7 Plug your barrel. Take tissue, and roll it (about two inches in height) and make sure you roll enough to get at least 4 mm once rolled. Place this in the barrel of your gun (make sure you have no battery, mag, or BBs in the gun. Also make sure you take off the sling, scope, and every other removable-without-screws part of your gun). Make sure, even if the tissue sticks out, that it won't fall out. Next take paper-towel and lay
it over the mag-opening and tape it in place. Now cover any other holes in your gun (like on the M4, the open-ejection-port). Try to make it neat, because whatever is covered will not be painted, so in order to not have random streaks of paint-less gun present, you will only want to plug the holes.
8 Cover the parts you don't want
to paint completely with paper towel
(don't tear holes in it) and masking tape.
Don't use any other type of tape, as it
may ruin your gun.
9 Lay your gun back on its cardboard box and prepare your paints and everything you will need nearby. Take your lightest color (ie: tan) that you will be using, and holding the can pointed down or at a downward angle at about 8 inches from the gun, lightly spray your gun. Never hold you gun any closer. The coating should be light and may have patches untouched by the paint. If this is the case, DO NOT keep spraying in the same spot, NOR hold it closer. Just a really light coat for now. You can always come back and finish it. Spray the light color basically everywhere you want your gun to be painted, even if other colors will be added later. Now, depending on the weather, you will want to wait 20 minutes to 2 hours for the paint to completely dry. (if its hot and sunny outside, carefully take your gun outside, taking care not to touch any painted part, even if it looks dry, and leave it, with its box in the sun for about 20 minutes.)