Keeping Steel plates painted

[Sarge]

I love to shoot steel as well and was wondering how often you paint the steel during your matches. I realize you can't paint for every shooter like the world championships but looking for your thoughts.

Thanks

[AlamoShooter]

Yes you can paint for each shooter, just motivate the squad to help the shooter pick up his brass, one or two paint. the next shooter can be looking, thinking, gaming, Panicking. and the brass will be slower than the paint.

Get out of the way and you have, "Make Ready"

When it is muddy we will not paint very often. or rain, but I don't remember what rain looks or feels like.

Don't buy the cheep $1 paint = it has less than 25% of the paint in a $2.00 can of Americans Finest paint.

Tell the guys Not to shake the cans while the shooter is waiting on the beep for his last run.

[outerlimits]

after every shooter-u have to see the mark!

[Chris Keen]

We paint after every shooter, assuming the helpers remember to do it.

If you want your steel painted before you shoot, ask your buddy to get it for you, so you can get ready & be focused.

[shred]

We paint after every shooter. It's about half a can of $2 spray paint (Alamo's right-- get the one-step-up paint, it's much better) per shooter per 8 stage match.

Things like the Texas Star that fall and need to be picked up sometimes get painted less to avoid getting paint all over the helpers hands.

[Flexmoney]

At an USPSA match, it used to be common courtesy to paint your squad's steel before you left for the next shooting bay (at a minimum). Really, you can paint for every shooter. Pretty easy.

At a steel challenge type match...paint between each shooter. For a local, 5 stage steel challenge match we use about a dozen cans of paint (with reshoots)...about $12 at Wal-mart (their $1 paint covers pretty decent).

[AlamoShooter]

IN Texas........ we don't use Wall-mart paint

[bkeeler]

After every shooter.

BK

[boz1911]

A couple years at Area 6 I worked a stage with two Texas stars, we painted after every shooter even in the pouring down rain. Of course with Georgia red clay(mud) the paint really didn't work all that great.

[bbbean]

I love to shoot steel as well and was wondering how often you paint the steel during your matches. I realize you can't paint for every shooter like the world championships but looking for your thoughts.

Thanks

Painting really doesn't take any more time than pasting.

[JimmyZip]

Mini rollers and a little cheap paint is faster than the cans. Most people use cans, but when I practice on steel and I know I will be there a long time, I use weenie rollers and water base. It is fast and covers completly. I can roll a whole rack while a sprayer is only halfway through his second plate. I roll them while they are laid back and reset afterward.

I did go to a match and see this once, that is where I got the idea. They painted all the steel after every shooter.

Jimmy

[AlamoShooter]

Mini rollers and a little cheap paint is faster than the cans. Most people use cans, but when I practice on steel and I know I will be there a long time, I use weenie rollers and water base. It is fast and covers completly. I can roll a whole rack while a sprayer is only halfway through his second plate. I roll them while they are laid back and reset afterward.

I did go to a match and see this once, that is where I got the idea. They painted all the steel after every shooter.

Jimmy

I used to rollers for several years, it was the clean -up that slowed me down. and the brass in the paint bucket.

Kids will out run ever-one to help if they get to roll the paint on.

[JimmyZip]

Mini rollers and a little cheap paint is faster than the cans. Most people use cans, but when I practice on steel and I know I will be there a long time, I use weenie rollers and water base. It is fast and covers completly. I can roll a whole rack while a sprayer is only halfway through his second plate. I roll them while they are laid back and reset afterward.

I did go to a match and see this once, that is where I got the idea. They painted all the steel after every shooter.

Jimmy

I used to rollers for several years, it was the clean -up that slowed me down. and the brass in the paint bucket.

Kids will out run ever-one to help if they get to roll the paint on.

Oh you just gave me a new one. I think the girls are going to paint targets when they are on Spring Break! You my friend are genius.

[kimel]

First steel match I ever shot they used paint rollers and roller trays. It was POURING rain all day long. At the end of the day we poured all the paint back in the big bucket and guess what? We had more paint at the end of the day than at the beginnging!

I still have some of that paint on various pieces of shooting gear.

Spray is, IMHO, the only way to go. We tried a couple matches with the cheap paint and some with the expensive paint. The expensive paint is a LOT cheaper on a per shooter basis. For a five stage steel challenge type match it takes about 1 can of good paint per 8 man squad per match ($3.75 per squad). For the cheap crap it take 3 cans ($1.99 per can so $5.97 per squad). We also found the cheap cans suffered more from the button getting broken off rending a can useless.

Get the plastic clip on trigger thingy to turn the can into a "gun". Less paint on the finger and it seems like folks will hang on to those and go paint instead of tossing the can back on the table and finding something else to do instead of painting.

Also, give all targets a good coat at the start of the match and encourage everyone to only paint the hits. You'll find some folks want to paint the entire plate which drives up paint consumption rapidly.

Don't forget to paint the edges. You'll need that to call edge hits.

And when you get too much paint layered up its time to get out the lead bead blaster (aka shotgun). A couple hits with bird shot on each side of even the big plates will get all that paint off there.

Shotgun steel challenge is fun too!

[Tom Mainus]

We use the paint rollers for our steel matches as well. Ask the local paint shop or any painting contractors for there extra paint. We get all of ours for free. Pour it all into one 5 gallon bucket and see what color you get . We buy the cheap paint rollers from Menards, $2 for a roller, cover and tray. Throw the cover out after the match. let the trays sit in the sun for a couple of days, it takes me maybe 5 minutes to clean it all up. We only shoot our steel match once a year, so the only problem is when we drag the plates out next year, they are usually stuck together and we have to drop them on the ground to get them loose.

Tom

Edited March 14, 2009 by Tom Mainus

[DougCarden]

I have found when trying to practice, I like to paint them after 5 runs. If I have more hits on the plates all I see are bullet hits on the plate and I get sloppy at looking at the center of the plates, which is really important on far ones like 5 to go or Acclerator....For my uses I have found like everyone else I dont like the paint rollers and prefer to use the mid range priced cans instead of the cheapie walmart type paint cans.

[Flexmoney]

Don't forget to paint the edges. You'll need that to call edge hits.

I thought I was the only one...

[badchad]

Tuesday Night Steel I think averages over 150 shooters an evening. They don’t paint, ever.

[mikegot38]

Paint after every shooter. How else can you or the shooter call the hits. Use good paint also. Do not use cheap stuff!

[Neomet]

My .02 is steel should be painted after every shooter. Maybe it doesn't affect others but with my bad vision a mottled plate looks a lot like the background making the plate very difficult for me to pick out. Chad, how many rounds did I shoot at that plate rack I had already cleared because I thought I still had a plate up.... 3...4? Ok, actually it was pretty funny but still....

[D.Hayden]

Is everyone talking about a local club USPSA filed course.. or a Steel Challenge type match?

For field courses.. we may paint after the squad.. but more likely.. at the local clubs.. it seems to go all day without repainting.

Rifle targets at 3 Gun matches.. after every squad for sure...

[badchad]

Chad, how many rounds did I shoot at that plate rack I had already cleared because I thought I still had a plate up.... 3...4? Ok, actually it was pretty funny but still....

Heck, that's when you were trying to shoot with your blind eye. The plate was ringing, springing back and forth with each shot and dust flying off the ground. If you couldn't see that you weren'g going to see a little paint chipping.

[wileecoyote37]

I like to paint all steel inadvance of the match with white Kilz. It's a white white. Then use spray cans of Kilz after each shooter. It doesn't take as ong as pasting and Kilz dries very quickly and cover 10 times as well as walmart cheap paint.

Richard

[JimmyZip]

I like to paint all steel inadvance of the match with white Kilz. It's a white white. Then use spray cans of Kilz after each shooter. It doesn't take as ong as pasting and Kilz dries very quickly and cover 10 times as well as walmart cheap paint.

Richard

Thanks, That is a good idea. I use that stuff all the time and never thought of using it for targets.

This interweb thing that Al Gore invented is purty darn ingenious!

[Neomet]

Heck, that's when you were trying to shoot with your blind eye. The plate was ringing, springing back and forth with each shot and dust flying off the ground. If you couldn't see that you weren'g going to see a little paint chipping.

Hahahaha! Well I just got my new script and they got my dominant eye to 20/35-40 depending on how my retina is feeling at the moment. I may try shooting "regular" once or twice now.

Then again, maybe not.