Gunskins user report

[sulcop96]

Over the last few months I have seen a few Hide members inquire about Gunskins so I did a bit of research myself and from the outside they appear to be a good idea. I was expecting the arrival of a new XLR chassis for my FN SPR and decided to order a set of skins to try. I figured the chassis would come disassembled and for the most part clean so it would be easy to add the skins then assemble the chassis.

Now as a certified Krylon master I love to throw paint all over my rifles and even had my favorite painted by Short Bus over at Custom Gun Coats, along with my scope. Now for the most part prefer form over function so I don't have all the rifles done by a pro, but my one pro job just sticks out from the pack and is a functional work of art. Also I am too lazy and don't have the time to do all the stencil kits to make them prudy. And of course I live in the north east with the changing AO so with paint I can adjust the brown and green with the season. So all this played into my test run on the GunSkins and figured for short cash I could try them out and field test them.

I went with the Gear Skins kit because the XLR did not meet the shape of the pre cut packages, and it arrived the next day. Talk about fast shipping, and on top of that shipping is free. I read the directions and watched the video on the site and everything seemed fairly straight forward. Just cut to fit, peal off the back, stick it on the rifle, trip with a hobby knife and hit it with a blow dryer. During the application process I found that it takes some work to get them to fit just right without getting bubbles and bends but once I got he hang of it the process went very fast. The only slow down was trimming the handguard, make sure you have a nice sharp hobby knife. After its all done a nice blast with the blow dryer to seal them to the stock and your done. I actually had a lot left over and one side of the stock (the first piece I put on) did not look that good so I decided to test how easy it is to remove. Took about 6 seconds to peal it off but around 30 seconds to get an edge to flip up so I could remove the skin. Once on they are on good and should not peal up at the edges.

Today was training day and we had several stalking lanes set up and then some range time. After two long and one short stalk the skins held up very well. No pealing or scratching and then actually added a protective layer to the stock. So besides the visual there seems to be some value. Not sure if it will effect the stock in the long run, but it does not seem any moisture will make it under the skin layer.

So far I am pleased, but I have only one training assembly in so far. I'll post back after a few months of use, but for the money even of it falls apart its not a big deal. Will the Gunskins replace my OCD for spray painting? Perhaps, same level of satisfaction and the end product looks better then anything I can do. Will the skins replace my using Short Bus in the future for other rifles? Not a chance in hell! Side by side the AICS skins Bus painted are head and shoulders better then the skins. But next to anything I have done they provide way more form and function for about the same price/time.

Here is the website if your interested: GunSkins | Protection in Camouflage



Sully

 

[D_Lamz]

Looks really cool. I might do it.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Trigger Monkey]

That looks really good, I'm going to pick up some in MC to redo my AX chassis and the new Lancer handguard I have coming in. When I look back at the amount of time and money spent buying about nine different colors of spray paint, cutting out the stencils, and trying to make everything look close I wish I would've known about these months ago.

 

[--BLACKOUT--]

I'll have to try this out. Thanks for the review.

 

[Trigger Monkey]

Well I got my chassis and handguard done so I thought I'd post a couple of pictures up to show the results. The handguard was easy, the AX chassis no so much, there were a lot of curves, pockets, and edges that made it tough to get it perfect without creases. That being said I think it looks better than the paint I had on there before, it's more durable also, but I don't have the expense and wait of sending it off for a hydro dip or custom paint job.





I'll work on getting a better review up after I get some rounds under it.

 

[sulcop96]

TM,

I attempted to do my AICS 1.5 and it did not come out as good as the XLR. It looks good, but not a great as the more square XLR style. I actually like the two tone look on yours though.

Sully

 

[GhostFace]

TM,

I attempted to do my AICS 1.5 and it did not come out as good as the XLR. It looks good, but not a great as the more square XLR style. I actually like the two tone look on yours though.

Sully

do you have pics? I was thinking of doing my 1.5 in multicam but IDK know now...

 

[Trigger Monkey]

After I got my AX done I thought it'd be fairly straightforward to do an AICS stock. I found that while doing mine that if I had to go around a curve or radius that a good bit of heat from the blow dryer and some stretching helped smooth things out.

 

[sulcop96]

Ghostface, I'm at work on a double but will click and post when I can. I also found that if you put a slit in the center of the curved area, heat well and fold it will bend with the stock but you will still have a bit of a seem to deal with. Also if you go with more curved cuts it will conform a bet better too.

Sully

 

[GhostFace]

Thanks Sully, I am looking forward to your pics...

 

[GhostFace]

Sulcop, can you post a pic? I am going to buy some of this in the next couple of days but I would really like to see yours before I do, so I know what to expect...

 

[sulcop96]

Sulcop, can you post a pic? I am going to buy some of this in the next couple of days but I would really like to see yours before I do, so I know what to expect...

GF here are the photos. As you can see I started to peal off the Gunskins on the AICS because they just do not fit well with all the curves. The XLR and M4 perfect, the AICS... not so good. If you come up with a process that lets you hit the folds and curves let me know because I am itching to try some Kryptik patterns.

Sully

 

[GhostFace]

Okay, thanks brother! I will show these photos to my buddy and see what he thinks. Like I said he wraps all kind of shit but it's in CF. I never seen a CF AR before but it did look pretty good though.

 

[sulcop96]

GF one thing on my skins, when heated the curves fit ok but then as it dried it pulled up like that. My have just been my technique but I did it the same way as the XLR.

Sully

 

[compass]

This may be a helpful link from Camoskinz - Camo Skinz - Camo Truck Kits, Wraps, Camo Dip Kits, Vinyl Accent Kits

They offer the Gunskins camo wraps, but they also offer DIY Camo Dip kits too...

 

[devldogs55]

Well thanks... I'm gonna have to get one for my new XLR Element! Looks awesome.

 

[Longshot231]

I realize that this is an old thread from 5 years ago but wanted to know how the gunskins have held up for those folks that have applied them to their rifle.

Can we get a report on the longevity of the gunskins?

Thanks.

 

[sulcop96]

On my duty rigs they got a bit scratched up depending on how I set up and how much movement we did, but much better then getting a custom paint job done. I think the set in the photos I posted lasted about two years, 50-60 call outs, 3-4 courses I took and two SWAT sniper team challenges. All in all I think they held up great! The other guys I worked with did rattle can jobs that never held up and a few got quality custom work done, but in the end every work rifle got scratched to hell. The rattle cans looked the worse, the custom jobs held up the best but still you could see the scratches and blemishes. The skins held up the best and had the overall $ spent factor in favor. A rattle can job can cost $30 bucks if you use good colors and three or more colors, my skins cost the same and looked far better in the end.

I retired from the PD last year so I had one of my personal rifles painted by a pro and the other I wrapped in OCP Gun skins. I don't soot PRS and no longer climb out of Bearcats or slither into weird locations so just normal weekly range shooting. I still use a variety of shooting positions and gear (packs, tripods, benches, cut outs etc.) and so far the skins don't have a single mark but my painted gun has a few scratches. Up close the painted gun looks flawless, except for the scratches, but the wrapped gun has a few flaws from where I folded ends. So if your looking to make a gun pretty but not give it much use then get it painted if that is your fancy. For a functional high use rifle or hunting rig I think the Skins would work great and allow seasonal variety, but to do them decently you will need to invest several hours.

I will probably not do either again as the whole point of the wrap/paint was for performance and blending for work and trying to provide a bit of protection. I don't hunt and am Just A Guy now so can't really justify the expense of another paint job or the hours spent wrapping when it is just for the ohh-ahhh factor at the range so once I remove the skins I'll be a black rifle guy. Nothing wrong with blinging your toys, just remember your investing time and money and in that case I say try the skins for $25.

 

[Longshot231]

Thanks for the update. I decided to wrap a couple if inexpensive rifles.

What worries me is what goes on underneath the gunskins around the barrel. Did you have any problem with moisture or rust on any metal surfaces underneath the gunskins?

 

[sulcop96]

I didn't use any on the barrels or optics.

Sully