3 Color Camo Painting Advice Needed

[tklm539]

Hello All,

I was hoping to get some advice on possibly painting my m1009 in three color camo. I have seen some really good examples and some really bad examples of camo painting.

I will be spraying, I am curious how to mask out the pattern. (I have seen the TM's with the outlines) I want it to look authentic so if anyone has done it before and could share their method, I would really appreciate it.

Tom

 

[gimpyrobb]

Sarge did a really good thread on painting his expaning 5ton van. I think he did black and green, but it is still the same "process" for 2 or 3 or 4 color.

 

[halftrack]

Is the old pattern still on the vehicle. 90% of the time I just follow the old pattern.

 

[Jones]

Lay on your green first and cover the entire vehicle; that gives you continuous coverage and cuts out the possibilities of bare spots (holidays) between pattern and background. Next, come back and chalk in your pattern outlines. With very few exceptions, they're just there as a guide and not dimension specific.
There's an overspray gauge in one of the camouflage painting manuals that gives you a good guide for border edges between the different color patterns. I made mine out of clear acetate and can just hold it up to see if I'm staying within spec.
Testing your spraying technique of some scrap cardboard or other flat surface will give you a good feel for how fast and what disttance works the best for your particular spray rig. All factory sprayed paint jobs are now done with robotic set-ups but you can get pretty close with a little before hand practice.

 

[ida34]

Get an old overhead projector. Print out the pattern on transparent overhead stock. Go out at night and mark the truck by shining the pattern on the truck. You don't have to be exact but this will get you as close as any military paint job.

 

[hndrsonj]

You wont tape the pattern out. And the military just eye balls it, there is nothing fancy how they do it. Just have the pub with you when you are spraying it is very easy.

 

[tbanks]

camo

The TM is just a guide,We always sprayed them green then went back with chalk and free handed the pattern putting the color # in each area.When it was chalked out it looked like a giant paint by numbers set. Remember if all camo was exactly the same it wouldnt really be camod

 

[ida34]

I wanted to add that they eyeball it a lot. I have only painted a few so the overhead helps me keep it close. The tape helps keep track of the pattern but you should use it as a guide and not paint all the way to the tape. You should be able to see the over spray at the edge of the color.

 

[tklm539]

The original pattern is long gone.

Thanks all, my biggest problem comes with over spray, How sharp are the edges between colors supposed to be? Or are the transitions to be blurred between them?

Thanks

 

[tklm539]

The original pattern is long gone.

Thanks all, my biggest problem comes with over spray, How sharp are the edges between colors supposed to be? Or are the transitions to be blurred between them?

Thanks

 

[M1075]

Did you find the post by Sarge when he painted his M820? Good pics showing the transition between colors.

I found it here http://www.steelsoldiers.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=14576&start=0

 

[tklm539]

wow

you are not kidding. That post really explains it in detail.

Thanks
Tom

 

[steelandcanvas]

Anybody thinking about painting an MV needs to read Sarge's thread. Very well written, and great photography! Thanks Sarge!

 

[Armada]

What happened to the paint that was on it?

 

[mangus580]

What happened to the paint that was on it?

I knew was coming!!

 

[benni72]

i just used chalk and marked it all out after painting the entire truck 383 green. paint inside and it will minimize over spray. i think the point is not to have crisp lines. it took me awhile and some redo's but was as simple as it looks.

 

[mangus580]

Looks GREAT!!

 

[tklm539]

Relax Paul breath deeply!!!,
The paint is fine, I am thinking of returning the color either to 3 color camo or lusterless forest green. I have 3 gallons of GCI green sitting in the basement. I am leaning towards the green at this moment. There are a few cancer spots on the rear fender bases and some surface rust beginning to show in the wheel wells. I want to fix it before it gets worse. \

The current semi gloss iis pretty tough to match without the repair being noticeable. Aside from the fact that I just like green.

Tom