year old stock that is just starting to show signs of wear. If the paint job makes it 3 years, that would be awesome!


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

plus... its not like you cant give it another shot of paint down the road at some point 


-DallanC


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Round two on painting a rifle stock - this time with a youth 7mm-08. 

The only change in the process from before was I sprayed two coats of tan 15 minutes apart and then let it cure for a week. This one came out with more black webbing than the one before...


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## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

Man, it looks good! A lot of people wondered about durability on the first paint job. Four years later, what's the verdict?


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

Looks real nice! Problem with camo stocks is if you have to do what the Bear does, you have a issue of searching for your rifle. I think I'd take that chance though. Great job!


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

AF CYN said:


> Man, it looks good! A lot of people wondered about durability on the first paint job. Four years later, what's the verdict?


I sold the .243 in the summer of 2018 - I know, stupid move ... Anyway, after just over two years of use there was some paint flaking on the edges (where the stock meets the recoil pad, around the trigger guard, around the clip/magazine ejection port). The paint on the rest of the stock stayed strong. I'm not sure really how long the durability is on this type of project...

Since this 7mm-08 is for my son, I'm sure the paint will be put through more of a "test." The two cans of paint, one can of clear coat, and the tape cost less than $25 combined - so it's a super cheap project. Judging by the amount of paint left in the cans, a person could probably do two or three stocks and not run out of paint.


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## waspocrew (Nov 26, 2011)

Forgot about this thread... rifle looks great! I think the webbing is a cool look for sure. I've painted a few of my own recently and was pleased with how they turned out.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

^^^ Looks incredible!


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