Category Archives: Firearms

Paint Your Rifle With 3D Airmesh

Guns look cool. Painted guns look better. Rattle canned guns look even better-er. I don’t know why. Something about character or whatever. I think most shooters (and even some gun-guys) out there have used the burlap method. Putting down a base coat of tan paint and then spraying that “snake skin” like pattern using the burlap as a stencil. It’s cool and can look great but is there something else?

I have to tell you a quick story. I design tactical gear for a living. While at the SHOT Show: Supplier Showcase a couple of years ago I stopped by the APEX Mills booth to take a look at the new nits, meshes, and 3D spacers that they would be offering. As is the norm at trade shows I got some samples (below). In this case, a booklet. A short while after returning home I received a second booklet at the office. Once a vendor scans your badge at SHOT Show they pretty much have all your information including your address and some of them just starting mailing stuff. At the time we were only ordering DNB138 Airmesh from APEX Mills and didn’t need to add another material to the inventory. So, on the shelf the booklets sat.

The APEX Mills Sample Book I got at SHOT Show.

About a year and a half later I had put together a new AR and it needed some paint. But I didn’t have any burlap. Working in the office a few months ago I was looking through samples I had received in the past and came across these two booklets again. I started flipping through and wondered why different meshes [spacers, knits too] from the same mill had different patterns. Why not just find a good one and stick with it? Somehow my mind jumped to that AR I had been meaning to paint for months and I realized I was holding several different “stencils” in my hand. If I wanted to get a varying pattern on the rifle then this could be a way to do it.

So I dismantled one of the booklets and was left with a bunch of different individual pieces. About half of them were not suitable for spray painting but it left me with these pictured below.

Different air and spacer mesh samples that came out of the APEX Mills sample booklet.

I did some testing on cardboard just to see how the different patterns would look and was greatly encouraged by the result. No pools of paint or issue with the mesh pieces sticking after drying. Just a bunch of very clean and different patterns. I was ready to commit.

Spray paint test on cardbaord.

It was about this time that I realized I also had a Ruger Precision Rimfire rifle that I had wanted to paint. I decided to hit it first. The results are below.

I was happy with the way it ended up on the Ruger so it was time to move onto the AR. All of the images below are after the fact. So don’t worry.. I did remove the Dbal (laser) first. I put down a base coat (green this time) and let it dry over 24 hours. Then I pretty much wrapped the entire rifle in different types of meshes, knits, and spacers. Do be careful with how your spray hits the materials. It can blow them around and smear the result. I learned that it was best to shoot straight down on the fabric with the spray.

The rifle all wrapped up in different airmesh. Preparing to paint.
A closeup of the airmesh against the rifle.

I was again very happy with the results. The pattern varied just as I had planned. Giving it a chaotic and natural feel.

Finished paint job on rifle.

I tried something a little different with the stock. I had noticed that on the spacer mesh (specifically the DNB118 material) there was a HUGE difference between the two layers (the area between these layers is the “space” in spacer). One side was a very fine weave and the other fairly coarse. Perhaps if I laid the coarse side on the rifle (the side that would normally be in contact with the human body if this mesh was being made into a piece of gear like a plate carrier) and sprayed through the fine side it would diffuse some of the paint and give a 3D look. You can be the judge from the pic below but I think it turned out great. I might end up doing a whole other rifle in this style.

Closeup of the rifle stock after painting.

Some people will hate this right from the start. Either they think rifle painting should be done professionally with a coating or perhaps that they shouldn’t be painted at all. I have always loved the look of a rattle canned rifle and the purpose of this blog is to simply share things that I like.

Where can you get some airmesh?

Well, I don’t think APEX Mills would be to happy if all of a sudden a bunch of non-customers start contacting them asking for sample booklets and I can understand why. But lucky for you there are tons of places on the internet where you can purchase small amounts of airmesh. You also shouldn’t overlook just heading out to your local fabric store and taking a look at the meshes there. There is no reason your paint stencil needs to be milspec and/or berry compliant. If you need some web suggestions for materials such as this you can take a look at the DIY Materials and Sources section of this website. There, I am compiling an ever-expanding table of materials.

Optics Magnifiers and You

Below is a comparison table of 19 different industry optics magnifiers. Specifically the add-on type that can be flipped-to-side when not needed. From the expensive to the … less expensive. I can’t claim credit for any of the research here. I was given this chart by someone who got it off of the Light-Fighter Manifesto discord server. Just passing it along. I am sure someone out there needs this.

Why everyone needs an AR-15 – from Issac Botkin

T.Rex Arms produced this amazing 30 minute video about not just the AR-15 but rather an entire abridged history of the development of “militarize” firearms. Those who oppose civilian ownership of any weapons that may or might be used by military personnel are likely not being truthful (or perhaps are completely ignorant) regarding the history precedent of the subject. The production quality here is off the scale. A big thumbs up from 30MC (I have watched it three times). If I have convinced you to give the video a shot then please budget the time to watch it all the way through.

It just so happens that I was working on a write-up that was basically along the same lines as this video. As there is no way I could say things better I will most likely be pivoting that write-up to tackle a different angle of the argument. Stay tuned for that.

https://www.youtube.com/c/TREXARMS

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300 Blackout: Sig vs Q

The boy are at it again. Joe and Geoff put on the white lab coats and do science. Don’t forget to subscribe to their YouTube channel.

From the video:
A little back to back audio comparison between a 6.75in Sig MCX with the SRD762Ti-QD suppressor and an Aero Precision build with the 7in Q Honey Badger barrel and the Q Thunder Chicken suppressor. Ammo for both guns was Hornady Black 208gr subsonic. As you can see, the Q build did not like this particular ammo with the current gas setting. This was the first time running this ammo and the first time I’ve ever had gassing issues with the Q setup.