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Tue Dec 14, 2004 5:32 pm

I have finally come to the realization that my Baja project has too many dents for me to fix (lack of skill) to put a "real" paint job on it - and besides it will be a off road toy anyway. So now what to do? I am considering giving it a spray can desert camo job. Does anyone have any recommendation on which paint to use and examples of patterns?

Right now it is completely light gray primer.

How about some photos of some desert camo baja bugs if they are out there. I checked the gallery and only saw some ones done in forest camo. Also any idea on how many cans of paint it would take to paint a bug?

I know that this is a lot of questions.

Thanks.

Tue Dec 14, 2004 6:16 pm

Here's a link to a few pics of a deset camo on a jeep: UD's Jeep
I painted my car three color nato camo. It takes about a quart of paint to cover the whole thing.

Wed Dec 15, 2004 2:19 am

do it man! that will kick a** out here in the desert....wish i had some pics for you but all i can say is go for it and screw anyone who says otherwise
please post a pic or two when you are done so i can check it out.

i hope you come to barstow sometime and we can go wheeling together.

Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:18 am

I painted a rotten ol' S-10 blazer I had a few years ago that was in the same "place" your bug is now. I didn't go with a pattern, instead just painted the whole thing one shade ~ it came out pretty well & really did blend into the landscape - I thought the sand color was the "prettiest", but went with the next darker shade (which looked weird on the hwy-kinda a real light turd brwn, but in a wash or against a hillside from 100yds it really did blend surpriseingly well). I used "camo" paint made by VERO - I found it at a surplus store, but I've seen it other places since then. I painted everything but the glass on that thing, front bumper to rear bumper, and it took over 5 cases to do it well (6 cans to a case - 30 cans @ ~ $8 a can = $240) They had to special order in enough paint of my shade to get the job done too. 240 sounds ike alot, but it's right in the ballpark for a rattle can job - you really don't realize how big your car is, and how far a can of paint doesn't go untill you try to paint a body panel :shock: Anyway if I were going to try it again, I'd certainly go the bulk paint route, but I started on a whim & just went with it. The "nice" thing about cans was I could do it piece meal as funds & time allowed. Then again, for $250, I guess you could get a cheep-o MAACO paint job, but then it wouldn't be camo would it?

Wed Dec 15, 2004 9:07 am

Thanks for the encouragement. I saw that Krylon has a pretty good selection of Ultra-Flat camo paint - is Krylon a good paint? The website had it priced at $24 a case (6 per case). Rustoleum did not have a wide selection of "desert" colors. I had given some thought to painting it a flat sand color but thought why not go all the way and do a full camo. Most likely the only thing that won't get painted camo will be the engine (maybe I will do the fan and tin) and the wheels (Centerlines are too nice to paint).

ft_irwin_73baja - we ride out in your area all the time off of Copper Canyon (or City?) Road. We need to hook up one of these weekends even thought I would be riding my bike. I estimate I have at least 6 months left until this beast become trail ready.

As to a color scheme I was going to go with a Sand (55%)/Brown (35%)/Green (10%)combo. What do you guys think?

All the best.

Wed Dec 15, 2004 10:46 am

glad to hear you are in my neck of the woods, so to speak. we will definately have to get together on a weekend, my baja will be up in about a month or so :)

i would also suggest that you surf the web and check out anything with a cammo paint job so you can see just what style you like, some do come off looking pretty bad and others work well.....take the time to find one that you really like and copy it as well as you can. i think most of that is matching the different shades to find what goes together cool,

i like your idea of having it mostly brown and adding the green then a little combo. how about some tan in there?
i think it would be cool to do your bumpers and light bar(if you are going to have one)and door handles ect. in flat black, i have seen that done and it kinda off sets the cammo well.

descalzo is right about the rattle-can price tag adding up quick.
when i checked into it i found one of those cheap electric spray guns for painting houses and fences for 90 bucks. then i got some exterior paint from wally-world for 12 bucks a gallon, they mix it up right there so you can get any color you want.
i dont know how well this stuff is going to hold up off road but at this price i can always repaint it later and maybe change it up the next time i paint :wink:

Wed Dec 15, 2004 10:51 am

Took me about 6 cans of Krylon Camo Flat Black to do my whole bug, before I cut the body into a Baja. Simplest thing go to Wal-Mart and pick you up some there. You'll do fine I'm sure.

Wed Dec 15, 2004 10:58 am

I found this site that has various camo schemes for the military.

http://www.olive-drab.com/od_mvg_camo.php3

I think that a sand/tan, brown, olive drab combo is what I will go for.

FT_IRWIN - how did the sprayer work out. I have one of those fence paint sprayers and was thinking that the paint would go on too thick.

Wed Dec 15, 2004 1:22 pm

i havent tried it out yet, but i should be ready to paint next week. i will let you know how it works.

Thu Dec 16, 2004 12:35 pm

Here is a nice camo M1A1

German WWII Panther Tank

German WWII Panzer

Geman WWII Belwind

Which one do you guys fancy?

Thu Dec 16, 2004 12:40 pm

Thu Dec 16, 2004 4:53 pm

Me too event though I kinda thought the German angle was kinda cool though.

Thu Dec 16, 2004 5:00 pm

all of the german patterns look too simple. for those you need a good base color and then a few strokes with a rattle can

Thu Dec 16, 2004 6:09 pm

two-timer...

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=572009

Fri Dec 17, 2004 9:31 am

I know, I know but I posted the question here first - does that count? You know sometimes you need to go both ways. :lol:

Both forums are great , but very different.

Fri Dec 17, 2004 9:40 am

I assume that I would start with the lighter color (Sand) and then lay down the brown and then the black or olive drab? I also like the idea of painting the bumpers, roll cage, door handles and the nasty crome strip on vent window flat black. What prep would I need to do on the chrome?

BTW:I will be painting the interior the sand color. What could I use instead of a headliner to keep it in theme?

Fri Dec 17, 2004 10:08 am

What about a colored spray on bed liner. Durable and might help cut down on the noise a bit. Ever ridden in a bug with no interior? Ouch!

Fri Dec 17, 2004 10:46 am

Goog idea - do they offer a tan or sand color? Any idea what it would cost to do a roof? Offroad I wear my Motorcycle helmet - cuts down the noise a bunch. For this bug I am going to put DuraMax (I think that is what it is called) on the floor, doors and back panels. Then I am going to go aluminum for the doors and back panels and put down a rubber mat for the floor. For the ceiling I had considered some kind of cloth covered foam. Does anyone know where you can find that kind of material? I have seen it but don't know where to by it from. But I like the truck bed stuff if I can get it in a light color.

Thanks.

Fri Dec 17, 2004 1:53 pm

I am actually going to be painting the outside of my baja with durabak bed liner (sand color) they offer it on there website.

www.nonslipcoating.com

Fri Dec 17, 2004 3:10 pm

i like that idea xbajasnowx, in fact you could lay down the sand colord truck liner stuff as a base then add the rest of a camo pattern with rattle can and have a great camo/tuff as nails paint job