Howdy HF, I am no pro by any means but have painted a few. Rustoleum makes a non-reflective "ultra" flat in several different colors. I practiced on some cardboard then an old coffee cup that is now my favorite... the coffee even tastes better for some reason.
Just like any paint... it's all in the prep. Make sure that there is zero oil or anything that will keep the paint from doing what it does. I used some spray prep that comes in a can but there are plenty out there. Let it dry, then I hit it with some adhesion promoter by Duplicolor. That may be overkill but I figure that if it helps then it was worth it. I used this method painting parts on my Jeep that have held up to plenty of abuse and still look great. As far as heat resistant goes... I am not the guy to answer that but can say that I painted my .223 can because it was dinged up. I used flat black and it has held up just fine. I don't shoot it enough to get it hot enough to cause issues with the paint but do know that the can stated that the paint was good to go up to 200f.
I practiced on a couple of 10-22 stocks and made some mistakes - glad that I made'em on cheap-o stocks vs something that I would regret. I plan on practicing a lot more before I paint one of my more expensive toys.
I can't answer to the removal 100% but know people who have used stripper with good results. I used acetone on the optics (while it was still tacky) to get a little bit of residual off of the glass on the inside and it wiped right off.
Hopefully someone with solid skills on this can post up. My .02 is grab some and test it on something cheap... then go from there. I used an old laundry bag to get the snake look, used some long blades of grass held together but fanned out at the ends to do the lines on the straight stock. Paint used was khaki, brown and OD green. I finished it off using a matte clearcoat. The clearcoat will help preserve the paint.
I have also used Duracoat with very good results. Sprayed that through an airbrush setup, nothing fancy - just solid colors. Holds up real well but can get pricey.
If you want to get fancy with patterns and such find someone with a vinyl cutter and the possibilities are endless.
.
I am on the east side - just east of Baytown. I have a cutter, plenty of paint and cold beer in the shop. You are welcome to come over and see how easy it is.
