ANEYE CATCHING STANDOUT

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SOMETHINGDIFFERENT
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AN EYE
CATCHING
STANDOUT
DANA FARRELL OPTS FOR A STARS AND STRIPES PAINT JOB ON HIS 391 URIKA
W
illiams Gun Sight of
Davison, Michigan, has
been around a long time.
For close to 85 years they’ve been
on a short list of go-to gun shops
patronized by legions of Great Lake
State shooters. True to their roots,
they still offer a full range of self
branded receiver and iron sights
and their specialty, Williams
Firesights® fiber optic sights. But,
CLAYSHOOTINGUSA
to pigeon hole them as a gun sight
company is kind of like saying
NASA is in the airplane business.
Their success is based on more
than their name might suggest –
besides their gun sights, Williams
is also highly regarded for their
superlative gunsmithing work
and offering a full catalog of
modification, restoration and repair
work performed by a talented staff
of in-house gunsmiths. In addition
to their gunsmithing services, they
serve as a one-stop shopping mart
for Michigan gun owners of all
stripes – offering new and used
guns, ammo, reloading supplies
and all varieties of shooting gear.
Their long, double tiered rack of
used guns is a sight to behold and
worth a trip in itself. No full service
gun business would be complete
without onsite shooting facilities,
and Williams has this too, with
pistol, rifle and shotgun ranges
open to the public seven days a
week, including trap, skeet and a
modified sporting clays set up.
My first experience with
Williams’ gun work a few years
back sold me on their quality of
service and ability to deliver. A
Grade III Browning Citori hunting
gun I carry in the Fall has
exquisite wood, but several
seasons carrying it through the
grouse woods had taken its toll on
the factory high gloss
polyurethane finish. If you’ve ever
owned a gun with such a finish,
you know that once the plastic-like
surface is scratched or dented it
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103
WILLIAMS’ EMPLOYEE AT LEFT, CARL BENKO, AND A
SELECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS ILLUSTRATING THE
PREPARATION AND PAINTING PROCESS.
sticks out like a sore thumb – with
every blemish taking on an ugly
whitish hue. I never was fond of
that shine, even when the gun was
new. I much prefer the natural look
of oil, so I asked Williams to strip
the stock, fill the grain and apply
their high grade hand rubbed oil
finish. I was happy with the results
and felt the price was fair.
I once watched a regional
outdoors T.V. show segment
featuring a Williams Gun Sight
employee painting a custom
designed camouflage pattern on a
turkey gun for one of the show’s
hosts. In my shooting travels I’ve
seen my share of painted shotguns
– each one a unique, eye catching
standout. When I decided I had to
have one painted of my own, going
to Williams for the work was a nobrainer. My straight grained Beretta
391 Urika is a good shooter but the
plain wood never turned a head, so
it was the perfect candidate for a
custom paint job. But, once I had
decided to take the painted stock
plunge, the question remained –
what kind of a paint job did I want?
KEVIN WIGTON AND CARL BENKO HOLDING THE GUN THEY PAINTED.
Red, White and
Blue
I’m a big fan of the Stars and
Stripes – been that way since I was
a boy. Maybe it stems from my
years as a Boy Scout or memories
of the small town Fourth of July
parades my parents took me to as a
youngster. A flag painted theme
sounded like just the ticket, but the
question remained how to go
about it – particularly as a gun is
not a two dimensional canvas that
easily lends itself to painting. After
looking around the internet I
found an example of a flag pattern I
liked, and shared the idea with
Kevin Wigton, my contact at
Williams and the same guy who
painted the turkey gun for the T.V.
show. It was only a starting point,
but this got us thinking on the
same wavelength. Wigton took my
idea and expanded on it, faxing me
several pattern sketches from
which to choose. Even after having
chosen the pattern, it still was hard
for me to picture what the end
result would actually look like.
I was in no hurry to have the
gun back, which turned out to be a
good thing because I dropped it off
in the middle of the hunting
season, which I would not
recommend to anyone wishing a
quick turn-around time. Deer
hunters are to Michigan what bead
mongers are to Marti Gras – that’s
to say they’re thick in these here
woods. Hunters flock to Williams
for pre-deer season tune ups on
their hunting guns by the droves
and this annual influx of work
tends to bog down their service
schedule considerably in the Fall
of the year. This didn’t matter to
me since the 391 isn’t my main
gun, but consider yourself
forewarned if you want your work
done quickly – pick a slower time
of year.
The Painting
Process
After a thorough sanding to
roughen up the surface and
remove any sheen, an application
of a catalyzed surface filler called
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SOMETHINGDIFFERENT
Wigton, catalyzation is the key to
durability. This means it dries
through a chemical reaction,
rather than air drying like lacquers
and enamels. The application
timing is crucial because once the
molecules start to cross link, no
more paint can be applied or it will
wrinkle up. Mess up the timing
and the surface will have more
creases than a Shar Pei’s butt. You
either have to continue spraying
before the catalyst starts crosslinking, or wait until it’s dry before
adding another layer.
I’m a big
fan of the
Stars and Stripes
– been that way
since I was a boy.
Maybe it stems from
my years as a Boy Scout
or memories of the small
town Fourth of July parades
my parents took me to
as a youngster. And the cost
DuraFil is applied to the entire
stock. It fills any nicks and
provides a good, smooth base layer
for the paint to stick to and keeps
any wood grain from showing
through later when the color is
applied. Williams employee Carl
Benko, who tag-teamed the
painting responsibilities with
Wigton explained, “You can’t just
spray right over the wood – the
grain will show through. Hit it with
DuraFil, then sand it down so it’s
smooth, and that’s when the colors
start going on. It’s quite a lengthy
process.”
Wigton explained the next
phase, the color process. “The
whole thing was white at one point
(from the DuraFil base coat). At
that stage I laid out the stripes and
then designed the flames and the
stars. I taped the flames on and
shot the blue. “
The Final Steps
After some touch-up, several coats
of clear were applied, with wet
sanding each coat between
applications. The applications of
clear coat and sanding between
layers involved about as much
work as the layout and color work.
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“Carl pretty much did all the work
after I applied the colors” says
Wigton. “He hit it with a coat of
clear, but decided we needed to put
more on it because there was too
much paint build-up on the blue.
Because it takes more of the
darker colors to cover everything,
especially over the white base,
ridges can occur where the colors
meet.”
In order to smooth out the
surface, multiple coats of clear
were applied and wet sanded
between applications. He sprayed
on three coats of regular clear
then wet sanded it to get rid of
any ridges around the paint
edges. Benko then sprayed
another two coats of the dull clear
to give it a matte color. Explaining
why they chose a matte finish
instead of a high gloss, Wigton
said, “If it wasn’t checkered we
probably would’ve went with a
high gloss, but since it had
checkering you really can’t get it
wet sanded right. Any time you’ve
got a high gloss clear coat you
have to wet sand it very, very
thoroughly, and the checkering
doesn’t allow that.”
Because the finish is catalyzed
– just like automotive paint – it’s
extremely hard and should wear
very well. According to Benko and
I’m very
happy with my
new look gun and Williams
Gun Sight’s professionalism makes
them an absolute pleasure to work with.
What’s the cost? If you’re thinking
of a painted gun expect to pay
somewhere in the range of $400 $500 depending on the intricacy of
the design and the starting
condition of the stock. Says Benko,
“Cost is dependent upon what kind
of shape the wood is in.” A lot of
prep work in order to get the stock
in suitable shape to start the
painting would require more labor,
which would translate into a
higher price tag. The job can take
anywhere from two weeks to two
months from start to finish.
I’m very happy with my new
look gun and Williams Gun Sight’s
professionalism makes them an
absolute pleasure to work with. I
can’t wait for a Fourth of July
shooting event to show it off – I’ll
definitely look the part of the
American patriot. As one
backroom Williams visitor
smilingly put it, “There won’t be
any question what side you’re on”,
and I’m okay with that. For a
good place to see more custom
painted guns and get a sense of
what they can do for you, check
out Williams’ photo gallery of
custom guns on the web at
www.williamsgunsight.com. They
can also be reached by telephone
toll free at 1-800-530-9028. ■