Painting an Airsoft Pistol to Look Real

Want to give your AEG or GBB a fresh coat of pigment, but confused most where to start? Don't sweat! We'll walk you through the basics, prep, and some finer points of breaking up your airsoft gun's natural blackness silhouette.

LCT-AK74M with completed paintjob — LCT-AK74M with completed paint job

Painting your gun for the first time can exist a bit intimidating if y'all aren't quite sure how to go well-nigh information technology –and in that location's definitely something slightly unnerving about taking those first steps in altering your gun's sleek, all-blackness advent.

However, painting your gun is quite easy once y'all get the hang of it, and can add both a touch of personal flair and assist with concealment to kick!

Choosing Your Paints

First things starting time–a word about paints! While many folks like to stick to the standard Krylon flat camouflage line, I personally prefer flat model paints available from Tamiya, Model Masters, and Testors, which yous tin by and large find at any model-oriented hobby store.

Not only is the range of colors much more varied (compared to Krlyon's typical khaki, brown and olive drab), just the paints tend to article of clothing much more than quickly equally well – which is crawly if yous're after that iconic "battleworn" await but want it to occur naturally!

Now that we've got out of the way, let's become started!

What Y'all'll Need

The airsoft gun y'all're going to paint (duh)
Your paint of selection (duh)
Some type of surface to pigment on, such every bit a flat cardboard box
A mesh laundry bag if y'all'd like to add a sort of 'snakeskin' pattern to your gun
Standard painter'due south tape if you're concerned well-nigh covering up whatever office of your gun – such as the muzzle, any trademarks yous don't desire to pigment over, the hop-up unit, etc.

Always start by giving your gun a good wipedown of all exterior surfaces. Nosotros desire to give the pigment the cleanest surface possible to bail to, so brand sure y'all don't accept too much built-upwards grime or gunk anywhere on your receiver, track, stock, etc.

LCT AK with Zenimei Zenit Parts, Prepaint

Endeavour to go into your projection knowing roughly what kind of blueprint you're aiming for. Personally, I tend to stick to alternating diagonal stripes, but it'due south important to lay down a base coat first.

Generally, I like to go from the darkest color in my palette upwards to the lightest, and so my base coat hither is going to be comprised of Model Master Calorie-free Globe.

As you can run across, in that location are some parts I didn't hit very difficult, and that'southward intentional. The goal is to apply curt, brisk swiping motions to "dust" the gun to your desired level of color saturation from about ~one-2 feet away from the receiver. Brand sure you're non holding downwards the spray nozzle and creating pools of pigment! A little goes a long way.

Closeup of LCT AK-74M receiver with base coat applied

You'll also notice that I don't normally carp taping upwards my magazine well or barrel, but I've got pretty good control with the can and am not super worried about it. If it'south your beginning time, you may want to consider taping these areas off just to give you lot some peace of mind!

Depending on the temperature of your environment, you'll desire to give the paint ~3-5 minutes to dry earlier flipping just and so that you don't smudge it.

Now that we've got our Light Globe base of operations tone sprayed evenly on both sides, it's time for some stripes! I chose to go with the side by side darkest tan in my palette–Model Master SAC Bomber Tan, as it creates a dainty contrast between the Low-cal Earth base of operations.

While contrast isn't generally something you lot desire in a paint job meant to blend in, nosotros're going to go back and smoothen these lines out later, so don't worry.

LCT AK-74M with first coat of stripes applied. — LCT AK-74M with start coat of stripes practical.

Don't get caught upwardly too much with the placement of the stripes or making sure that they're perfectly fifty-fifty–very rarely exercise you lot detect perfectly geometric shapes within nature, and presumably, you'll be attempting to hide within a natural surround, so have fun with it!

LCT AK-74M handguard strip detail — LCT AK-74M handguard strip particular

I commonly piece of work from the rear towards the muzzle of the gun, using the same brisk swipes to create diagonal confusing lines that as well lean towards the muzzle. This is what I detect works best for me, but once more, experiment!

I'll usually try to lucifer up my stripes on the opposite side of the receiver, which makes calculation connective splashes of colour across the top airplane of your burglarize much easier than doing it in reverse, as seen below.

Now that nosotros've got our bones framework out of the style, it'due south time to start working in our primary colors!

This gun was painted specifically to alloy into the environment of the Loma 559 airsoft field in Clovis, California for Milsim West'due south Route to Kharkiv upshot. Every bit Loma 559 generally tends to exist quite green this fourth dimension of year, we're going to make this a primarily green rifle–but there are obviously many other naturally occurring colors fifty-fifty in a green-dominated environs.

We start with our 'bawdy tones' showtime and add together greens on height, as information technology'due south roughly similar to the way these colors nowadays out in the wild.

Time for green! I'm using Model Main Olive Drab for this portion, as I quite like that it's a lot closer to a vintage military green than your standard Krylon colors, which tend to be a flake too dark for my taste.

This is also where nosotros'll start using our mesh laundry purse to begin creating a "snakeskin" pattern on the rifle. Brand sure you've got your handbag as flat every bit possible if y'all desire crisper lines, and farther away if you'd like them a bit fuzzy. Play around and see what works for you!

LCT AK-74M with mesh laundry bag — LCT AK-74M with mesh laundry pocketbook

I similar to use our olive drab to begin "blending" the space betwixt our light earth base coat and tan stripes. This reduces dissimilarity overall and will help with breaking up the gun'south shape.

You can too then ditch the purse and add some farther dark-green dusting along the edges of the snakeskin pattern so that your dark-green layer fades in and out of the pattern. This should aid ensure that no one item area is going to draw too much attention to the centre.

LCT AK-74M with Olive Drab Snakeskin Applied

I then practical the same procedure to the other side of the receiver, getting a little bit more than liberal with the application of the olive drab as the whole pattern starting coming together. Again, in that location are no rigid rules here, and experimentation is always going to yield the all-time results.

A close up of the snakeskin detailing — A close upward of the snakeskin detailing

You tin can go as heavy or as low-cal every bit y'all want in the awarding of the pattern! I personally tend to recollect something a bit more subdued that sort of picks upwards and disappears on summit of our base colors looks best.

Finally, we're going to add together one of my favorite colors to paint with overall–Model Master Afrika Mustard! While the sort of obnoxiously bright yellowish doesn't blend into much on its own, it does a pretty great task of simulating the tone of expressionless underbrush when mixed into an existing palette, and that's exactly what nosotros're going to do here.

LCT AK-74M with Model Master Afrika Mustard Stripes

Using the same idea as before, we're going to "split the deviation" and employ the Afrika Mustard to brainstorm blurring the lines between our existing colors so that they begin to menses pretty seamlessly into one another. Compared to our previous striping layers, you'll likely want to be a fleck lighter here – the goal is a overnice, subtle "dusted" effect more a bold, obvious line.

Keep blending!

By all means, don't experience limited to sticking with lines facing the same direction! As I'm nearing the end of the paint task hither, I began adding more splashes of color here and at that place simply to break upwards any area that felt oversaturated with a dominant color, if that makes sense.

The snakeskin pattern up close. — The snakeskin pattern up shut.

There really are no rights and wrongs hither, and I tin't emphasize that enough. You'll know your environment better than anyone, and what color palette and blueprint is going to work best within it. This wound upward being my finished production after my terminal blending process. I'g pretty happy with it!

The indoor lighting also does a bit better of a job at capturing the pigment task's truthful color tone than our outdoor, sunset lighting–and so maybe this gives you lot a better idea of what I was going for:

Obviously, you don't wanna paint your optic.

And lastly, hither'south a shot from the field and issue this gun was painted for, simply for good measure!

Was this guide helpful? How did your paint job come out? Let united states know beneath! Getting ready for your start milsim issue? Check out our milsim basics guide!