How to Tiger Stripe a Rifle
The tiger stripe pattern, used by various military institutions, has been in use for the past 30 years, most notably developed during the Vietnam war as camouflage for jungle warfare. There are many variations of the tiger stripe pattern and, when it comes to painting you rifle, the tiger stripe pattern is easy to paint. Unlike other camouflage patterns, the tiger stripe can be masked and painted using simple parallel lines, and makes a great project for someone new to rifle stock painting.
Things You'll Need
- Tri-sodium phosphate
- Parkerizing solution
- Pot
- Stove
- Airbrush
- Oil
- Base coat (black)
- Blue painters tape
- Paint (contrasting colors)
Instructions
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1
Dismantle the rifle and wash the dismantled parts using tri-sodium phosphate.
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2
Soak the parts into the tri sodium phosphate solution for about 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly.
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3
Prepare the parkerizing solution. The parkerizing process helps the paint to better adhere to the metal. Mix the parkerizing solution with water. Typically, this is 4 parts water to 1 part parkerizing solution, however the ratios vary depending on your brand of solution.
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4
Heat the parkerizing solution on the stove to roughly 185-195 degrees Fahrenheit.
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5
Submerge the rifle parts to be painted into the hot solution. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.
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6
Take the pot from the stove and rinse the parts thoroughly.
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7
Spray oil onto the parts. Even those parts that will not be painted should be sprayed to have a rust-proof finish.
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8
Using an airbrush or paint sprayer, spray a base coat on the rifle parts you will eventually tiger stripe. Make it flat black.
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9
Tape the rifle using strips of blue painters tape.
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10
Apply a contrasting color on top of the base.
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11
Dry the rifle in the sun, then remove the tape.
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12
Put the rifle parts into the oven at about 220 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours to cure the paint.
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13
Remove the rifle parts from the oven and reassemble the parts. You now have a tiger-striped rifle.
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References
- Photo Credit soldier and his rifle image by Daniel Wiedemann from Fotolia.com
