Obi Wan Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 Anyone got any hints or tips for painting plastic boxes? I have tried painting 'Addis' and 'Lock and Lock' boxes with 'plasti-coat' spray paint. It is not proving terribly durable. Has any discovered the secret of painting plastic?????? Cheers. Obi. Quote Link to comment
+Pharisee Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 Rough 'em up a bit first with some 'wet & dry' then wipe them over with a cloth soaked in thinners to get the dust and grease off. Dry them off thoroughly then chuck them in the bin and buy an ammo box (only joking about the last bit ) I spray them with an acrylic paint, it seems to last longer than cellulose. Quote Link to comment
+Omally Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 (edited) Sound advice John! 'Spose you could say the key to a good paint job is the key... Edited January 26, 2004 by Omally Quote Link to comment
AJK Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 I saw this company advertised on tv: Krylon. They had a specific product that was advertised due to its plastic bonding abilities... Quote Link to comment
+Brenin Tegeingl Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 It's the release agent that the molds are coated in, that creates the problem. A bit like Teflon, creates a non stick surface in the mold. Wash with hot soapy water first, that'll remove all traces of it. You should see how fast 80kgs of hot plastic can leap out at you, after a mold has been freshly coated! Dave Quote Link to comment
+rusty_tlc Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 Rough 'em up a bit.... Best advice. You can also flame treat, using a propane torch with a diffuser lightly pass it back and forth. Another method, which may not work well in all parts of the world is to simply leave the plastic outside, in full sun, until the surface sheen is gone. Basically anything that gets rid of the shiny surface works. Acrylic paints adhere better than latex. Quote Link to comment
Datsundudes Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 You can buy special plastic primers for car bumpers and trim which will eych into a lot of plastics and provide an excellent key for pretty much any paint. You can get it at Halfords or in some motor accessory shops. You can also get paint for recolouring vinyl upholstery (Vinylkote) which might be good too. I once did all the interior in a car with it and it never wore off...very good stuff. It would still pay to get the mould release agents off and key the surface well even if using these kids of paint but once done it would be pretty durable. -Eddie Quote Link to comment
Cape Cod Cacher Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 Hey Gang, I was passing through to see if anyone had posted on the 'Accidental Cliff Diving' post I made and saw this. Alot depends on the kind of plastic you want to paint. Polypropylene and polyethelene dont take paint. They are used for foods because things don't stick to them. They have high amounts of olefin waxes in them. They are used for things like margarine containers. Most plastic containers have a triangle with a number in said triangle and some letters underneath for recycling purposes. Anything with PE or PP wont take paint well (HDPE, means High Density Polyethylene for example). There ARE paints that will adhere, but they are at hobby shops and carry a hobby shop price tag. I use old peanutbutter containers for my multiple, I leave the label on and blast it with flat black. Seems to work, but people don't screw the lids on tightly though. I have to clean up that cache as soon as this Arctic blast leaves. Snow & ice is a nice place to visit, living with it is a drag. CCC Quote Link to comment
+Daisy&me Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 I tried cleaning them, roughing them up and spraying them with assorted paints, included stuff sold for car bumpers and as soon as you flex the plastic it comes right off again. I decided it was pointless anyway as ammo boxes are readily available mail order, from here, for example and cost no more than tupperware. They are camouflage coloured, leak proof so they don't require the frowned-upon plastic bags and are virtually indestructible. Quote Link to comment
Obi Wan Posted January 27, 2004 Author Share Posted January 27, 2004 (edited) Thanks for all the advice. I may try ammo cases in future. Has any one had problems with them due to their military appearance?? Is it easy to remove the writing? Words such as 'Grenade' and 'Ammunition 7.62mm' could cause problems. Could it get mistaken for an 'Arms Cache' (excuse the pun) as happend in reality at Rivington. Or am just being paranoid!!!!!!! Cheers. Obi. Edited January 27, 2004 by Obi Wan Quote Link to comment
+Travers Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 We have one box which, due to it's location needed to be 'painted' black, but we used a simple permanent marker pen to colour it in. It definitely works well, though this box is not on the ground or anywhere particularly damp. Quote Link to comment
+Daisy&me Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 Is it easy to remove the writing? On the smaller size of box the official Geocaching.com sticker covers all the writing on one side. Any other writing can be obliterated with a quick squirt of spray paint. Quote Link to comment
The Cuthberts Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 We were kindly pointed in the direction of a 'stencil' font which can be emailed out if required. We have started to spray 'contents harmless' on the sides of the boxes. Being in Wiltshire, which is a big MOD playground, an ammo box with military markings could result in it being reported to the army...... or worse ??!! Quote Link to comment
+paul.blitz Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 Has any one had problems with them due to their military appearance?? Is it easy to remove the writing? Words such as 'Grenade' and 'Ammunition 7.62mm' could cause problems. I painted one with some blackboard paint I had... it's been out in the wild now for almost a year, and when we visited it a few weeks, the paint was still fine! I always put one of the "Official Geocache" stickers on the side too... makes it clear what it is. Paul Quote Link to comment
+Subarite Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 An ammo box in itself isn't a weapon... It is certainly unusual and to the casual observer may be a turn off and hence leave it alone. There is no recorded incident (as far as I know) where an (ammo box) cache has been a problem. What would you do if you found one???? Remember... you are a cacher and wouldn't blink an eye finding one!!!! Andy. Quote Link to comment
+kernow krawlers Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 An ammo box could cause a problem on Dartmoor, Devon. Letterboxers here have been asked not to use them any more. In fact, they are warned not to touch any metal objects at all. This is due to the possibility of live amunition etc accidentally left around by the Army training that takes place Quote Link to comment
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