A proper guide to painting an airsoft gun

[BALBOSA]

Number one, Im after a proper guide to painting a gun and cant find one for shite, i dont want any krylon camouflaging, or clear plastic pistol painting (in other words mostly tutorials on breaking the rules)

That being the case im writing everything ive learned so far down, in order to try help anyone else whose interested in completely stripping and respraying an airsoft replica to a professional standard.

So my project, I own a 1911 ptp from kwa the mk2 version, absolutely beautiful weapon but alas its doomed to have REALLY annoying trade marks, as you can see below,

So one night I got annoyed with them enough to get the sand paper out and went to work on it, at first i just stripped the top layer down but in the end i did the whole thing.

If this is what you want to do, heres how i did it, Please be aware this is MY way of doing it i have no idea if its the right way as already stated above but it worked for me

Right, firstly you need the right type of sand paper, the idea is to take as little of the metal off as possible or you will risk sanding down major contour driven functions of the firearm, for example the tightness of the slide, you dont want to sand it down too much so it becomes loose, the best way i found to do this is to use "wet and dry" sand paper, for those who don't know what this is, its a type of sandpaper that has a water proof backing, this allows it to be used with water to reduce friction and it forms a kind of rubbing compound that gives much better and smoother results where metal is concerned as you do not want to scratch it too deeply.

Be sure to use a fine grade, it may take longer but the biggest tip I can give you is to take your time! this is a project, if you want your gun looking shoddy then rushing is the best way to go about it, (trust me i know ) Rub in systematic and controlled patterns if somethings giving you hassle then dont be afraid to use a bit more force but just be carefull and be sure to check your progress as much as pos, hard to reach places may prove VERY annoying, however depending on your need (whether your sanding the whole thing back to metal to polish it silver(if so please see below for tips) you may not need to take ALL the paint away, as this (as long as its prepped properly) will act as a primer, Continue slowly and carefully sanding until your happy with the outcome.

Good places to get quality sand paper at reasonable prices
Halfords do a decent range but are quite expensive for what you get in a pack (roughly 3 to 4 quid a pack (about 4 small sheets)
Wilkinsons (the best one i found) a great range to choose from and also very cheap! around 1.50 for a pack same as above and about 2 quid for a big pack of assorted sheets, including 3 fine grade (400 grit) 4 medium (180 grit )and 3 course (120 grit) as im sure you can guess grit is the density of the material on the paper. Self explanatory but google for more info.


(Sanding to silver)

Be aware most airsoft pistols (and rifles) are made from pot metal or aluminium (if your lucky) aluminium will give you a shinier finish, but scratches easily so be careful when sanding, the only tips i can give for this is to go much slower than if your just stripping the gun, remember the metal underneath will be your finished product, treat it delicately, for reaching tough contours and hard to reach places all i can really suggest is to use something like a screwdriver, or similar tool and wrap the sand paper in it to get into those hard to reach places, be aware when using a tool the rule of thumb is that the grade of the sandpaper is heavier as it WILL do more damage, so be careful.


Its a good idea (if you are concerned about damaging the guns performance) to leave all the contacting parts, like rails and slides ect. alone, and leave the old paint on, its not going to be seen and if it worked before then why get rid of it? this will also leave factory made fractions of a millimeter distances in check.


ive left all the internal paint alone.

After sanding you should be left with something like this



Keying and prepping

In the picture above I have already keyed the frame, all keying is is the process of lightly scratching the surface to give something for the paint to grip onto, this is really important if your going to use a non primer based spray paint (spray paint that sais id doesn't need primer before application, dont worry il go into types of paint in a sec) id suggest keying the surface either way anyway, to key the surface use a fine sand paper again (400 grits fine) dont go too mad although you want to scratch the surface you dont want to destroy it, paint will work on a molecular level so just because you cant see the scratches doesn't mean that its not enough, Lightly rub in circular patterns across the metal, the idea is to get as many tiny scratches into an area as possible, dont go crazy! density is what your after not sparsity.

Paint

Being the stage i am currently at i can only surmise what to do next, I will tell you what im planning to do and what ive read up while lookin into painting different metals, pot metal im told is more pitted and course, therfore paont will stick to it easier, this doesnt of course mean you shouldnt use a primer but i SUPPOSE you could get away with it aslong as its a type of paint that sais you can apply straight to bare metal, for my situation i know that aluminium is a very tough metal to get paint right on, its not impossible it just takes a bit more time and money, what you need is something called an "Acid etch primer" dont be scared it has acid in the title, unfortunately with this type of metal its a better option than usual primers relying on keying alone to do the job, acid etch primer will (very lightly) eat away at the metal, created pits and gouges (its not supposed to sound that bad) giving the primer something to stick to, this is the best way to prime aluminium that i know, and when taking the gun back to metal i noticed the tell tale sign of acid burns under the paint, since i didnt go through any noticeable layers i can only assume they use a black acid etch primer and leave it there.

Before painting make sure the metal is as clean as clean can be, you do not want any debris or worse, oil or grease on the frame before painting this will cause the paint to be shiny in places and flake off or bubble under heat, the way round this is to clean the surface with a solvent cleaner, I used a bit of white spirit on a kitchen towel and wiped firmly across the frame, you will be surprised what will come off, Make sure its CLEAN before painting and make sure the solvent has completely dried and the fumes have evaporated, halfords also sell paint prep wipes containing solvents and cleaners designed for the job.

After all that the frame should be clean! and this unfortunately is where i stop, as i am waiting currently for the acid etch to arrive, i shall update when applied

Please be aware I am no expert and definitely AM NOT claiming to be, as said at the beginning of this thread, I am really MORE than happy for people to add or subtract and inject there own personal experience to this thread
in the hopes it becomes a decent stand alone PROFESSIONAL guide for the internet. so please, no comments moaning that im wrong, instead tell me whats right and make this a useful guide, hope this helps, anyone interested in doing this and feel free to pm me with any questions.

[dave38x]

Re: A proper guide to painting an airsoft gun

Very nice Balbosa - another way to increase paint durability would be to use an etch primer over the keying

[BALBOSA]

Re: A proper guide to painting an airsoft gun

thanks dave, and also i already covered acid etch primer ;P

[mad.matt]

Re: A proper guide to painting an airsoft gun

Good write up balbosa
I would make a suggestion though
From my recent paint stripping experiences, a blob of nitromors and a rotary wire brush(or similar attachment) does a damn good job to make most metals damn near gleaming!
Makes for a more uniform paint removal/cleaning surface prep if the user fancies "polishing his pistol" so to speak.

For paint on a near polished surface, etch primer is a must for a more durable finish

Hope you didn't mind my little addition

[BALBOSA]

Re: A proper guide to painting an airsoft gun

of course i didnt!!! this is what im after, a decent well rounded and experienced guide to painting a pistol (or aeg) back to near factory finish as pos

thankyou matt!

[dave38x]

Re: A proper guide to painting an airsoft gun

Woops - missed the etch primer bit!

madmatt - the major risk with rotary wire brushing is if you use coarse brushes they will tear a hole in anything softer than steel :P (speaking from experience when I stripped a 1210 record deck for repainting - of course if you use a soft/fine one your sorted!)

[Sam-Beta]

Re: A proper guide to painting an airsoft gun

Awesome This will come in handy in the future! Nice Blue Peter guide Bosa! :D

[BALBOSA]

Re: A proper guide to painting an airsoft gun

Acid etch arrived today and have been painting (mostly my hands so make sure you wear gloves) and it appears its going ok, i used an acid etch primer that was black from the start and to be honest the colour is amazingly similar to the old finish, that being the case ive just left it as it was, made sure there was a decent amount of paint on it to build up a decent layer but being acid etch it shouldnt come off too readily, im just worried about it becoming shiny due to vented gas, maybe some matt lacquer is in order but cant find the poxy stuff ANYWHERE, regardless, for now it seems to be drying very nicely. Ive had to slap my wrist a few times as ive found myself trying to put the thing back together already to see what its like and even then after metal on metal contact with parts and scraping the body accidentally it seems to be holding up so fingers crossed! il stick a pick up asap

edit: pic :D


looking pretty damn good if i dont say so myself : )

[DARKWOLF1298]

Looking good mate its worth the time when u see the results :p

[BALBOSA]

Re: A proper guide to painting an airsoft gun

its back together and looking awesome







post up a spray guide later on if i find the time, and what i used to achieve the finish, now all it needs is an engraving and im set, 1 non traded kwa 1911 ptp :D

[dave38x]

Re: A proper guide to painting an airsoft gun

that is gorgeous balbosa!

[BALBOSA]

Re: A proper guide to painting an airsoft gun

Thanks allot dude!

its taken a while but i got there in the end seems to be holding up very well too, now all it needs is an engraving and we are done

[matt [DWC]]

Great guide, My work involves a lot of bonding of polymers and priming of metals. I wouldn't consider myself an expert as far as metal painting goes but for airsoft work your guides right on the money.

[matt [DWC]]

Oh and great result too I've got a 1911 and you've inspired me to give her a tidy up. Cheers

[BALBOSA]

Re: A proper guide to painting an airsoft gun

Great guide, My work involves a lot of bonding of polymers and priming of metals. I wouldn't consider myself an expert as far as metal painting goes but for airsoft work your guides right on the money.

thank allot man! so everything i said is accurate? that would be great if so really want to help people as i couldnt find guides online for sh%t