NERF Gun Preparation

If you are attending the Nerf Gun workshop, then it is a good idea to do some prep work on your gun by pre-painting the undercoat so that the top coat paint that you will learn to apply during the workshop does not peel or wear off.

The easiest way is to take your Nerf gun apart (as much as you want to) and then spray painting it black - this covers up the bright colours and makes painting (including fine details) in the workshop much easier:

Step 1: You will require a small Philips screwdriver and a can of spray paint - The Rust-oleum brand in the photo is from Bunnings and works well, a lot of other standard paint can peel off your Nerf gun without special prep like sanding. Semi-gloss black is a good general colour to use, but you could also use any other colour such as silver or even red, if that is the base colour effect you are after.

Step 2: Dismantle your Nerf gun into its major external parts - most of them are easily unscrewed. Remove any stickers and clean up any sticky areas with turps if needed.

We suggest it really helps if you take reference photos on your phone as you take your Nerf gun apart to help you remember how it all goes back together. Also, if you put all the internal parts (which you should not paint) and screws into a zip lock bag, you are less likely to lose tiny pieces.

Step 3: Get some thin wire and make some S-bend hooks - you can use these to hang the painted parts for drying. Most of the large parts can be painted while lying on a flat surface, but some like the cylinder pictured are best if held by a hook and painted.

Apply thin coats of paint - subsequent coats can be applied about 1 hour after the previous coat. Here, we applied a second "brass" paint coat to the cylinders, an hour after applying the black coat to them.

Hang the parts to dry for 48 hours then proceed to put them back together - or you may bring it to the workshop in parts, which may make it easier for subsequent steampunk painting.