Best Camo Spray Paint Tutorial: How to paint your RIF

Posted on February 5, 2021
By Aka Staten

How to paint your rifle.

There are many other rifles out there… but this one is mine.

I really wanted to paint my AAP-01, but I didn’t know what to go for. Armed with lots of Fosco Paint and good intentions I lacked a definitive ideas. Sure I could’ve gone for the typical styles that you normally seen, but I wanted something different. As I looked across my studio, there sitting in a heap from last game play was my Concamo combats… time to go to work…

Tips when painting an airsoft rifle:

Always take care in preparation. Clean the surface you want to paint with white spirits and a cloth. Mask off areas you don’t want painted.

Carry out the painting and cleaning in a well ventilated area and I highly recommend wearing vinyl gloves. In the summer I tend to spray outside. Wind can blow dust/dirt on it so just be careful. Always chose your base coat carefully.

If using stencils or using foliage as a mask remember which layer is going to be visible to workout a plan as to what layers need to go down first and what order of stencils or masks you need to do.

Spray the paint on lightly keeping the spray moving, keeping it at the same angle as the contours of your RIF and never stop in one place. It’s better to do multiple layers lightly and build up your base coat that trying to cover the rifle in one spray. This will help prevent the paint building up and running. Remember you don’t need to put every coat on as a thick colour. Sometimes its good just to “dust” certain sections with quick blasts of paint which will give more subtle effects.

Use sponges to apply paint for different textured effects. Dip a toothbrush in some paint and flick it on to the gun or press the nib on the spray can down just enough that it expels gas, but paint builds up inside. When you press slightly harder it comes out in a splatter effect. A great way of adding textured highlights and distressed looking splatters as the last layer. Remember to clean your nozzle with nail varnish remover as this can block if left to harden.

Leave the RIF to dry and cure. Drying takes around 15-30mins but it will take 24hours to properly cure.

At this stage you can remove any masking tape and if you are wanting a worn/distressed look you can take a cloth dipped in nail varnish remover and wipe the areas you want to look worn/paint removed.