Ammo box stencil / spray paint..

[dragondrop]

I've got some ammo boxes arriving soon and I've just ordered a geocache stencil (made out of mylar - link)

 

Has anyone used these before?

Does anyone know what type of spray paint I should use? I'm worries that standard car spray may not take, as it's designed to go on a primer base and the ammo boxes already have a green top coat 'paint job' on them. I need the paint to 'take' and be hard wearing.

 

White, red or yellow paint .. I don't mind so much but if anyone has any tips for a brand / compound / type of spray paint I'd appreciate the input.

 

thanks.

 

Matt

[+Renegade Knight]

I tend to use the flat camo colors on ammo cans and since they go on top of olive drab non glossy ammo cans I really haven't ever noticed a problem regardless of the brand that I've used.

 

Clean them up before painting them and you should be fine. Even when I haven't cleaned them much the paint sticks.

 

Now plastic, that's another thing.

[+BlueDeuce]

I scouring it down with a wire wheel brush on a power drill. Then spray it with Rust-Oleum rusty metal primer. Then a low sheen Enamel spray paint.

[+rastus76]

i do a lot of custom camo caches and i ruff them up the use the rustoleum primer then krylon ultra flat camo paints from walmart. i use this on plastic as well

[+Team O-Zone]

Does anyone know where i can find this stencil for sale in the states?

[+Star*Hopper]

I've got a couple of those very same stencils (fm different source). I'd say about any good enamel or lacquer will do the job....& don't be overly concerned about longevity. If they 'wear out' or fade, it's simple to just replace with a fresh container, bring the old'n home & re-furb it....and that won't happen frequently enough to be any major issue.

 

A lot of it depends on knowing HOW to apply the paint. Several light coats, drying well between applications, rather'n one "gooshing" it all on at once is key 1. Key sub-1 is making sure the stencil lays FLAT on your target, so your edges don't get 'fuzzed'. Keep the spray can the recommended minimum 12" away, & make sure your paint hits 'vertically', ie, not spraying onto the stencil at an angle.

 

Another trick that'll make the job go a lot easier (spelled, 'keep it clean') - make a mask to hold it, a la:

 

And it's easy to see why.

 

As you can tell, I use yellow....a couple of light coats contrasts/shows well against Camo colors or OD on ammo can, etc.

Also, my hi-tech 'overspray catcher' is in the background there.

 

One more: Stencils are actually made for using with a stencil brush - BUT YOU GOTTA KNOW HOW TO USE 'EM - & isn't as easy as it looks, so generally, not recommended. Best non-spray choice is a paint roller, if you can get the right setup....with that, one coat WILL do it.

HTH!

~*

[+Star*Hopper]

Oops......#&%$@#%)( double post!!

~*

Edited March 6, 2009 by Star*Hopper

[+Star*Hopper]

Does anyone know where i can find this stencil for sale in the states?

 

Got mine from good ol' Coyote Red of 'Cissy & CR' fame, from right here on the forum....frequent contributor....(and nice folk to boot)!

http://sissy-n-cr.com/store.shtml

~*

[+BlueDeuce]

One more: Stencils are actually made for using with a stencil brush - BUT YOU GOTTA KNOW HOW TO USE 'EM - & isn't as easy as it looks, so generally, not recommended.

 

And due to my skills I just use the green stickers available from gc.com.

[+Star*Hopper]

One more: Stencils are actually made for using with a stencil brush - BUT YOU GOTTA KNOW HOW TO USE 'EM - & isn't as easy as it looks, so generally, not recommended.

 

And due to my skills I just use the green stickers available from gc.com.

 

 

"Man's gotta know his limits." ~D. Harry

 

~*

[+Kit Fox]

I scouring it down with a wire wheel brush on a power drill. Then spray it with Rust-Oleum rusty metal primer. Then a low sheen Enamel spray paint.

 

I highly doubt Rust-Oleum rusty metal primer works nearly as good as the already primed ammo cans. Ammo cans have to meet strict Govt. standards. All I do is a clean the original paint with some denatured alcohol, to remove and oils. I use flat camo paint for the stencils, and have never noticed any paint falling off.

[+BlueDeuce]

and have never noticed any paint falling off.

 

Once the enamel hardens me neither, but yes you are correct you don't have to strip it down.

Edited March 7, 2009 by BlueDeuce

[+Cherokee Bill]

I went to one of the Big-Box store and purchased some of that "rough-surface" type spray pant for my ammo-can! Heck, two rains and the stuff is coming off Read the the directions, before you buy the paint. Mother-Nature. over time can be brutal

[+Team Perks]

I as well just spray over the original paint. It does fine without any prep work; I pretty much wipe any dust off with a towel and that's about it.

 

As for what type/brand, it doesn't seem to. I use the cheapest spray paint that Wal-Mart sells. I think it's 97 cents a can, save for a couple colors I like to use that run a couple dollars apiece. It eventually gets scraped up a bit if you hide it in a bunch of rocks, but never in 5+ years of hiding ammo cans have I needed to take one out of service for repainting.

[+Team O-Zone]

Does anyone know where i can find this stencil for sale in the states?

 

Got mine from good ol' Coyote Red of 'Cissy & CR' fame, from right here on the forum....frequent contributor....(and nice folk to boot)!

http://sissy-n-cr.com/store.shtml

~*

 

Cool!!! Many Thanks!!!

 

[+cantuland]

I use a stencil too. I made my own. I went to a hobby shop and got a magnetic sticky-back SHEET. It's about letter-sized and completely covers an ammobox side. I cut my logo out of the magnetic strip, keeping in mind that only one side is magnetic. That will leave the sticky-back side on the outside. I still haven't taken off the sticky-back covering. With the whole stencil as a magnet, the thin parts of my stencil magnetically hug the metal ammo box. I give it a few sprays and let it dry. After it's dry, I move the stencil over to the next ammo box.

 

Before I use the stencil, I paint the box flat black with cheap outdoor spray paint. It has to be the outdoor stuff though. I saw the rough-texture paint, but it is for indoor use. That means temporary use. Like a previous poster said, even when the box doesn't get completely clean, the outdoor paint still sticks. I paint the whole box (everything visible while the lid is shut) to get rid of the little yellow notes left over from military use. After the dry black hides the old text, I use my magnetic stencil and use dull grey, or brown, or green. They all stand out against the black and is easily readable if you look at the box and is still somewhat cammo'd if you aren't looking for it. After the stencil paint dries, I might use a very light coating of more black paint to darken the text if it stands out too much. I hold the paint can at a good distance and just mist the black aimed at the logo text, watching to see when it gets dark enough without putting so much on it that it's gone, just enough to make it not stand out from a distance.

 

That's my piece. Go with a magnetic strip and customize your message. With experiece (trial and error and error and error) I have it nailed down pretty good.

 

cantuland

[CoyoteRed]

I used to use magnetic sheets when I had access to a laser cutter! These worked pretty good, but didn't last very long. I, also, used to cut them out of 100lb card stock.

 

Now, they're cut out of mylar. I had to order these out by the thousand, because of a career change. The maylar is the best material so far. I'm still using that same mylar stencil from when I first got the product in.

 

Anyway, I think using a quality paint like Rustoleum or Krylon (being my favorite) is important because of the high pigment content. This allows better coverage in a lighter coat. A lighter coat works well with a stencil to reduce paint build up on the stencil, runs, and any chance of the paint running under the stencil due to capillary action. Plus, the can dries faster so it can be handled sooner. It's just all round better to use light, mist coats.

 

Oh, don't worry about paint build up on the mylar ruining it, even Krylon (though I don't know about the Fusion stuff) won't stick. If you get enough build up that it makes the stencil stiff the paint will flake off. I don't worry about build up until paint chips fall off, then I just help it along off my work so they don't get in the wet paint. (Then again that's just extra camo.)