How Does Everyone Camo Their Ammo Cans?

July 27, 2004

Hello to everyone,

I've seen some very nice camo jobs on Ammo cans. How does everyone go about doing this? Do you make your on Stencil patterns or free hand? Is their an easy way to do this? ie Camo 101?

Thanks for any replies. :blink:

July 27, 2004

I would like to know too. I tried (on tupperware) using spray cans free hand. Worked okay but not as nice as others I have seen. From this experience here is what I learned:

Use the new Krylon paint made for plastic when painting on tupperware. It sticks well.

I think the flat nozzles give more control over the cone nozzle.

24.7k · July 27, 2004

Check out the Criminal Pages on a camo method.

I made my own stencil out of a stencil font. Works well enough. Now I need a stencil for the Decon Cans now that I've got the Ammo Cans covered.

Edited July 27, 2004 by Renegade Knight

38.2k · July 27, 2004

The Criminal method is a good way, but most of the time I just take a can of brown and a can of black Rustoleum primer and spray random spots and lines, making sure I blot out the military markings.

I also make sure I paint the hinges and any rusted areas. If the cache is going to be among rocks (which are mostly greyish granite in NJ), I use grey instead of brown.

Edited July 27, 2004 by briansnat

2.1k · July 27, 2004

I give it a once-over with rustoleum spray-primer to make sure I cover the army-green and lettering, and then paint random patterns with brown/green/black/other colors from the $ store. I stencil on a geocache advisory after it is dry with a stencil from Sissy-n-CR's Store.

This works well for me.

nfa

July 27, 2004

For a really nice camo job, let your six year old do the painting. Always looks great. I think we try too hard and kids just slap the paint on.

1.8k · July 27, 2004

I've used the "Criminal Method" for all my ammo cans and they always come out pretty neat looking. Ferns and the edges of palm fronds seem to turn out the best for me.

In my experience, nothing sticks to plastic that well...Not even the Krylon.

1.8k · July 27, 2004

I always do mine with four colors. First a gray primer to cover all the military markings. Then a light green over, but not completely covering the gray, then a darker green, then some splotches of black.

I tried the Criminal method once, but it just didn't come out looking right.

July 27, 2004

Check out the Criminal Pages on a camo method.

Related question: Does anybody know where to buy the "Olive Drab" Krylon he's using as a base coat on these pages? Krylon makes a Rustoleum version of it, too, which they simply call "Army Green", #1920...

The only place I've even been able to find Krylon/Rustoleum camo colors is at a single particular Walmart (other walmarts I've been in don't seem to carry it). This Walmart has a different Rustoleum camo color, though... it's called "Olive Green" (#1923, I think, which Rustoleum doesn't even list!) and is too dark for what I want; it's more like the original green that ammo cans come in when you buy them.

I've been to places like Lowes, Home Depot, etc. and they don't even carry the Krylon/Rustoleum camo colors let alone that particular Olive Drab / Army Green shade.

5.9k · July 27, 2004

I tried the Criminal method once, but it just didn't come out looking right.

You have to use plants that will lay flat, or at least pretty flat, on the can.

I am using the cammo paint they sell in the BX, I think it's Krylon.

July 27, 2004

Thanks for all the great tips & ideas. :rolleyes: I will scout out an area & base my camo job on what the surroundings look like. Hopefully the colors of the surrounding areas don't change too much throughout the seasons. 4 seasons here in Ca.

Thanks again & I appreciate everyones contributions. :rolleyes:

July 28, 2004

I have hidden 1 that is an ammo box and I left it the way it came. I left the original markings on it but added geocache info. If you hide it well enough you can paint it bright orange and still nobody will see it.

However, you can't depend on finders putting it back as well, so camo might be useful. If I was going to camo them I would go with a dark field gray/tan/OD green splotch camo, which should work relatively well across the seasons. The main point is to break up the outline so people don't recognize it as an ammo can.

1.4k · July 28, 2004

I use flat colors

Brown

Black

White

I'll start with a base of brown then use a spatter method (a light spray from a few feet away) to add the black and white. This breaks up the flat surface. It's the way you paint scenery for TV and the stage. I'll add as much black and white to match the area I'm hiding the cache in.

Here's an example.

The "No Danger" stencil I made using letter and cardboard the size of the ammo can.

4k · July 28, 2004

Check out the Criminal Pages on a camo method.

I made my own stencil out of a stencil font. Works well enough. Now I need a stencil for the Decon Cans now that I've got the Ammo Cans covered.

I used a similar method to Criminal's to create these:

July 28, 2004

Check out the Criminal Pages on a camo method.

I made my own stencil out of a stencil font. Works well enough. Now I need a stencil for the Decon Cans now that I've got the Ammo Cans covered.

I used a similar method to Criminal's to create these:

Wow! :unsure: That is a nice camo job! I really like Renegades & yours the best. I'm going to try Renegades techniques this afternoon to see if I can get results like you both did. Those are great!

BTW who camo'ed the cat? Very interesting pattern indeed! :laughing:

4k · July 28, 2004

Check out the Criminal Pages on a camo method.

I made my own stencil out of a stencil font. Works well enough. Now I need a stencil for the Decon Cans now that I've got the Ammo Cans covered.

I used a similar method to Criminal's to create these:

Wow! That is a nice camo job! I really like Renegades & yours the best. I'm going to try Renegades techniques this afternoon to see if I can get results like you both did. Those are great!

BTW who camo'ed the cat? Very interesting pattern indeed!

That's for all those people who are always asking "Who's watching my cache?"

7.2k · July 28, 2004

One note: camo jobs can look pretty good sitting on your work beach or the kitchen floor. The important thing is how well it blends in, in the wild.

I'd be interested in seeing how well a technique works in place.

1.4k · July 28, 2004

One note: camo jobs can look pretty good sitting on your work beach or the kitchen floor. The important thing is how well it blends in, in the wild.

I'd be interested in seeing how well a technique works in place.

If you look at the backround of the picture I posted you'll notice the color matches the dirt and rock of the area.

1.1k · July 28, 2004

In my experience, nothing sticks to plastic that well...Not even the Krylon.

I've had good results using Krylon fusion paint as a primer, then regular paint as a finish coat. Rough up the plastic with sandpaper to make it less reflective and give the paint something to hold on to.

July 28, 2004

One note: camo jobs can look pretty good sitting on your work beach or the kitchen floor. The important thing is how well it blends in, in the wild.

I'd be interested in seeing how well a technique works in place.

Excellent point, any one got camo techniques for tree bark and/or leaves on the ground?

I guess for leaves on the ground I would try the Criminal technique and paint my leave brown instead of green.

July 29, 2004

Here are some cans I just finished, Using CoyoteReds stencils

July 29, 2004

I've seen an ammo box that had tree bark hot glue gunned to one of it's (large) sides. Makes for quicker rehides, as you only have to cover up the other sides of the box.

2.3k · July 29, 2004

Regarding Camo Paint:

Aervoe (Aervoe-Pacific Company, Gardnerville, NV 89410) makes at least a dozen colors of good quality camo paint. I have used: Earth Brown, Sand, Field Drab, Olive Drab, and Olive Drab WWII. I get mine at Major Surplus store, but I assume they must sell elsewhere.

July 29, 2004

Here are some cans I just finished, Using CoyoteReds stencils

Those are really nice camo jobs Trail Hound. I have just ordered the Stencils from

CoyoteRed also! Can't wait to receive them in the mail. There are some really nice paint jobs on this thread. Anyone else? Also does anyone fill in the info on the last 2 lines on the stencil?

Edited July 29, 2004 by JeepySr

August 5, 2004

I've seen some very nice camo jobs on Ammo cans. How does everyone go about doing this? Do you make your on Stencil patterns or free hand? Is their an easy way to do this? ie Camo 101?

I spray Camo-Ducks on ours... On the side where the writing is, I place the "Offical Geocaching" Sticker..

Lehigh Mafia

August 6, 2004

If your a bit lazy and/or cheap you can use Camo Duck Tape

August 6, 2004

If your a bit lazy and/or cheap you can use Camo Duck Tape

I really like the camo tape, but using it doesn't make you cheap or lazy.(I spend more on camo tape anyway) It's better to use it when you're trying to camo certain things. And, I think that the tape is much better at doing what it's supposed to do, making things harder to see. I use the Krylon ultra flat camo paint a lot too, and it's ok but another problem with it if you're hiding it near rocks or other abrasive things is the paint comes off much easier than the tape does.

August 7, 2004

If your a bit lazy and/or cheap you can use Camo Duck Tape

I just like sniffin' the paint fumes... Can you sniff Duck Tape?? :smile: Or would the Ducks get upset with you??

Lehigh Mafia

August 7, 2004

Camo mosquito netting, cut and glued funky works great. Buy it by the yard and you will have enough for several cans for a few bucks. It's like, the worse and sloppier the job, the better it works. Make ragged cuts and allow the netting to drape over the sides. Goop adheres well and is pretty ugly by itself, which is a good thing. Faded, weathered, and torn....all the better. Take some scraps of netting and a tube of Goop out for annual maintenance, and your patches will add to the effect.

I did some "Criminal" types of paint jobs and they turned out real good using automotive undercoating (no way were mine as pretty as Criminal's!) but if I really want to camoflage, I'll use the fabric. No Glare, no sharp angles, get's better with age, cheap, and (almost) impossible to do this wrong.

Keep Smiling! :smile:

August 9, 2004

I wonder if there is any way to apply CADPAT to an ammo box?

August 31, 2004

Cammoed Ammo This is one of mine that is out in the wild at this moment. The lettering stencil is a run off from "Print Shop" and then cut out with a razor knife. The lettering is only on one side , and turned to the unlettered side out, when in place at the cache location. The leaf shapes are from the woods. Products for painting are from Wal Mart. Edited August 31, 2004 by Saxondog

1.6k · August 31, 2004

I just camo mine free hand no stencils. The ones I've done have turned out pretty well.

2.1k · August 31, 2004

Hi,

I buy automotive paint in various browns, greens, and blacks from the $ store, and just make a mess. :lol:

I do some arcs, some lines, some spots, some distant spraying, and generally just have fun with it. If I have time/paint to do a second coat, I also throw some leaf litter at the cans from various angles while they are drying (I do the cans 3+ at a time), which breaks up the angularity and the shine of the paint (try for flat rather than shiny paint when shopping at the $ store, but take what you can get).

nfa

August 31, 2004

I have a theory, (just a theory, since we haven't hid any of our own yet) on camo. What if you started by painting your container flat black, taking that and a can of spray adhesive to your location, (assuming it will be rural, wilderness) spray the entire thing heavily and rolling it or pressing it into the surroundings, picking up, dirt, leaves, sticks/twigs, etc. Do you think this would work? Hold up well?

38.2k · September 1, 2004

I have a theory, (just a theory, since we haven't hid any of our own yet) on camo. What if you started by painting your container flat black, taking that and a can of spray adhesive to your location, (assuming it will be rural, wilderness) spray the entire thing heavily and rolling it or pressing it into the surroundings, picking up, dirt, leaves, sticks/twigs, etc. Do you think this would work? Hold up well?

I've heard of it done and it does work. Makes it very hard for muggles to see. You might want to try flat brown instead of black though, depending on the color of the debris that will be sticking to the container.

2.1k · September 1, 2004

I have a theory, (just a theory, since we haven't hid any of our own yet) on camo. What if you started by painting your container flat black, taking that and a can of spray adhesive to your location, (assuming it will be rural, wilderness) spray the entire thing heavily and rolling it or pressing it into the surroundings, picking up, dirt, leaves, sticks/twigs, etc. Do you think this would work? Hold up well?

I've heard of it done and it does work. Makes it very hard for muggles to see. You might want to try flat brown instead of black though, depending on the color of the debris that will be sticking to the container.

I did that with a tennis ball 'can'. Took the calking gun with me and a rubber glove - shmeered clear calk all over it and then rolled it in the oak leaves.

came out nicely.

September 1, 2004

OH! somewhat on-topic... I have been doing a lot of investigating camo , bot patterns and techniques... I came across this website WWW.eDecals.com. they print and sell adhesive vinyl graphics. HAs anyone had any experience with this sort of product? Looks like just the thing for 'standard' traditional or large cache-tainers.

Then again, traditional OD green that us ammo cans come naturally in does a better job of hiding than one might think.

When I camo up a can, I use the same krylon ultra flats that are mentiond several times in this thread. I like to freehand a pseudo-NATO style 3 ( and sometimes 4) color woodland pattern with a nice bit of blending on the edges. But as per good geocaching manners, I make very certain that my cans are CLEARLY marked with red Groundspeak and Geocky logo stencils and the word Geo-cache if they are in a location that I may think they stand more than a 10% chance of being muggled

It is also not beyond me to hot glue sections of split branches or sometimes sections of trunk bark to my cans while being very very careful to avoid anything that looks like a straight line or seam ( dead give away.. have found many 'hollow stick' caches this way)

I find this to be very very useful for micros. I have one recent micro where I used thick gell CA glue to stick strips of bark to the cachetainer . been several thumbs up on that one so far

Yep! back when I first started placing hides, I thought the mossy oak camo tape was the bomb! And it isnt bad... but from the distance the pattern just seems to merge into one color.

If i am prepping an urban magnetic micro ( or sometimes 'sub-micro) I will take my time and try to match the background color... still having a time finding a good 'Medium Bronze'

I have been wanting to try the camo burlap that I see sold in sporting goods stores and hunting dept of wal-mart to see if it would work well draped over a cache ? If I get to it, I'll be sure to share

Phew! If i werent in such a good mood when I posrted this, I would think I was on a rant! :huh:

September 1, 2004

Those Decals are pretty cool & I really like the Burlap Idea. Will have to give that a shot also. Thanks for the input! :huh:

September 1, 2004

My Camoflauged Geocache

'nother shot

Kind of evil isnt it?

Girlfriends Camoflauged Geocache

September 2, 2004

[ My Camoflauged Geocache

'nother shot

Kind of evil isnt it?

Girlfriends Camoflauged Geocache]

The photos didn't come up for me?

1.7k · September 2, 2004

The photos didn't come up for me?

me either

2.1k · September 2, 2004

My Camoflauged Geocache
'nother shot

Kind of evil isnt it?

Girlfriends Camoflauged Geocache

yahoo wants a login

???????

September 2, 2004

didnt come up for me.eoither ..even with a login..sent me to my yahoo frontpage

2.7k · September 2, 2004

My Camoflauged Geocache
'nother shot

Kind of evil isnt it?

Girlfriends Camoflauged Geocache

yahoo wants a login

???????

I'm a Yahoo user and logged in,but it just took me to my home browser

September 3, 2004

To remove the yellow lettering on an Ammo Box, I use Carburator cleaner in a spray can. Just spray lightly and wipe of quickly. It dries quick and leaves the box dirt & grease free ready for painting.

September 3, 2004

To remove the yellow lettering on an Ammo Box, I use Carburator cleaner in a spray can. Just spray lightly and wipe of quickly. It dries quick and leaves the box dirt & grease free ready for painting.

Me, I like 100 grit sandpaper OR my new toy, a brass wire wheel.

September 3, 2004

Read the ques.,Er,uh,doesn't the cache local determine the camo paint style.Desert,marsh,mountains,woods,etc.?

2.5k · September 4, 2004

In my experience, nothing sticks to plastic that well...Not even the Krylon.

Lightly sand the container. Just enough to scratch the top layer.

That should help quite a bit.

September 4, 2004

Absoloutly... you have to match

toss the word camofluage into a google search

lots of good ideas

September 4, 2004

Great ideas for "camoing" I'm going out now to try some of these ideas.

I noticed the mention of plastic ammo cans a couple of times. I haven't been able to find them. Anyone know where I can get them online?

How Does Everyone Camo Their Ammo Cans?

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment