[PDXS3T]

Ok, I am at my wits end (not like I had much anyway). I have three Choate stocks. two are over 25 years old, one is two months old.

I was able to paint the two older ones, no problem at all. A nice coat of automotive primer, then Krylon Black Camo over the top.

The new stock, I want to dump gasoline on and burn! It will not take paint. I have tried for the last week and a half trying to get something to stick, with no luck what so ever.

Has anyone purchased a Choate stock in the last 6 months or so, that has painted it? And if your out there what did you use?????

I'm not even sure Duracoat will stick....ugh.

 

[kkina]

Maybe try Krylon Fusion?

 

[gundoc]

I did, but I had to blast the stock with 80 grit aluminum oxide at 90-100psi, with the shop cranked up to 75 degrees and 12% humidity on the day I got it to stick. At least with DuraCoat the humidity plays a huge part in the cure process. Back when I was in Salem, OR I couldn't paint on high humidity days without dual dehumidifiers running full bore and an airline drier.

Whatever the synthetic composition was it didn't like anything I threw at it until I blasted heavily and built a couple of base layers to level the surface again with DuraCoat. I only used one color, if I had to do camo I would have used yellow Frog Tape on it and hoped for the best. For the base coats I mixed the DuraCoat thinner with their reducer which from the smell is likely MEK or a close relative. I did that to get it way down in the nooks and crannies and prayed the added solvent would help adhesion.

To be honest I didn't buy the stock but the customer said it was new and that was a few months ago. But hey, the paint was the easy thing compared to bedding it! No profit in that job at all.

Good luck!

 

[PDXS3T]

I did, but I had to blast the stock with 80 grit aluminum oxide at 90-100psi, with the shop cranked up to 75 degrees and 12% humidity on the day I got it to stick. At least with DuraCoat the humidity plays a huge part in the cure process. Back when I was in Salem, OR I couldn't paint on high humidity days without dual dehumidifiers running full bore and an airline drier.

Whatever the synthetic composition was it didn't like anything I threw at it until I blasted heavily and built a couple of base layers to level the surface again with DuraCoat. I only used one color, if I had to do camo I would have used yellow Frog Tape on it and hoped for the best. For the base coats I mixed the DuraCoat thinner with their reducer which from the smell is likely MEK or a close relative. I did that to get it way down in the nooks and crannies and prayed the added solvent would help adhesion.

To be honest I didn't buy the stock but the customer said it was new and that was a few months ago. But hey, the paint was the easy thing compared to bedding it! No profit in that job at all.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info Doc. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one getting my arse kicked by a Choate stock.

Out of desperation, I tried an old can of white primer that I had in the garage. Its a good 10 years old.

Oddly enough, it has stuck to the stock so far, with two light coats. Will know more in a few hours when I snad it down just a bit, to knock off the rough edges.

I will be so happy, when I get this stock done.

 

[JRedHorse]

deleted.

 

[doghair]

I just did my choate varmint stock. First I scrubbed the hell out of it with dawn dish soap and a nylon brush, there was some sort of crud that came off with the soap, maybe left over release agent? The next day I gave it a couple coats of krylon auto primer, two coats of testor's OD spray enamel and about ten coats of rustoleum matte clear. It's hanging up drying for a week or two now. Can't say how it will hold up over time but it came out fine.

 

[grumpy_old_man]

I just did my choate varmint stock. First I scrubbed the hell out of it with dawn dish soap and a nylon brush, there was some sort of crud that came off with the soap, maybe left over release agent? The next day I gave it a couple coats of krylon auto primer, two coats of testor's OD spray enamel and about ten coats of rustoleum matte clear. It's hanging up drying for a week or two now. Can't say how it will hold up over time but it came out fine.

Beat me to it doghair. Yep, sounds like there's some left over release agent from the molding - the old ones would have already had it wear off but on the brandy new one its still problematic. Could also be that the newer plastic is smoother at the microscopic level and needs to be roughened up.

Either blasting it or scrubbing it should work.

FWIW I was able to paint a hogue nylon stock (not the squishy rubber ones, its like a hard nylon). Used krylon fusion and it came out pretty well; its held up for a couple of years now.

All the best,
Grumpy

 

[gundoc]

All good ideas. PDXS3T please keep us up on the results. Choate and Ramline stocks have always been difficult to paint and have it last for a long time.

 

[PDXS3T]

I just did my choate varmint stock. First I scrubbed the hell out of it with dawn dish soap and a nylon brush, there was some sort of crud that came off with the soap, maybe left over release agent? The next day I gave it a couple coats of krylon auto primer, two coats of testor's OD spray enamel and about ten coats of rustoleum matte clear. It's hanging up drying for a week or two now. Can't say how it will hold up over time but it came out fine.

I had like a powder type residue on my stock, when i unwraped it. Gave it a decent scrubbing so I thought.

Sounds like a cool looking stock, the extra long cure time will do it nicely. And with 10 coates of matte clear. Should hold up to wear and tear ok. If you get a chance, snap a pic. Would love to check it out.

 

[PDXS3T]

Beat me to it doghair. Yep, sounds like there's some left over release agent from the molding - the old ones would have already had it wear off but on the brandy new one its still problematic. Could also be that the newer plastic is smoother at the microscopic level and needs to be roughened up.

Either blasting it or scrubbing it should work.

FWIW I was able to paint a hogue nylon stock (not the squishy rubber ones, its like a hard nylon). Used krylon fusion and it came out pretty well; its held up for a couple of years now.

All the best,
Grumpy

Once I started sanding, I noticed something different about it. The plastc is much harder and stronger. Took a lot of sanding with my Dremel Contor Sander to get the checkering off. And when I tried to epoxy the sling loop holes in the pistol grip. It took three try's, before the epoxy actually took hold. Was even more trouble some, when I reset the buffer tube attachment. Getting a nice secure bed of epoxy for it to sit on took forever. lol...several failed attempts.

One thing I can say, Choate makes one bad azz, tough stock! I have sanded, beat on and stripped this stock and it has given in, very little.

Just finshed sanding the stock, a little bit ago. I'll say about 2/3 of it took primer good. The other 1/3, not soo good but, I'll take what I can get at this point though. And its actually good enough for paint. I'll try to snap a pic of it tomorrow.

I would have put a torch 3-4 day's ago. But my wife continues to reasure me that I'll win. She has also reminded me how much I spent on it and if I torch it, I'll get get that $ deducted from my next project, before it gets started. lol...Then I told her I was starting her Mini-14 next.

 

[gundoc]

You have a Chief Financial Officer, too? Luckily mine is pretty lenient.

 

[doghair]

Here is a couple lame cell pics. btw this is the ultimate varmint for a Remington 700 southpaw, I know I wandered into the mini room ... lol.

Hang in there. I've been painting a long time and have had my fair share of do-overs. You'll get it nailed down, keep us posted. I'll try to remember to get a better picture when it gets reassembled.

I agree on the choate. I read a ton of reviews before getting this and it wasn't spoken highly of on it's own merits, just capped on because it wasn't as good as the ones that cost a grand. This thing kicks butt.

 

[PDXS3T]

You have a Chief Financial Officer, too? Luckily mine is pretty lenient.

Mine is too, for the most part. We have to watch thing's a lot closer these day's. Before I got sick, and had a really nice income. I use to have a green light for anything $499 and bellow.

I'll never forget her face, when I bought my Fender Strat. The box arrived. And of course it said Fender on it. Man, I was getting the stink eye. Then I pulled the guitar out. Beautiful dark blue in color. Man did I getting and ear full for not doing a check in, before the purchase. lol...I said hey, wait a sec. It was only $498 with free shipping!

I won that battle but, in the end, I kind of lost out for a few day's. Was worth every penny.

And that Strat, was actually traded off for her Mini-14. Just about a month ago.

 

[PDXS3T]

Here is a couple lame cell pics. btw this is the ultimate varmint for a Remington 700 southpaw, I know I wandered into the mini room ... lol.

Hang in there. I've been painting a long time and have had my fair share of do-overs. You'll get it nailed down, keep us posted. I'll try to remember to get a better picture when it gets reassembled.

I agree on the choate. I read a ton of reviews before getting this and it wasn't spoken highly of on it's own merits, just capped on because it wasn't as good as the ones that cost a grand. This thing kicks butt.

That is a sharp looking stock. A job nicely well done! Looking forward to seeing it all together.

After some light sanding late last night and another light dusting of primer early this morning. Looks like I'll get 100% coverage on the stock. Which I can hang with at this point.

Choate could make a real big grab on the aftermarket stocks for the Mini-14/30, if they would refine the products a bit. The stocks hold up well over time and work well. They are really rough around the edges and over the years, from what I've read and experienced, the build quality is lacking. Along with their Customer Service.

With all that I've done to the M4 Style stock for the Mini, I'd love to see some changes/additions/fixes.

1). Clean up the molds. Some of the mold lines are super fugly.

2). Remove the checkering and smooth out the stock. Its has some really nice lines and looks finished smooth.

3). Add some finger grooves to the pistol grip while retaing its slim profile.

4). Add some starter placement holes on the inside for the addition of picatinny rails ( like how Promag did it on the Sparta stock ). Maybe space em out for Magpul rails?

5). Supply pre-cut grip tape for those that might want to add it to the pistol grip and select spots on the fore grip.

6). Mold in a better channel for the stock liner. Getting it to mount a little more solid, would help greatly.

7). Clean up how the buffer tube attachment sits in the stock. Its really crude, with uneven/sharp edges. Sloppy is another word that comes to mind.

lol...not too bad of a list. Once I'm done, it will be a really nice stock. A total custom job. That's, what is cool about the Mini. We tend to taylor them into very personal firearms. That have a lot of character.

 

[PDXS3T]

Choate M4 Mini-14/30 Stock Left side

Choate M4 Mini-14/30 Stock Right Side

So far so good. Have a decent base primer coat. Sure will be glad when I'm spraying the final coats of clear.

Next though, getting the stock liner bedded to the stock. Will be using Marine-Tex Gray for the job. Wish me luck!

 

[gundoc]

Just like in my Mini bedding video make sure it's clean, route it out a little for the MarineTex and use a slotting tool to cut slots - not holes - and the bedding will stick. if you angle your tool one way on one slot and the opposite on the next you'll also create a mechanical bond to help it all stay together.

 

[PDXS3T]

Just like in my Mini bedding video make sure it's clean, route it out a little for the MarineTex and use a slotting tool to cut slots - not holes - and the bedding will stick. if you angle your tool one way on one slot and the opposite on the next you'll also create a mechanical bond to help it all stay together.

For sure Doc...and I have to tell you thank you for that video and the others you have, for all of us to us. AWESOME STUFF!

I'll be keeping the fingers and toes crossed, when I do the fore grip liner. The stock does not like epoxy. The Gorilla Epoxy I first tried, in a couple of failed attempts, was a joke. Hoping the Marine-Tex will have a better result.

 

[doghair]

Hey ya got it. Nice. What's the final color going to be?

Mine cured faster than I thought it would, gotta love the desert for painting. I posted pics over in the bolt action section.

 

[PDXS3T]

Hey ya got it. Nice. What's the final color going to be?

Mine cured faster than I thought it would, gotta love the desert for painting. I posted pics over in the bolt action section.

I did and I was so happy!

I'm going to keep it simple and paint it matte black. The Mini-30 its going on is blued.

The stock has kicked my azz so bad. I just want to get it done. Its almost like, it doesn't like me. Not sure an inanimate objet could do that but, I swear, this one does!