Camo paint jobs- who has done it, and how?

[escobar]

Planning on going with camo, either tigerstripe or olive drab.

Any pointers? I am definately not going with any kind of wraps though, just paint.

Inside will be herculiner sprayed in with xylene to thin it, using a sand blasting gun- works like a dream.

 

[osidejeeper]

I've done it to my CJ7 . I love it. Sanded everything down and went to town with Krylon Camo. Some pics are posted in the gallery under osidejeeper. The nice thing is, when you get a scratch, you just break out the right color and touch it up. Fading looks good too.

 

[Sasquach]

I have just about got my CJ3b striped and ready for paint, was thinking either solid olive drab or desert camo like the attached pic. I have yet to go the the paint supply shop but I know it will not be done with rattle cans, the tub and all peices have gone down to metal and when I did my CJ5 it took 1.5 gal primer and 1.5 gal of top coat to do everything but that was wheels too.

 

[escobar]

SWEET Jeep Oside, that's exactly what I needed to see.

Krylon Camo? Where do you think I could get it locally? Price?

Is it a 3 color kit? If it is, did 1 kit do it all?

Also did you just prep sand or strip to metal?

Maybe I should start a new thread on this, but your lift looks perfect (for what I want). How did you do it? I know resto work but have never needed to lift anything until now.

 

[CJim7]

Here you go. I did this several years ago using Krylon rattle cans. The secret to any camo paint scheme is to start with the lightest color first and then go to the next darkest.

 

[escobar]

Man that looks good. Like that desert camo look. Light color first eh?

Now, did you pattern the tan first or paint the whole jeep tan then pattern over that?

Also, on the different shapes, did you mask and paper the edges? I'm wondering about overspray and neatness between color lines.

 

[CJim7]

Man that looks good. Like that desert camo look. Light color first eh?

Now, did you pattern the tan first or paint the whole jeep tan then pattern over that?

Also, on the different shapes, did you mask and paper the edges? I'm wondering about overspray and neatness between color lines.

Yes. Lightest color first. It doesnt make sense, but you will notice it if you go darkest first...it gives it a generically "wrong" look. It's all related to depth perception.

I painted the entire Jeep with the sand color first and then went with the patterning. I had some in-process pictures, but they seem to have dissapeared.

I did not mask it. I wanted the rough controlled overspray look. That is what makes camoflage effective...the blending of the shades. That cant happen by masking the colors off from each other. This also, by contrary, gives it a "cleaner" look.

 

[escobar]

Oh ok. Makes perfect sense.

About the pattern itself, did you outline a pattern first and fill it in or just go commando on it?

 

[CJim7]

At first, I thought I would draw out a pattern, so I did the hood only. It turned out to be a good choice as it got my confidence up as I sprayed it. I free-styled the rest after that....wasn't so intimidated.

I recommend drawing out a pattern. You can over-spray to your liking if you wish, but it gives you a good idea on where the paint is going. Another reason is pattern perspective. If you free hand it entirely, you will come back around and notice your pattern ended up different then when you started.

It is definately fun. I had a dark blue YJ with a black interior I was going to do a winter camo scheme on but sold it before I could get my rattle cans warmed up.
I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

Edit:
This camo pattern turned out so well, I've seen pictures of my group wheeling where my jeep was almost visually non-existant in the pics (with the hardtop off) You really had to look to see it even in the open.

 

[escobar]

Alright man. I appreciate the info and help.

I should be getting to paint it in a week or so. Just wrapping up some other stuff with it to get it 100% functional.

After paint I'm gonna look into a lift. Never done it before and hope its not too hard on the pocket.

 

[CJim7]

You're very welcome. Good luck

 

[Sasquach]

At first, I thought I would draw out a pattern, so I did the hood only. It turned out to be a good choice as it got my confidence up as I sprayed it. I free-styled the rest after that....wasn't so intimidated.

I recommend drawing out a pattern. You can over-spray to your liking if you wish, but it gives you a good idea on where the paint is going. Another reason is pattern perspective. If you free hand it entirely, you will come back around and notice your pattern ended up different then when you started.

It is definately fun. I had a dark blue YJ with a black interior I was going to do a winter camo scheme on but sold it before I could get my rattle cans warmed up.
I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

Edit:
This camo pattern turned out so well, I've seen pictures of my group wheeling where my jeep was almost visually non-existant in the pics (with the hardtop off) You really had to look to see it even in the open.

You beat me to it, your scheme works really well in the terrain shown in your action pic.

 

[escobar]

Oh yeah- did you guys strip and paint or prep sand the old paint? What grit would be good for this?

I've got a d/a sander itching to run.....

 

[Sasquach]

Oh yeah- did you guys strip and paint or prep sand the old paint? What grit would be good for this?

I've got a d/a sander itching to run.....

I depends on what your starting with, My project had 5 diferent coats of paint so I striped it with paint remover down to bare steel. If you have a good topcoat but just want to change color then 400 grit followed by 600 is good but all depends on what conditiion your finish is in

 

[ken98k]

There are camo patterns for m151. not really a jeep but close.

MILITARY VEHICLE CAMOUFLAGE PATTERNS

 

[escobar]

Pretty good paint, not old at all. Just kinda purple and I don't like it at all. Gonna have to cut out some spots with rot that the po bondo'd over and weld in some proper sheet metal.

I've painted gloss jobs over paint on some hoopties but I wanna make sure that this flat camo sets on right.

Thanks for all the tips guys. Got some before pics I'm gonna post on my 'build' thread. Some results pics comin' soon too.

 

[elwood blues]

There's the picture of your CJ I remember, wasn't that project Desert Wolf

 

[CJim7]

There's the picture of your CJ I remember, wasn't that project Desert Wolf

Yep, Project Desert Wolf
How on earth did you remember that

Funny thing, that CJ has seen a lot of changes since then.

 

[CJim7]

You beat me to it, your scheme works really well in the terrain shown in your action pic.

Yeah, it does have it's disadvantages though...Like the one time I went coyote hunting and had a hell of a time finding the Jeep. With the tires below the level of the horizon, there's not much to pinpoint from a distance. Thought about carrying around one of those big orange flags like they use during Jeep Jamboree and hoisting it when Im out on foot

I depends on what your starting with, My project had 5 diferent coats of paint so I striped it with paint remover down to bare steel. If you have a good topcoat but just want to change color then 400 grit followed by 600 is good but all depends on what conditiion your finish is in

That's what I did also, went with 400 grit and then 600 grit basically just to rough up the clearcoat as well as I could. You need to pay considerable attention to areas that are recessed...parts of the windshield frame, hinges, the wierd "triangle" on the side of the cowl by the mirrors...I even did my chinzy aluminum diamondplate (in the pictures). That was the hardest part to prep, I had to go first one way and then the other way with steel wool and green scouring pads (worked good) and it took a lot of time. But they held up great. Im running full boatsides now and my girlfriend wanted me to paint them to match the Jeep, but I kept them black.