+In Search Of Faeries Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 I searched the forums, and couldn't turn anything up so I bring my question to you, good and helpful geocachers of the world. I bought a few ammo cans and a decon container for caches, the all have some brown crusty stuff in them, mostly dirt as far as I can tell. What I want to know is how you clean your containers before placement. Soap and water, and a washcloth, brillo pad, sponge? Any special solutions or materials to share? Thanks in advance for the help. Quote Link to comment
+BadAndy Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 I've only had 1 ammocan that required cleaning. The garden hose worked fine. Quote Link to comment
+Moose Mob Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 A little dishwashing detergent or any GP soap should do it. Sometimes gummy stuff remover if it has had stickers/labels applied. I have even been known to run them through the dishwasher to clean them. I have heard of folks that even use mineral sprits to clean them before painting. Quote Link to comment
+The Leprechauns Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 I use an electric sander to sand off the military markings, and any rust, prior to re-painting the can with my chosen camo color. Quote Link to comment
+WeightMan Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 I run them through the dishwasher before painting with camo colors. The paint covers the military markings quite nicely. The first coat of paint is an exremely flat black that I use for a primer. Quote Link to comment
+IV_Warrior Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 I haven't gotten any that really needed cleaned, although some soap/water and a stiff brush should do the trick. Normally, I just stick one of the "Official Geocache" stickers over the military markings, stock it, and hide it. Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 (edited) Navel jelly on the rusted areas. Hose it off after an hour or so. Hard wire (wheel) that fits in a hand-held power drill. (Saves A LOT on effort) This gets off most loose paint and then some. A couple good coatings of Rust-Oleum 'Rusty Metal' Primer (Brown). Let it dry a couple days (or more). Rust-Oleum Green paint. Give it several days to cure into a hard shell. Edited December 21, 2004 by BlueDeuce Quote Link to comment
+Moose Mob Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 (edited) Sounds like some folks go through a lot of effort to prepare a cache container! They do make it nice when you find one where the hider went through the effort to make it pretty. Topic shift: Have you seen the tupperware containers after someone has tried to cammo it? The ones we find in the desert aren't too pretty after a couple weeks of 120+ temperatures. Edit: remove redundancy. Edited December 21, 2004 by Moose Mob Quote Link to comment
+In Search Of Faeries Posted December 21, 2004 Author Share Posted December 21, 2004 Thanks everybody for your suggestions, there are several I want to try out. Quote Link to comment
+rusty_tlc Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Start at the surplus store, all ammo cans are not equal. I pick throught the pallet and select the cleanest, rust free cans. Next check the seal, I have seen the seal in conditions ranging from bad to completly missing. Open and close the can a few times to make sure it isn't bent or warped. After that soap and water do the trick. Living in the desert I don't worry about a little surface rust on the outside. I also don't prime the flat OD is primer enough. Quote Link to comment
+clearpath Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 I've never had to clean one (yet). The few that I have purchased were from a dept. store so they were very clean. I did paint over the ammo description on the side of the box. Had I needed to... I would have taken a wire brush and soap and water to the box. The dish washer (already mentioned) is a good idea as well. Quote Link to comment
+rusty_tlc Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 I've never had to clean one (yet). The few that I have purchased were from a dept. store so they were very clean. I did paint over the ammo description on the side of the box. Had I needed to... I would have taken a wire brush and soap and water to the box. The dish washer (already mentioned) is a good idea as well. Dude get thee to an Army Navy store! Besides the standard ammo cans they have all kinds of nifty stuff. Quote Link to comment
+Runaround Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 A little acetone and a rag will let you wipe the military markings right off the can. No need to sand or repaint. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 I've only had to clean one that came full of mud. The garden hose was enough for that one. Of the rest (and I've probably ordered over 100), a few had rust spots that were quickly fixed with a few swipes of sandpaper and a shot of Rustoleum. Quote Link to comment
+VisionQuest220 Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 I'm waiting for Martha Stewart to chime in from the cell block on this one. Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 No need to sand or repaint. Probably not. But it is a fun geocaching project when you're stuck at home and need an excuse from completing the more tedious chores. Quote Link to comment
+NickL Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 My local source for ammo cans seems to thing that they should be oiled. So I start with a good wipe down with acetone. This if followed by what every cleaning to remove tape and other stuff from the surfaces. After that it is usually a quick sanding of the entire surface that I will be painting, I do not try to remove any markings. If there is rust I do wire brush and sand it off. This is followed by an undercoat paint (both inside and outside of the can) as needed. I remove the lid for the painting. I use these cans for things beyond geocaches so once they are primered I will make any modification to the can and once again if there is bare metal I reprime the exposed metal. I then base coat and paint as needed, camo for caches and other depending on what for. If the can has been sitting around a while I usually give it a wipe down with acetone before painting, I do not worry too much about dust and don’t use a tack cloth. And as always your milage will vary. Quote Link to comment
+In Search Of Faeries Posted December 24, 2004 Author Share Posted December 24, 2004 I'm waiting for Martha Stewart to chime in from the cell block on this one. Clean ammo cans, they're a good thing Quote Link to comment
+Criminal Posted December 24, 2004 Share Posted December 24, 2004 Put it in the dishwasher the next time you're going to run a load of hand tools. Quote Link to comment
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