Camouflaging a Lock n Lock

[+Bubbles&Bonkers]

Hi,

 

We bought a Lock-n-Lock from a Dollar Store and I'd like to camouflage it and place it. I tried to find a thread about painting and I'm sure there is one, but how can I paint it? What kind of paint do I need? Any ideas?

 

(I tested the container for water tightness and nothing got in. I realize it's cheap, but I can watch it and if it doesn't stand up, I'll replace it.)

 

Thanks!

[+KJcachers]

depending on where you plan on the hide you could do like we did and use camo duct tape to cover most of the surfaces.

[+iPhone3Gcacher]

I found some flat camo paint specifically designed for plastic. I have had very good luck with it.

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

Krylon Camo w/ Fusion Technology works on a lot of stuff, including plastics. I haven't painted lock n locks, but I have used it successfully on other plastic items. All I do is take some fine grit sandpaper to the item (I use the foam sanding blocks) and hit it with a few light coats of paint.

[+iPhone3Gcacher]

Krylon Camo w/ Fusion Technology works on a lot of stuff, including plastics. I haven't painted lock n locks, but I have used it successfully on other plastic items. All I do is take some fine grit sandpaper to the item (I use the foam sanding blocks) and hit it with a few light coats of paint.

 

Ya that's the stuff.

[+J-Way]

I found some flat camo paint specifically designed for plastic. I have had very good luck with it.

That's what I use. Remove the paper lables, wash well, and paint. If you can't find flat "camo" spray-paint designed for bonding to plastic, then you can paint it with a base coat of plastic bonding paint in any color followed by an overcoat of the camo. The paint is available at Walmart and hardware stores like Ace. You can also probably find it in outdoor-supply stores.

[+cachestacker]

Krylon Camo w/ Fusion Technology works on a lot of stuff, including plastics. I haven't painted lock n locks, but I have used it successfully on other plastic items. All I do is take some fine grit sandpaper to the item (I use the foam sanding blocks) and hit it with a few light coats of paint.

 

I second that. Most of my lock-n-locks are painted with ultra-flat nature color (greenish). I'm also experimenting with doing some spray-adhesive to it afterward and using moss from a craft store to partially cover some of it for further blending. But the spray alone holds up pretty well on most of mine. And a can lasts quite a while.

[+Kit Fox]

I prefer using Liquid nails, then camo paint.

 

 

I've also used spanish moss/ grasses available from craft stores.

 

[+team moxiepup]

I usually give the lock 'n lock a light sanding, then spray with Krylon Fusion paint, which bonds to plastic. Regular spray paint will flake off over time. Once you have a base coat of that, you can use any kind of paint you want... acrylics, Fleckstone, etc. Once the box is painted and dry, (Fleckstone takes a bit longer to dry than most) we give it a couple of coats of spray polyurethane, to protect the paint job from the elements.

 

We have a few out there using this method, some for about 2 years now, and so far, they are holding up well.

[+king.hubi]

I also use Krylon Fusion camo spray paint, works great.

You may check this thread: Lock & Lock containers, Any suggestions on painting techniques. Lots of good informations.

[+WRASTRO]

I have had very good results with cammo tape.

[+briansnat]

My quarrel with Krylon fusion is that the only colors sold in my area are semi gloss and gloss. So I use a plastic primer called American Traditions by Valspar, then cover it with any flat, natural colors I can find. Once the container is primed, any paint will work.

 

I've tried several plastic primers, but American Traditions is the best by far.

[+SALUKIS97]

I have made one blend in very well in plain sight in an area that has a lot of sandstone rocks on the ground.

 

I painted it first with flat krylon plastic paint, then sprayed it with the beige textured paint that gave it a perfect bumpy sandstone look. I finished it off with several coats of flat clear coat spray.

 

It's been placed for a little bit now in the weather and the coating is holding up great so far.

[jholly]

My quarrel with Krylon fusion is that the only colors sold in my area are semi gloss and gloss. So I use a plastic primer called American Traditions by Valspar, then cover it with any flat, natural colors I can find. Once the container is primed, any paint will work.

 

I've tried several plastic primers, but American Traditions is the best by far.

 

You don't have a WalMart in NJ? They carry the Krylon camo paint. Either in the paint dept. or the sporting goods department.

 

Jim

[Clan Riffster]

Our Wally World doesn't carry Krylon Fusion for Plastic in camo colors, so I sand them with a foam sanding block and spray them with satin green Krylon, then recoat with camo colors, patterning the sides. The top gets a coat of Liquid Nails black roof repair caulk, then I mash sheet moss into the caulk. Wiggle the finished product into leaf litter and it all but disappears.

 

Another method I employ involves camo patterned burlap, which you can get at most big box hunting stores. (Bass Pro, Gander Mtn, etc) I cut it into 1"x3" strips, then, starting from the bottom sides, apply it with hot glue in an overlap pattern, similar to putting shingles on a roof. I leave 2" hanging free, and pluck out some of the horizontal threads, (think Guillie suit), which adds to the effect.

 

I would caution against using the regular camo duct tape, as it is fairly reflective. During hunting season, you can get strips of cloth camo tape, used to cover firearms/bows/etc, which is non-reflective. The down side with this tape is the adhesion stinks. I applied it with a hot glue gun, which finally worked. Another down side is the non-reflective tape costs a heck of a lot more than the shiny duct tape.

(Note: The pics are from before I learned to cover the Krylon green with camo paint)

Shiny vs not shiny

[+briansnat]

My quarrel with Krylon fusion is that the only colors sold in my area are semi gloss and gloss. So I use a plastic primer called American Traditions by Valspar, then cover it with any flat, natural colors I can find. Once the container is primed, any paint will work.

 

I've tried several plastic primers, but American Traditions is the best by far.

 

You don't have a WalMart in NJ? They carry the Krylon camo paint. Either in the paint dept. or the sporting goods department.

 

Jim

 

I do and they they don't.

Edited January 19, 2009 by briansnat

[+JBnW]

These are all great suggestions, and I hope to use them someday, and here's another. Right now, the Land Manager where my caches are placed requires "see-through" containers "clearly marked" as geocaches. I've found that using a fat Sharpie to thoroughly cover the container with "Official Geocache, etc. etc. etc" can approach an effective camo job. Nothing like CR's, but they do start to dissappear.

[GOF and Bacall]

These are all great suggestions, and I hope to use them someday, and here's another. Right now, the Land Manager where my caches are placed requires "see-through" containers "clearly marked" as geocaches. I've found that using a fat Sharpie to thoroughly cover the container with "Official Geocache, etc. etc. etc" can approach an effective camo job. Nothing like CR's, but they do start to dissappear.

 

I have seen some Lock-n-Locks with windows left in the cammo so that they met this requirement and they look pretty good.

[+Isonzo Karst]

Slightly off topic to the original question about camo - but the original post mentions, "Lock-n-Lock from a Dollar Store" and "cheap". Dollar Store is carrying a lock and lock type design, the gasket is reddish pink. They don't hold up well at all. I bought several, reading about them here in these forums. Unfortunately, they seem to distort pretty quickly (temperature sensitive?) and start leaking PDQ. I put 2 out as replacements for leaking decon containers, they were both wet in less then a month.

I'm back to buying Lock and Lock brand containers. I wouldn't put a lot of effort or $$ into camo'ing one of the knock offs until I'd set it outside for a month or two. Just my experience.

[GOF and Bacall]

L-n-L knock offs are not the same as the original. I agree, stick to genuine Lock-n-Locks.

[+Allanon]

Krylon Fusion Camo paint from Amazon.

[+Kit Fox]

I've had very good luck using "spray adhesive" on plastic containers, then sprinkling dirt / sand / mosses on the container.

 

[+Bubbles&Bonkers]

Thank you for all the great ideas and replies! I love seeing the pictures, too! As I'm pretty new at this, pictures help because in my area we have a lot of teeny, tiny caches so I don't see too many "normal" sized ones to even know what a good one looks like.

 

And yes, that was my worry about a Dollar Store Lock n Lock, that they wouldn't hold up. So before I get too far on this, I'll buy a real one.

 

Thanks again - you all are the best!!

[+Woodstramp]

I recently cammo'd a LNL for one of my hides. (Sorry, forgot to take a pic)

 

Rough up the exterior of the LNL with a coarse sandpaper. Go lightly on the little hinge things. Paint on cheapo rubber cement ($1.50 @Wallyworld) and stick some leaves, dry grass sprigs here and there then shower the whole thing with loose, dry dirt. Let dry and hose off loose dirt. It's cheap and well cammo'd.

[+deb3day]

Instead of putting cammo on the LnL, I made a cammo cover for it. I took a wooden basket with no handle that was bigger than the LnL and put all kinds of yard clippings all over it by tying them on with fishing line. Then I place my cache under it. It just looks like someone dumped their yard waste on a pile. Several cachers have said they only found it by tripping over it. All you do is tip it up to see the cacher underneath. Some of the fishing line has come off, so I'm going to be redoing it with some hot glue to help.

[+Kit Fox]

Instead of putting cammo on the LnL, I made a cammo cover for it. I took a wooden basket with no handle that was bigger than the LnL and put all kinds of yard clippings all over it by tying them on with fishing line. Then I place my cache under it. It just looks like someone dumped their yard waste on a pile. Several cachers have said they only found it by tripping over it. All you do is tip it up to see the cacher underneath. Some of the fishing line has come off, so I'm going to be redoing it with some hot glue to help.

 

Word of advice, hot glue sucks! It doesn't adhere well, especially when exposed to cold outdoor temps. Hot glue is designed for lightweight craft projects.

[+Dgwphotos]

Instead of putting cammo on the LnL, I made a cammo cover for it. I took a wooden basket with no handle that was bigger than the LnL and put all kinds of yard clippings all over it by tying them on with fishing line. Then I place my cache under it. It just looks like someone dumped their yard waste on a pile. Several cachers have said they only found it by tripping over it. All you do is tip it up to see the cacher underneath. Some of the fishing line has come off, so I'm going to be redoing it with some hot glue to help.

 

Word of advice, hot glue sucks! It doesn't adhere well, especially when exposed to cold outdoor temps. Hot glue is designed for lightweight craft projects.

 

I've found that it works best on porous materials, rather than plastic. Plus, it could damage plastics during the gluing process.

[Clan Riffster]

Maybe we just don't get enough real cold weather here in the Sunshine state, but the hot glue/burlap prototype I made is still going strong after about 6 months in my front yard.

[+Kit Fox]

Maybe we just don't get enough real cold weather here in the Sunshine state, but the hot glue/burlap prototype I made is still going strong after about 6 months in my front yard.

 

The poster mentioning hot glue lives in Pennsylvania, which gets wee bit cooler than toasty Florida. I've tried hot glue here in the high desert, where we get winter temps in the tens to twenties. The hot glue literally snapped of my caches.

[Clan Riffster]

Heck, it dropped down to darn near 50 last night, and I needed a sweater.

[+Ltljon]

And yes, that was my worry about a Dollar Store Lock n Lock, that they wouldn't hold up. So before I get too far on this, I'll buy a real one.

I've bought the true LNL's at Walmart & Target & it seems they're about $1.50 each (for the smaller ones) when you buy a 3 pack.

Here's their site, lotsa neat containers there.

[+Bubbles&Bonkers]

Heck, it dropped down to darn near 50 last night, and I needed a sweater.

 

I'm in the Ft Lauderdale area and have been having the same problem!

[+SALUKIS97]

I recently cammo'd a LNL for one of my hides. (Sorry, forgot to take a pic)

 

Rough up the exterior of the LNL with a coarse sandpaper. Go lightly on the little hinge things. Paint on cheapo rubber cement ($1.50 @Wallyworld) and stick some leaves, dry grass sprigs here and there then shower the whole thing with loose, dry dirt. Let dry and hose off loose dirt. It's cheap and well cammo'd.

 

How long does the rubber cement hold up outdoors? I've camoed a couple of lock n' locks using plastic weld from wally world (the stuff that is in two separate tubes that you have to mix) and sticking the leaves, grass, etc etc, to the plastic weld once it's spread around. That stuff DOES NOT come off, but you have to buy at least two or three tubes to get good coverage.

 

I would rather just use rubber cement if it holds up in the weather.

[Clan Riffster]

I would rather just use rubber cement if it holds up in the weather.

I was doing a long term, (6 months so far), test on adhesives, seeing what lasted/adhered to the lid of several decon kits. Rubber cement is one of the mediums I used. The glue itself held up just fine, and it's still holding on to all the moss I crammed in it. however, it failed to adhere to the plastic, peeling off like an old band aid after just a few days. These tests are what led me eventually to the Liquid Nails black roof repair caulk. Less than $3 a tube at Wally World, and one tube will cover a 50cal ammo can, or a bunch of Lock & Locks.

Looks like this:

 

Other adhesives I tried:

High strength epoxy: Failed to adhere to the plastic.

Spray on adhesive: Failed to adhere to anything.

J.B. Weld: Failed to adhere to the plastic.

Super Glue: Became brittle.

Clear silicon caulk: Failed to adhere to the plastic.

Gorilla Glue: Failed to adhere to the plastic.

Elmer's Ultimate: Failed to adhere to the plastic.

Shoe Goo: Worked fairly well. Turned brittle in Winter.

Hot glue: Worked fairly well. Not for cold climates.

There was something that came in a silver squeeze tube... Household Advesive? Maybe? It worked well, but was cost prohibitive.