Painting my minimag body...

[drx975]

Someone please help, I do not want to spend a lot of money, I just want a black body, matt or shiny, whatever. What is the best paint to use, and yes i know about powdercoating. Im looking for an alternative method. Any help thanx.

PS: why is spray-painting not a good idea? I heard its "blotchy", but why? Im really careful when I do stuff like this, im good at it too, and i dont see the harm in it. Plz tell me whats so bad about it. Also, i heard acryllic paints will work--seriously? Im thinking that acryllics wont hold up.

Plz respond if you have any ideas. Thanx

[Lorquas]

i painted one of my other guns with model paint. Testor spray enamal. I used the spray can (found at wal-mart) to do the main part, then i removed the masking tape, and did the touch ups with the same testor paint (but that comes in the little bottle) it works well.

[Poseidon]

Spray paint will not hold up. It will chip and scratch easy, especially since the body is so smooth. Get it polished if you wanna cheap bady change.
You can get powder coating done pretty cheap.

[Autotrigger]

The body on your Minimag is made of stainless steel! Spend $20.00 (I hear that is how much redrider charges)and have it powder coated! Paint does not adhere well to stainless, even chrome does not do well on stainless. Flat black paint will look good at first, but will chip or wear off easily. Good luck!

[the electrician]

it can be painted but it will not last and you have to be extremely careful not to get it in the wrong places.
I've done 3 mags in acrylate urethane (car paint) but it still doesn't last very long. acrylate urethane is a 3 part process and you need to use self etching primer first. the cool thing about doing it this way is that you can use stripper on it and take it back down to the original finish without any harm done to the gun.
I would have to say from experience that powder caoting is still the best way to color stainless.

[paintsprayer]

don't do it. you'll just mess up you gun and wish you never did it. just save up and get a new body for $120, or live with it the way it is now. you'll be glad you did.

[Psychedelic]

I painted my Mag with spray paint and it turned out great. Just spray it on REALLY slowly so you don't get runs. And then get a clear coat spray for it so it doesn't chip off. You should lightly sand your body with really fine sandpaper before you start to make it stick good too.

[drx975]

Yeah....I was thinking like 220 grit but it might be too much. Sanding would actually help a LOT, and I think most people dont even realise that. If a surface is rough with lots of little bumps, you will lose less color over time becuase only the paint on the top of the bumps will wear off. If the surface is smooth, then there is a greater chance the paint will just chip off, because it formed a shell over the smooth metal. The only thing with sanding is, it might mess up the way the body looks. What does you body look like Pshycadelic, is it smooth looking like the original after you painted it, or does the body show a lot of tiny little scratches? Also, i just want a matt finish so would clear coating it or whatever make it look shiny?

[SyntaxError]

I spray painted an old barrel with the rustoleum paint you can buy at sears or home depot. You just have to do it slowly so there are no runs in the paint and make sure that the body is taped up. If your paint does chip (mine didn't, the anno on the barrel did though!) you can touch it up with the more paint you have left.

Also a clear coating increases the amount of shine on the paint, however the paint holds up better.

later

[PsychoMag]

yes syntaxerror, and if you dont want the shine, use a satin clear coat. I would recommend Minwax Polyurethane coating, using several thin coats, use gloss for a shine, satin for a dull look.

[drx975]

Psychomag any chance you are Don from the New Jersey ArchAngels? If you are, I remember playing with you before I moved to PA. It was when you guys were just getting started...

[Psychedelic]

You can get dull clear coats, or high gloss. My finish is kinda rough but thats just because i did mine with silver marbelizing over black so the silver made little bumps.

[drx975]

Thanx for help my friends dad is gonna do it for me, he knows all about stuff like this cause he's an engineer and works with materials like this a lot. He said that airbrush with a clearcoat finish over it should do it, and he did it on his sons/my friends mask, which came out awesome. Hoping for the same on my body...