Spinoff to 7mm08 thread

[kravguy]

I'm leaning more towards the Tikka T3 lite. It sounds like the Savage is a good gun too, but it has looks that only a mother could love.

The one thing I don't like about the Tikka is the black stock. I wish they had options of different colors or something. Is it stupid to purchase a new Tikka T3, and purchase a different stock from say Bell and Carlson? Trying to decide if it would be worth it to do such a thing, or if I am going to go that far should I look at something else?

 

[KMD]

If a black stock is all that's holding you back, just buy the rifle and three cans of Krylon Fusion Ultra Flat rattle cans and a painter's sponge. I use Tan, OD, and Black and my rifles all get 'sponged', but start with a cover base coat, or combo thereof. Then accent whatever color on top of your base coat with the sponge. I just spray the paint onto an old plastic lid, then dab the sponge and get after it.
Might want to practice a bit on a piece of cardboard, til you find a pattern you like. This is my .243...

And this XLR chassis on my 7Wizzer used to be black, too. Sponge camo jobs are easy, once you find a color combo that suits ya...

Pretty much all of my rifles are ruined with Krylon and a sponge, save for one funky McSwirly dip.
Like I said, don't let something like stock color sway you from buying the rifle you want! Krylon covers well, and is surprisingly durable...
Good luck!

 

[kravguy]

Wow, those look really good. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Shrek]

KMD , how does the paint hold up to powder blast and bore cleaners ?

 

[Justin Crossley]

Nice work on the camo. I really like that.

 

[KMD]

Thanks, its kind of a fun and easy DIY job. A little practice goes a long way!
Daveinjax, I only use Krylon on the stocks, so there isn't much in the way of solvents or powder blast interaction. GAP coated the barreled actions with OD Cerakote when they built both rifles. Cerakote is leaps and bounds more durable than Krylon, or even Duracoat for that matter. However, after a few thousand bolt cycles, the Cerakote finish on that 7Wizzer's Surgeon 591 bolt has partially worn off. The Cerakote on the barreled action and around the Badger Thruster muzzlebrake on the 7 has held up wonderfully! But for just doing a stock a different color, Krylon is easy, cheap and holds up well!

 

[flyinsquirel]

KMD is spot on about not letting the black stock hold you back. His paint scheme kicks ass.
As far as Savages go, I must admit they are all I carry, so I'm biased, but once you start punching tiny groups you too will appreciate the ugly goodness that is a Savage. Spend the extra on good optics, then go forth and fill the freezer.

 

[unm1136]

If you like specific patterns you can find how to stuff online. Generally you start with a few light base coats of your lightest color, mask, what you want to stay, hit it with the next lightest, mask, ect. You can also find guys who will hyrdro dip your stuff. I like the DIY approach. There are tutorials and youtube videos all over the place. You can use standard sprays, or you can by the good stuff from brownells, to include bake on, self lubricating finishes. One thing I learned, finishing several guns with the brownells sprays, is that your finish will not scratch nearly as easily if you give it a couple of coats of spray flat urethane. I have some 1911 mags that I have had for about 2 years now, finished with Brownells alumahyde and covered with polyurethane, and while the mag catch wore a groove to bare metal fairly quickly, the mags are just beginning to look ratty, and I don't baby my mags. Alumahyde is only one step above krylon as far as durability goes, and way below the bake on finishes. My mags live either in my gun, or in nylon pouches, and they are dropped, kicked, ejected, and stepped on with some regularity. My two range surfaces are concrete (indoor) and coarse sand (outdoor).

I have had people rave about the durability of http://www.bearcoat.com/index2.php?v=v2#/home/, but their new website is not so hot, and it looks like their prices have gone up. Everything else will wear eventually, except maybe NP3, and that only comes in one color.

pat