Rustoleum Camouflage Paints

[+Iowa Tom]

I camouflage ALL my caches as well as I can. I use the paint advertised here. It comes in five flat colors. I could only find it for sale as individual cans at Menards. Every other store rep said I’d have to order a case of each color! I also use flat gray primer and a little red-brown primer.

 

To make it look really good, I lay grass or leaves, or as in one case where the cache was going to be in an evergreen, the leaves of that evergreen onto the container and paint over it. That gives a hint of natural vegetation shapes to the subtle markings left by the paint. Usually I begin with a base coat of the color that I want the leaves and such to have in the end. The result is sometimes quite beautiful!

 

I have also taken the 3M scrub pads and pulled them apart down the center, making a scraggly side. I glue the smooth side to the small cache and paint it using appropriate camouflage colors.

 

My ultimate goal is to someday take a small paint brush and color the (small caches anyway) to match the bark or whatever I have it attached to as closely as possible. I will attempt to paint bark or grass etc. in detail onto the container.

 

If I use a plastic container as a cache I usually wrap the plastic with camouflaged duct tape I get at Walmart. Since that fades to cyan in short order I paint over the top of the tape with Rustoleum flat colors. That way, if the paint flakes off the tape at least I buy some more time with camouflage before the tape turns cyan. Even if it does in patches where the paint flakes off it’s better than a white or a colorless spot! The tape also holds onto the plastic much better than any paint does and the paint sticks to the tape well.

 

-it

[+GEO.JOE]

Sounds like you take a lot of care and really enjoy the process.

Post some pictures for the rest of us to enjoy as well.

[+Bluesman63]

I use both Rustoleum and Krylon. You can also find the camo paints at some local hardware stores, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Bi-Mart (Washington & Oregon), and just about anywhere else that sells spray paint.

[+Kit Fox]

Here is another manufacturer of camo paints http://www.aervoe.com/aervoe/shopping/aerv...detail.asp?ID=6 and they can be purchased here http://www.botac.com/aecapa.html

 

This cache (made out of a surplus decon container) has glued-on Elm Tree bark, spanish moss, and Khaki Camo paint

 

I'm not sure if you are aware of this thread, but it shows some crafty cache designs Cool Cache Containers

[+baja_Traveler]

I bring a can of 3M spray glue with me to the cache site. When I get there I spray the container with the glue and roll it in the surrounding area leaves, twigs and dirt. The container disappears into the background.

[+Iowa Tom]

I'm glad to know of the other colors that are available. Thanks!

 

I have wished that I could find a brighter green to imitate lichens. Now I see it IS available! It is quite a bit more $ than the Rustoleum. However, I would only need one or two of the specialty colors anyway.

 

I'm planning on contacting a local paint store to ask them if they can mix flat colored enamel paints. Theoretically, if they can mix any enamel paint, color-wise, they should be able to create a whole range of brush on colors. We'll see.

 

I myself have stayed away from gluing things onto my caches that will rot off in time. The bark idea is great if the owner is willing to check on it often. I own so many caches and have so much else to do that I try to give them as much immortality as I can. I would think that, unless the bark is perforated to help fasten it on, that it's adherence to the cache may be somewhat tenuous over the long haul. Great idea though!

 

Gotta go eat some turkey!

 

-it

[+Kit Fox]

Fortunately (or unfortunately) for me, I live in the Arid Mojave Desert, most items "petrify" before they rot . Now if I lived in a wet climate, this cache wouldn't last long.

 

I enjoy coating caches with spray foam insulation also. The only problem is that paint flakes off easily. My wife and I played with the 3M spray adhesive, and we liked the results.

[+Iowa Tom]

I too tried the spray adhesive but only to try to give a texture to the PVC caches I've made. Neat! However, as I recall, the paint’s flat luster became a bit glossier after mixing a little bit with the adhesive and did not truly harden up in the time that I chose to give it the test. I found that the paint scraped off after a couple hours of drying time.

 

For now I rough up the PVC with coarse sandpaper before I paint it. I have tried automotive body putty. That technique I have yet to perfect. It holds a lot of promise in that it can be carved with a Dremel tool once hardened. I do wish I knew how the fake bark texture on those plastic tree decorations to put in a garden is made. I suspect they start out with wax to make the initial model with. I’m having trouble visualizing the simple tools they must use to give the material such a good “bark look.”

 

I have tried taking a piece of the PVC pipe and running it over a table saw blade, with the blade up only about 1/16th inch. I didn't cut the very ends of the 12 inch piece of pipe so that the blade would always cut to a certain depth. I ran the blade across the pipe as the tube was moved around. That really tore into the plastic and gave quite a coarse texture. After I textured it I cut off the smooth ends. I have to actually use the technique for a cache however.

 

Another thing I do is put a lock on some of my caches. The cache is often fastened to a tree too so it's not at all easy to walk off with. Then I hide the key inside a secret compartment in a piece of a red cedar branch that I fastened to the base of a fence post or another tree. The cedar branch looks like a sucker (so-called) that grew up beside the other tree. I use cedar because it takes forever to rot.

[bogleman]

I've painted a few and no matter how good the job sooner or later things start to wear off. At least things have held up well for me for those I have "modified".

 

 

FYI (off topic slightly) - try RTV for making bark and other forms/casting, fill the casting with bondo ect. while wet insert the desired micro and finish with the paint of choice.

 

RTV info

Edited November 26, 2005 by bogleman

[+JohnnyVegas]

These are a couples I cover with camouflage fabric so that I can hide them in place of virtuals in urban areas. I glue the strips on with a hot glue gun.

 

 

 

The are a couple of larger caches that I painted with an air brush after placing a base coat from a spray can of a camo color

 

Edited November 26, 2005 by JohnnyVegas