Digital Tigerstripe Camouflage Howto
Masking
Mask off any vital areas with 3M Painters Tape. This may include things like open bolts, hopper feed tubes, etc...
Basecoat
Apply the basecoat.
This should be done slowly, and evenly.
It is better to apply 5 light coats than 1 heavy dripping coat.
Initiate the spray before you reach your marker, that way you have a nice fine mist hitting your gun. If you start right above your marker you risk globs and splotches. Not good. Not good at all young jedi.
Experiment with distances. If you spray from too far back, the paint particles will glob together making a nasty orange peel looking finish. For my airbrush 3 inches seemed good.
Let the basecoat dry. 1 hour air dry. If you are using Duracoat, I recommend waiting a full day for it set up as it will allow the paint to degass. The degassing can make the adhesive on the stencil material more sticky, hindering their removal later on.
Stenciling
Start placing stencils with the assistance of your xacto blade. Do not press them down until you are happy with the position. Remember, with to keep the stencils aligned to the horizontal axis. Once you are happy, press them down to make sure they stick.
TIP: if you find that the stencils are not sticking to curved or raised edges, use a hair dryer to warm the vinyl. Then press the stencil down again, it should stick now.
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Basecoat of Matte Black with long stripes applied. Urban White w/ Stencils applied.
Note: Everywhere you place a stencil on the basecoat will show through all subsequent layers.
Apply the next color, in this case, Woodland Tan. Let it dry.
Repeat until you are done.
Woodland Tan w/ Stencils Applied
Woodland Green applied
After the weapon is dry, remove all the templates.
Weapon with all the stencils removed.
Now you want to place your female templates on the weapon.
The application of the female templates help cover up any areas where the paint may have peeled, but more importantly it helps break up the pattern where it is to large.
If you wait 5 minutes after spraying, you can pick up the templates after you have used them to apply a spot treatment to other areas of the marker.
Spot treatment with female templates.
Close up using an airbrush.
You may want to follow up with a matte clear coat for added durability. Plus it will even out the sheen of the different paints.
