Poor man's camo solution...

[scienceguy]

Some time back I bought an Encore 209X50.  The gun came with a Realtree Advantage camo pattern.  A few weeks ago I bought a 20 gauge slug barrel, but the only forend styles offered were wood or black synthetic.  I bought the synthetic, intending to have a matching camo finish applied by Bell And Carlson (for about $45).  At a local sporting goods store I came across some H.S. Camo No-Mar Cloth Gun and Bow tape for $3.  I decided to give the tape a try before taking the $45 plunge.  It worked out great.  The cloth tape is slightly tacky and stretches and cuts easily to fit around curves and corners.  The seams can be rubbed with a thumb to blend in perfectly.  The tape could even be pressed into the checkering.  The stuff comes in about 5 different camo patterns.  It appears to be pretty durable.  We'll see how it holds up as the gun gets some use, especially in cold weather.  If you have the same mismatch stock/forend problem that I had, you might want to give the stuff a try.  Unfortunately, my barrel came with a shiny blued finish.  Too reflective for my tastes.  Can't use the camo tape on the barrel as I am afraid the cloth tape would soak up moisture and trap it against a metal barrel.  Any suggestions about the barrel?  I thought I might send it to EABCO for a satin electro-less nickel finish.

scienceguy

[Dutch/AL]

Hey scienceguy, you can put you a light coat of gun oil on that barrel and tape it around in a spiral, and you won't have to worry about rust forming underneath the tape.

I taped up a turkey shotgun last February using the HS no-mar cloth tape, and just took the tape off to give it a good cleaning last week, and the finish underneath looked good as new. No rust. :wink:

[scarletgem]

I would be careful that the cloth tape doesn't get wet though.  You will get rust.  I am looking at alternatives to camo tape since my custom TC barrel was rained on this year and I got all kinds of surface rust on it...Makes me sick.
It may be that the oil I used just wasnt enough to protect it.  I am thinking about TC Bore Butter as a protectant against weather.  Or I may just have a custom finish put on it and then forget about it.
Anyone have experience with those finishes?

[TCShooter]

Custom finishes meaning done at home with paint or stuff like that french grey finish?  I painted a rifle with a flat black heat resistant paint four or five years ago because of rust and haven't had to worry about it since!  The "custom finish" I gave it is holding up pretty good also.  

I read somewhere that instead of using oil under cloth camo tape you can put a couple coats of wax on the barrel first and then apply the tape.  The wax might hold up better than the oil.


Mario

[Bullseye]

You guys should try my method of camo, pretty walnut stock and nice blue barrel.  I shot two deer from the ground this year and both were within twenty yards and were not scared by my gun. :-)   I can understand the problem with the forend and buttstock not matching though, mine must both be walnut. :grin:

Now do not get upset all, I am not questioning your reasoning for wanting to camo your guns, I just thought I would try my hand at some humor tonight.

[TCShooter]

Yes Bullseye, some of my guns wear that kind of camo also!      

I also have a couple that are simply "tools" for hunting that I have modified!  

In the eyes of the beholder, one may look better than another but they all have the same purpose.

Thanks for the pun!  

[Neutron]

I have used the camo tape on a synthetic stocked Ruger for several years.  It is starting to fall off now so its not a one time application.  I would probably not put it on a barrel.  I have a Rem 870 shotgun that I decided to experiment with a few years back.  I went to the hobby shop and bought two or three little acrylic paints for a $1 ea in earthtone colors.  I just brushed some crude limb and leaf patterns on action, barrel, forearm,  and stock and then sprayed it with some sealant, probably a polyurethane of some sort.  I have been unable to detect any rust or any problem with the gun.  It would be easy to lay it down and have someone walk right by it without noticing.  I plan to clean the tape residue off the ruger's synthetic stock and paint it similarly.  I will probably not bother to paint the metal just because I will likely shoot anything that gets close enough to notice  :shock:

[Neutron]

Did the ruger synthetic stock.  You can see it at http://www.geocities.com/sat78/photopagerock.html
Easily cost less than 10 bucks.
Neutron

[DJay]

A trick we used when I lived in Alaska was to spray our barreled actions (bolt removed, both ends of barrel plugged) with stove black.  Its a fast drying, flat finish that looks great when done.  We would hang the barreled action throught the trigger guard or in the case of a encore throught the hing pin hole with a wire and give it a nice light coat so it wouldn't run.  Put another coat on an hour later and your all done.  Some of they guys even left their scopes on the rifle and covered the ends and caps and then sprayed the whole thing.  I couldn't spray my scope but they did and it gives the rifles a nice custome finish thats dull and impervious to the elements.  Well that my 2 cents worth.   DJay

[TCShooter]

Hey DJay....funny you mentioned stove black, above I mentioed a rifle I painted and it was just what you are talking about.....stove flat black heat resistant paint!  The one I used was for cast iron stoves and it worked great and looks good also!


Mario

[scienceguy]

Guys,

Since I originally posted this camo thing, I decided it wasn't such a great idea to use tape on a metal barrel.  I went out and bought a spray can of flat black, high temperature Rust-o-leum.  Works great just like some of you guys mentioned.  Nice and durable.  I attached the barrel to a barbecue rotating motor so there would be no drips or runs.

scienceguy



If a tree falls in the forest, and my wife doesn't hear it, is it still my fault?

[DJay]

ScienceGuy,
I like the idea of attaching your barrel to the BBQ rotating motor.  Very inovative, beats the coat hanger from the raftters in the garage/basement.  If your stock is beat up, and you want it to match the barrel finish just sand out the nicks and spray stove black on it also.  Makes it look like a custom synthetic stock.   It also seals the wood.  
DJay

[Roggie L Hunter]

Go to an archery store and get the paint dasigned to spray paint bows.  Comes in 4 colors.  Easy to spray on.  Real easy to remove when you want to.   Just use spray can of remover or regular mineral spirits, paint comes right off.