Camouflaging a Geocache

[ReadySteadyGoo]

HI,

Just wanted to know if anyone has any good, easy tips for camouflaging my lock & lock containers?

 

Thanks

[+sword fern]

The ever famous Cool Cache Containers thread

[Clan Riffster]

Hi Goo, welcome to the forums!

You can get a bunch of good ideas digging through the pages that SwordFern linked to.

My favorite method involves physical camo, as it breaks up the outline.

I start by lightly sanding the exterior. Then I apply a coat of olive drab spray paint.

I'll add a few squirts of flat black, flat brown and khaki to the sides.

Then I'll smear Liquid Nails Roof Repair caulk to the top.

This stuff is really smelly, and stains anything it touches, so wear gloves and do it outside.

The next step is to mash floral moss into the caulk.

I'll leave it outside, somewhere kinda protected from the elements, for a few days, to cure.

They look like this:

Sometimes, instead of moss, I'll use strips of camo burlap:

[ReadySteadyGoo]

Thanks for your replies already! Yours is exactly what I was thinking of doing, painting them and using something to cover them. Is the spray paint just a flat camo paint? Im from the uk and trying to find something useful.

Have been amazed at some of those caches on the thread sword fern sent me. I think some of those would drive me insane trying to find them!

[Clan Riffster]

I use Krylon, as they make it in camo colors which are very flat.

[+St.Matthew]

I use Krylon, as they make it in camo colors which are very flat.

 

Just remember:

1) Flat Camo Paint

2) Sand paper the container first. This helps the paint not chip off

3) Wait at least 7 days after the paint dries before placing the cache.

[+Dgwphotos]

I originally developed this method for camouflaging ammo cans, but I've since adopted it to Lock and Locks as well:

 

I spray the container Green overall using the camo spray paint, then I take a fern frond (plentiful around here), place it on the cache container, and spritz it using the Black camo paint to produce an outline of the frond, then move it and repeat until I have a pattern I like.

 

A method I developed more recently, and use when the cache is going to be in a shady spot, is to paint the container overall Camo Black, then spritz a fine mist of Camo brown.

 

I use these methods as both a base for more advanced camo, and as standalone camo.

[+Manville Possum]

I use Krylon, as they make it in camo colors which are very flat.

 

Just remember:

1) Flat Camo Paint

2) Sand paper the container first. This helps the paint not chip off

3) Wait at least 7 days after the paint dries before placing the cache.

I use camo Krylon also. It has fusion primer in it for plastic. I don't sand, and the paint does not chip off.

[+Rainbow Spirit]

I use standard el cheapo spray paints, in flat. I sand both the inside and outside of plastic containers, and usually start with black, and paint both the inside and outside, then a mixture of greens and browns, or whatever fits in with the local area.

I have also attached shade cloth to the top of lock 'n locks with a small bolt, sealed with silicon, in green or brown base colours. I cut the cloth in irregular shapes, and paint the shade cloth with various colours. Lay that on the ground with some leaf litter and it almost disappears.

The real problem with most containers is that they have straight edges, and nature has very few straight edges, so even with the best of camo paints you will still have straight edges. Thats why some form of covering on straight edge containers works so well.

[+St.Matthew]

I use Krylon, as they make it in camo colors which are very flat.

 

Just remember:

1) Flat Camo Paint

2) Sand paper the container first. This helps the paint not chip off

3) Wait at least 7 days after the paint dries before placing the cache.

I use camo Krylon also. It has fusion primer in it for plastic. I don't sand, and the paint does not chip off.

 

I know it says that, but I have a container that it DID chip off. Since I've began sanding, I've not had the problem.

[+briansnat]

At one time I used camo tape on Lock n Locks, but a few years ago I started painting them. Here is how I do it.

 

1. Scrub the container thoroughly with a Scotch Brite pad and an abrasive cleaner (Ajax, Comet, etc)

2. Dry thoroughly

3. Spray the container with a special plastic primer. I've tried a few and Valspar brand works the best by far.

4. Spray the container with the spraypaint of my choice. I look for flat colors or black or brown primers.

 

Krylon makes a paint called "Fusion" that is supposed to work with plastics, but I've found that it doesn't hold up nearly as well as using a base layer of plastic primer.

 

Here are the results. The container on the right spent several years hidden among rocks and there is no flaking of paint. The one on the left is about to be deployed.

 

Edited August 11, 2011 by briansnat

[ReadySteadyGoo]

Great job done on those Briansnat! Thanks for everyones input. I'm looking forward to trying some out. I think it'll be trial & error to start with.

 

Briansnat - I like the way you have geocache sprayed on top, do you have a stencil you made to do this?

[+briansnat]

Great job done on those Briansnat! Thanks for everyones input. I'm looking forward to trying some out. I think it'll be trial & error to start with.

 

Briansnat - I like the way you have geocache sprayed on top, do you have a stencil you made to do this?

 

I purchased the stencil from Sissy n CR's online store

[+Ambrosia]

At one time I used camo tape on Lock n Locks, but a few years ago I started painting them. Here is how I do it.

 

1. Scrub the container thoroughly with a Scotch Brite pad and an abrasive cleaner (Ajax, Comet, etc)

2. Dry thoroughly

3. Spray the container with a special plastic primer. I've tried a few and Valspar brand works the best by far.

4. Spray the container with the spraypaint of my choice. I look for flat colors or black or brown primers.

 

Krylon makes a paint called "Fusion" that is supposed to work with plastics, but I've found that it doesn't hold up nearly as well as using a base layer of plastic primer.

 

Here are the results. The container on the right spent several years hidden among rocks and there is no flaking of paint. The one on the left is about to be deployed.

 

<snippy>

Which do you think is cheaper, spraying or camo tape?

[+briansnat]

At one time I used camo tape on Lock n Locks, but a few years ago I started painting them. Here is how I do it.

 

1. Scrub the container thoroughly with a Scotch Brite pad and an abrasive cleaner (Ajax, Comet, etc)

2. Dry thoroughly

3. Spray the container with a special plastic primer. I've tried a few and Valspar brand works the best by far.

4. Spray the container with the spraypaint of my choice. I look for flat colors or black or brown primers.

 

Krylon makes a paint called "Fusion" that is supposed to work with plastics, but I've found that it doesn't hold up nearly as well as using a base layer of plastic primer.

 

Here are the results. The container on the right spent several years hidden among rocks and there is no flaking of paint. The one on the left is about to be deployed.

 

<snippy>

Which do you think is cheaper, spraying or camo tape?

 

A roll of camo tape is about $3 and you can do a lot of containers for with a single roll, so I think that is probably a lot cheaper. It doesn't hold up as well in the long term though.

[+John in Valley Forge]

At one time I used camo tape on Lock n Locks, but a few years ago I started painting them. Here is how I do it.

 

1. Scrub the container thoroughly with a Scotch Brite pad and an abrasive cleaner (Ajax, Comet, etc)

2. Dry thoroughly

3. Spray the container with a special plastic primer. I've tried a few and Valspar brand works the best by far.

4. Spray the container with the spraypaint of my choice. I look for flat colors or black or brown primers.

 

Krylon makes a paint called "Fusion" that is supposed to work with plastics, but I've found that it doesn't hold up nearly as well as using a base layer of plastic primer.

 

Here are the results. The container on the right spent several years hidden among rocks and there is no flaking of paint. The one on the left is about to be deployed.

 

<snippy>

Which do you think is cheaper, spraying or camo tape?

 

A roll of camo tape is about $3 and you can do a lot of containers for with a single roll, so I think that is probably a lot cheaper. It doesn't hold up as well in the long term though.

 

Well, in the long run I think you can do a lot more with a can or three of camo paint (brown, black, tan) than a roll of tape.

How many rolls would it take to do an ammo can?

Tape did not do much good on a homemade concrete rock.

 

It would all depend on what exactly you wanna do.

[Clan Riffster]

Which do you think is cheaper, spraying or camo tape?

I would say lot has to do with the kind of tape you buy.

The cheap, fairly generic camo duct tape available at Wally World has a sheen to it that makes anything you wrap with it really stand out, as it's just not natural. Some hunters specialty stores have a cloth based camo tape that works a lot better at disguising objects, but the adhesive isn't very good, and it's pretty pricey.

 

Four cans of camo Krylon runs me $12 to $15, and I can do 10 ammo cans with them.