Not happy with my painting technique

[bsnyder]

Are you guys using natural sponges regular household sponges?

I use natural and cut them in to smaller piece

 

[bsnyder]

This is for my nephew. I hydro dipped it then sponge painted it.

 

[waspocrew]

His and hers 22lr rascals for my kids. Use a clear coat over it and the paint should last quite a while.

 

[Rick Richard]

His and hers 22lr crickets for my kids. Use a clear coat over it and the paint should last quite a while.

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Those are super cool.

 

[Blacklab1]

Thanks guys, now I'm starting to get somewhere. I got done with work early today and had a little time to experiment, all the videos I watched no one mentioned to wet the sponges before they were used, I had it in my mind that you wanted them on the stiffer side but that's not the case. After they were wetted things started coming together for me. A little more practice and I'll be ready to do my McMillan.

 

[coueskiller43]

Thanks guys, now I'm starting to get somewhere. I got done with work early today and had a little time to experiment, all the videos I watched no one mentioned to wet the sponges before they were used, I had it in my mind that you wanted them on the stiffer side but that's not the case. After they were wetted things started coming together for me. A little more practice and I'll be ready to do my McMillan.

Looking good
It takes some practice to get a feel for the amount of pressure needed to apply the sponge. Too little, not enough paint. Too much you lose all the pattern from the sponge.

 

[BigDon]

Thanks guys, now I'm starting to get somewhere. I got done with work early today and had a little time to experiment, all the videos I watched no one mentioned to wet the sponges before they were used, I had it in my mind that you wanted them on the stiffer side but that's not the case. After they were wetted things started coming together for me. A little more practice and I'll be ready to do my McMillan.

Are you wetting the sponge with water or thinner?

 

[crazymonkey]

His and hers 22lr crickets for my kids. Use a clear coat over it and the paint should last quite a while.

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Are those the target model? I'm looking for something for the younger kids that might not make the age limit for the giveaway I do.

 

[Blacklab1]

Are you wetting the sponge with water or thinner?

I wet it with water and let it sit for an hour or so after wringing it out really good. Made a world of difference.

 

[waspocrew]

Those are super cool.

Thanks! Was happy with how they turned out. I'll probably do my Howa mini stock in the orange pattern soon.

 

[waspocrew]

Are those the target model? I'm looking for something for the younger kids that might not make the age limit for the giveaway I do.

Yep, the rascal target XP. From scheels, it was a pretty good deal for $290. Threaded barrel, scope, and bipod. They love them.

 

[RYEWSKY25284]

I'm trying to figure out how to do a decent camo paint job for my new rifle. I tried sponge painting and a Bob Ross approach with dabbing a round brush but I'm not really happy with either one. I'm trying to get close to something like a Manners sponge paint like the one I have a picture of but can't seem to get the bigger blotches. I tried trimming the natural sponge into different shapes but it's just not working out. I tried different pressures but if I press too hard it turns into a smudge and too light it's more like speckled. Any advice on how to get closer to a Manners?

looks good to me.

 

[rolltide]

You can go broke finding "good deals"

You need to decide what you'll be happy with and stick to it. Otherwise you'll be upgrading forever.

This stock only had the Olive spots from Manners. I added the grey and light green, plus a matte clear coat.
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This stock only had the Dk grey from Manners. My buddy wanted a LOT of orange, and some lighter grey spots.
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This was originally a Manners GAP camo, but there was a lot of black left. So I added the darker tan and the lighter sage green to fill in some of that black. Then matte clear overcoat.

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This had the Manners Tan/grey. I added the orange for some "pop" on these next two rifles.
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I have a bunch of rattle can paint jobs too, if you want reference.

Those are exceptionally nice...

 

[68hoyt]

I need to do a stock ,,,,, or a few lol , I was thinking of rattle can camo and sponge but clear coating with the Brownels alumhide satin to protect it , anyone else thought about this or done this ?