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Looks like this room hasn't been opened up in awhile? Thought I would open the windows and let some fresh air and light in!

I have always been intrigued by the art of camouflage And have always wanted to give it a try with a few reservations. First thing is deciding on what type of camo to apply. Guess that is dictated by the terrain one wants to get lost in, right? In my case its a no brainer... I'm a SoCal Desert freak so that means desert camo is the requirement.

Next decision is what style of camo do I have the skills to attempt with a reasonable chance of success? Now keep in mind I've been looking at everything I can find related to camo painting. I have seen some hideous attempts that have fallen way short of where I would like to end up. In looking for something that looks good and appears to be most forgiving I have tentatively decided on a desert digital pattern. Of course one of the big advantages of camo is that the body work doesn't have to be perfect to get semi presentable results... This is very, very appealing to me

A good flat tan base coat is required so I was thinking on ordering a couple quarts of Hot Rod Flatz Desert Storm tan. Seems that should cover the 181 Thing nicely? I stopped by my local brand named hardware store this morning and picked up an assortment of flat tan colors in spray cans. Hope I'm not getting ahead of myself here with the colors, but if so I can return them for a better color fit. Last week I ordered up a roll of 24" X 5' of magnetic sheeting for patterns. This is where I stand at the moment. I did run across these 4 short tutorial videos on YouTube and they made since to me and sold me on this idea. Here is the links if anyone is interested...

#!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht-BWx0JWEc
#2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHKY4rmn88I
#3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shQIujyHAX0
#4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALuNcyPmWCE

So all this to ask if there is anything else that I should know about, or should be doing to increase my chances of a successful camo paint job on the Thing? Any advice on clear coats, flatt-ners, or any other input at all would be greatly appreciated and welcomed. Thanks in advance! I'm thinking that in about 3 weeks or so Id like to be giving this a try...

I did my Baja Bug in a beige that was a stock Ford color. The Paint store said they could flatten any color. It might work with clear too.

How about vinyl wrap?
Pretty sturdy, protective of the underlying paint, and you can have it printed in whatever pattern you want.
If you don't like it it can be redone in an afternoon.
Can be had in flat, and probably digital desert camo off the shelf.

Also covers most bodywork sins.

I was watching TV the other day, one of those auto "how to" shows and there is now some paint you can apply then at some later time you can peel it off and do what you want. I think it was Duplicolor that was making this product.

For what it is worth.

Lee

Not so sure I would want to be popping brush and have the paint being stripped from the car? LOL A wrap just seems to plastic to me. I know it works for a lot of folks but as soon as I see its a wrap it looses its appeal for some reason, besides that I really think it would be easier to touch up a scratched up paint job for pennies rather than to strip off and do a new wrap? I'm already committed to this Camo thing... any advice on do's or don'ts?

The Plasti-Dip works OK for wheels but will wipe off with any rubbing, or even with a pressure washer.
OK to change a look, but its far from permanent, but that's its appeal.

Wanna try neon orange rims? Maybe flat black?
It comes back off almost as fast as it goes on.

The vinyl's much more durable but comes off faster if you want.

In the discussion about it on TV the showed the rattle can spraying of it on the wheel, it's availability to buy it by the gallon and they showed it's ability to be peeled off looking like it was a single sheet. I do not remember much, if anything, was said about durability.

Personally I think I would find camo OK for a short time but for a long time or when i wanted to sell the rig as it might limit buyers who would be interested in something in camo so I would want to be able to easily want to be able to remove it and this at least sounded like it would be a way to not only learn how to do the pint technique but remove it if I made a mess of it .

It is an interesting product and I am sure it will be copied and improved on in the future.

Hi Metal Twister,

These are two types of camo, a paint scheme that looks like what people think camo should be, and actual military camo. For a vehicle, most flat, dark colors would hide you in the bush as the human eye only registers light colors in reduced visibility.

Using an overall dark color with contrasting highlights applied in spots or stripes, takes advantage of the eye's tendency to see the lighter colors, and that breaks up the silhouette of the vehicle.

You may have seen photos of the "dazzle pattern" painted onto WWII ships. At a distance, the broad, slanted black, white, and dark blue stripes made it hard to recognize the vessel's silhouette, and even it's speed.

In Korea, one very effective vehicle paint color was a broad, wavy white stripe just above or below the vehicle's actual midsection. with flat black as either below or above the white stripe. At distances, the white line was visible, but the actual vehicle height was hard to distinguish, and fooled anti-tank gunners.

Urban camo is straight lines dividing dark and light sections. Forest camo is dark, with highlights,

A nice touch for effective camo is a net or sections of net tied to and draped over parts of the vehicle to make the shape less distinguishable.

But, if the appearance of camo is what you want, paint your lightest base color first and then work to your darkest.

FJC

Thanks for the reply and for the information. I'm in the process of building some tube fenders then once they are finished I will be tackling the paint. Light to dark is the thing to keep in mind I believe... Thanks again.