Advice On Container Paint

[+ParrotRobAndCeCe]

Looking for some advice from experienced ammo-can painters on the best spray paint to use on a metal ammo can. I have clean ammo cans that are currently green with yellow stenciled markings on them and I'd like to spray them brown, black or dark green - what paint have you used that:

 

1) stands up best to the elements? and

2) adheres best on top of the existing green paint?

 

BTW - around here, "the elements" means everything from rain to blazing sun and 100+ temperatures to sub-zero temperatures and several feet of snow.

 

Thanks!

[+Frodo13]

I have had good results with a light sanding of the green paint to give the new paint something to adhere to, followed with a quality outdoor spraypaint designed for metal. I would make sure that all of the rust has been removed before painting. There are even camouflage paints that are ultra flat and when used together as directed really do a fine job. Wal-Mart around $3 (Krylon brand but there are others as well)

Edited September 29, 2005 by Frodo13

[+RockyRaab]

Wipe or spray down with a good degreaser (I use disk brake cleaner - outdoors!) first.

 

Spray with auto body primer. Dry completely.

 

Topcoat with flat camo paints or some of the "stone paint" products. Or just use gray and black primer, mottled.

 

Any standard "UPS" or "UPR" technique will hide it. So will deep shadow.

 

Don't forget to mark it as a geocache somewhere on the outside. I use permanent felt tip.

[+JohnnyVegas]

Forget black. Black will stand out, it is a color that does not occurs in nature to offten.

Some surplus stores sell camo paint colors.

I use Flat Brown and Flat green both, Spray the ammo box with one color and the add the second color in a few places and you will me set to go.

 

As Frodo 13 said, sand it down a little first.

[tossedsalad]

I don't agree that black is a bad color. I have a cache that is hidden in vines on a tree and because little light reaches the container, flat black blends in very well. Of course if I wanted to maximize the hide, I could paint it the color of the bark and draw vines growning across it. But unless the cache is in the open, flat black may do very well even without combining it with other colors. I normally use the Walmart $1 colors, weather not withstanding.

[+JohnnyVegas]

I have a cache that is hidden in vines

And this is an ammo box?

 

Paint something black and try to find any natural object that is black, you will not be able to. Go to a surplus store and look at the camouflage uniforms and try to find back in them, you might find a charcoal grey if you are lucky.

Edited September 28, 2005 by JohnnyVegas

[+Salvelinus]

Go to a surplus store and look at the camouflage uniforms and try to find back in them, you might find a charcoal grey if you are lucky.

Looks like black is used in some camo clothing. I own some of this camo and it definitely has black in it. Black is a very legit color to use in a camo patterns and often is.

 

I paint my ammo cans specifically with a rust-inhibiting spray paint. Usually monotone using an earth color (browns or greens). I don't camo them, since I don't believe a cache should be tremendously hard to find by another cacher looking for it. Besides, camo painting takes too darn long!

 

Salvelinus

[+The Cheeseheads]

I sand mine lightly, then use a gray primer, followed by a few successively darker shades of green spray paint. I don't go nuts with natural cammo or anything, I just spray it mostly light green, then give it a few shots of medium and dark green. I use Rustoleum spray. One of my boxes has been out for over three years now and there's not a speck of rust on it.

[+Sagefox]

I don't agree that black is a bad color.

Me either.

 

Black imitates a shadow if it has any natural cover loosely crossing it to breakup the container outline.

 

It is really a site specific issue and sometimes black would not work. I painted my early containers flat black and about two years ago switched to a three color camo combo using black as one of the colors. Not many of either type have been muggled.

[+briansnat]

I use Rustoleum brown, and black primer and just layer it over the green already on the can. Some of my caches have been out there for 3+ years and still look great.

[+WhatsRNutts]

I have a cache that is hidden in vines

And this is an ammo box?

 

Paint something black and try to find any natural object that is black, you will not be able to. Go to a surplus store and look at the camouflage uniforms and try to find back in them, you might find a charcoal grey if you are lucky.

my BDU's have black in them. And I am active duty Air Force. our colors are black, olive drab, brown and light brown.

for my ammo cans I have had good luck with buying olive drab paint from my local army surplus store. for smaller containers I use camo duct tape. I tried spray painting a few item black with paint from work but the paint didn't stick.

Edited September 28, 2005 by wreckelite

[+briansnat]

I have a cache that is hidden in vines

And this is an ammo box?

 

Paint something black and try to find any natural object that is black, you will not be able to. Go to a surplus store and look at the camouflage uniforms and try to find back in them, you might find a charcoal grey if you are lucky.

my BDU's have black in them. And I am active duty Air Force. our colors are black, olive drab, brown and light brown.

for my ammo cans I have had good luck with buying olive drab paint from my local army surplus store. for smaller containers I use camo duct tape. I tried spray painting a few item black with paint from work but the paint didn't stick.

I read that the new military camo has eliminated black because black doesn't really exist in most natural surroundings. I'm sure their tests were thorough and there was probably computer imaging, etc... involved.

 

But practically speaking I've found black to be a pretty good camo in many places. Shadows aren't technically black but they appear to be black, at least to my eye. A black container in the shadowy crevice of a rock will be hard to see, even to one who is specifically looking for it.

[+Pork King]

I start by sanding to remove any rust and to give the paint a surface to "grab". I use a reddish brown "rustoleum" type primer, then cammo paint with ULTRA-FLAT cammo paint (kahki first, then od green, brown, and a bit of black). I then 'dust' the whole thing with black. I add a white stencil denoting it's geocaching status, then dust that with OD and black to dull it down.

 

I remove the lid and paint it separately, to avoid that crisp line of cammo/green where the lid sits. But then I'm neurotic about painting things that aren't seen!

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

I've use the Krylon camo colors with great success on a variety of containers, with and without primer. They are *very* flat.

[CoyoteRed]

If I had to choose only one can of spray paint it would be Krylon Ultra-flat black. Like has already been said, it disappears in the shadows.

 

However, the technique I use is sand it down lightly with medium steel wool. Address any rust issues. Paint with flat green camo paint from Rustoleum (I can't find Krylon-brand camo paints around here). I have a camo pattern which I then layer brown and black over.

 

 

The above is some experimenting I was doing. Notice back row all the way to the right for black and then second from left for brown and black over green.

 

I've since gone with a much finer pattern for the layers.

 

 

With this I can adjust how much brown and black to add to make it lighter or darker depending on where I'm putting it.

 

Of course, no camo pattern is needed at all if the container is covered at all times. I like to paint them camo anyway in case they don't get covered well.

[57chevy]

If you plan on hiding caches in Missouri, I would suggest a camo. paint pattern consisting of flourescent orange, OSHA yellow and metallic silver, also maybe some glow in the dark would be helpful. (for the night cacher)

Seriously though, Just go to the area you are gonna place the cache and see what colors would work, a really dark gray I have noticed works well for shadows, don't forget that fall is here and the colors may soon change. I'm getting ready to put out my first cache and was thinking that after the first snow falls this winter I would change the ammo can to one painted with a flat white. The containers I have painted so far I think are pretty cool, I went to wal mart and got a fern shaped, and maple leaf shaped foam stamp from the craft section and made my pattern with them. Just use your imagination, I enjoy seeing creative cache containers and paint patterns.

[+Rick618]

The problem I find with black is that it stays a sharp contrast, it can work well in the right light, nook, or conditions but many times it will leave a solid shape that can be easy to see.

Shading is some of the best camo'ing for out in the wild as it can blend in the various places. You don't have to get Picasso with the paint, start with a base of whichever earth tone and then layer lights and darks in random patterns but you can still have fun with it.

Stencils are easy to make, grab some large fallen leaves lay one the surface and it leaves the outline when you spray. Scrap objects lain on the surface and then sprayed give all sorts of odd shapes. A kids hand in a rubber glove and they can leave thier hand print outline. Test the glove against the paint just in case first.

As to where you can find them, I found an ammo can up in a cedar tree wedged in the crook of some branches. I poked all around the over grown grass looking for it untill I turned to go back to the truck for the cache page and the blob shape caught my eye.

Any of the above methods for prep will work depending on if you get a new or used can.

The home depot and Lowes both carry Rustoleum, the industrial stuff is what I use as I have it around and its about $5 a can. The $1 cans will work but I find the other paints to cover better and the cans spray longer.

[+Jean&Jim]

OK. What means "Any standard "UPS" or "UPR" technique "?

[+FletchWL]

Unatural Pile of Sticks/Rocks

[+Renegade Knight]

I've got some can's pushing 3 or 4 years old. I should go look at them and see how the paint held up and get back to you.

 

I love flat black. It's good for shadows, and by the time you get some dirt on it (it won't come off) it starts to look native.

 

For ammo cans though I tend to use Olive Drab from anyone. Latley I've been doing some cans closer to what CR and Criminal Have posted. None have lasted longer in the wild than week so I can't say how they hold up. Those colors are the Krylon Camo colors. You get very nice results with them.

[+ODragon]

My fav is still blue...

 

[+Pablo Mac]

My fav is still blue...

 

Holy cow, that blue works great! Is there supposed to be a can in this pic!? If so, where?

[+EScout]

Original question on best type of paint for camo. I recommend Aervoe Camouflage paint in 12 oz spray cans. Very flat, high quality paint. There are many colors. My favorites are Olive Drab, Field Drab, Forest Green, Sand, Earth Brown.

 

Aervoe-Pacific Company, Gardnerville, Nevada 89410

[Tahosa and Sons]

Paint something black and try to find any natural object that is black, you will not be able to. Go to a surplus store and look at the camouflage uniforms and try to find black in them, you might find a charcoal grey if you are lucky.

 

Have you ever seen what color the Tiger Stripes I wore about 40 years ago are.

Black and Green. And they blend into the shawdows real nice. And the Canadian Military has some that have gone digital.

 

I'll paint my cans flat black to begin with then add some shades of greens and brown in various shapes then its off to the hills I go.

 

And black does blend in nice in the shawdows.

 

And I'm wearing Tiger Stripe BDU's for pants. The same ones that I have on in my profile. They blend in real nice.

Edited December 8, 2005 by Tahosa and Sons

[+Polgara]

I used Sears Weatherbeater bright white paint on some rocks, in which i painted coordinates. Theyr're very easy to read, and have been laying writing side down in the dirt for 2 and a half years now, and they still look as good as they day i placed them.

 

I don't know how it would hold up on an ammo can.

[+WalruZ]

Johnny, I disagree. Black is a good color for certain hides, mostly logs that have burned out on the inside. I have a black cache in ed levin that's in a downed log that is charred inside and everyone says it's a toughie.

[+Snoogans]

The hardest ammo can hide I ever found was a flat black 30 cal that had been laid on its side and hidden among vines that were running on the ground between 2 trees. I had set my pack down less than a yard from it and searched for nearly an hour. I had been back there many times on my search. I found it roughly about 3 minutes after I had given up.

 

I did a revisit a few months later to get a travel bug and even knowing where it was at, it was still hard to find.

[+saxdiva and mr. vibes]

I'm about to hide my first ammo can. I'm obviously not looking for camo paint here--I'm more interested in getting it into terrain that will make things challenging enough, and then hiding it someplace appropriate. I'm also a little paranoid about making sure it's properly marked as a geocache. Still, do you guys think this is WAY too far in the opposite direction? If so, I can repaint it:

 

 

 

Thanks in advance,

Leanne

[+Zekester & Simon]

One of the key things is to definitelyt cvover the previous stencilling that the military put on the can. U.S. Military is required to spray paint this over before they release the cans to the Defense Re-utilization Marketing service (DRMS) which is how cans get to the surplus market. Not all militaries require this, and it helps make it clear that the can is not what it looks like it may be.

[+ParrotRobAndCeCe]

I have a cache that is hidden in vines

And this is an ammo box?

 

Paint something black and try to find any natural object that is black, you will not be able to. Go to a surplus store and look at the camouflage uniforms and try to find back in them, you might find a charcoal grey if you are lucky.

LOL don't need to go to a surplus store, I see hundreds of camo BDU's at work every single day, and yes, there is a good deal of black in them.

[+Kit Fox]

Forget black. Black will stand out, it is a color that does not occurs in nature to offten.

 

I read that the new military camo has eliminated black because black doesn't really exist in most natural surroundings. I'm sure their tests were thorough and there was probably computer imaging, etc... involved.

 

I guess Bobcats, Lynx, Leapards, Jaguars, Cheatahs, and other Felines got bad information when it comes to camoflauging techniques. Lets not forget about Zebras.

[Thrasher22]

I'm about to hide my first ammo can. I'm obviously not looking for camo paint here--I'm more interested in getting it into terrain that will make things challenging enough, and then hiding it someplace appropriate. I'm also a little paranoid about making sure it's properly marked as a geocache. Still, do you guys think this is WAY too far in the opposite direction? If so, I can repaint it:

 

 

 

Thanks in advance,

Leanne

How did you spray paint the text on the can? Did you buy a tamplate or did you print and cut it out yourself?