Camouflage Paint Job

Camouflage Paint Job

 

In anticipation of the upcoming waterfowl season (it starts on September 21 in northern Wisconsin) I painted the Backwater in digital camouflage.  This was a home spun project with readily available materials to demonstrate how easy adding camouflage can be added to a Meskousing boat.  For now, we don't offer a factory camouflage option, but most waterfowl hunters have access to spray paint.

 

Before starting the painting, I had to decide on which pattern to choose.  There are many stencil patterns to use and many have a lot of eye appeal.  My belief, though, is that a lot of the popular patterns are appealing to human's eyes, but ducks don't care about beauty.  They're looking to pick-out outlines and shapes of things that don't belong.  Along this vain, I think a lot of boats are painted to sell, not conceal.  As a result, I chose a digital camo stencil.  If the US military's Special Forces are using it in combat, it will probably work for ducks in combat. 

 

I found a digital camo stencil online that was reasonable and was 10 mil mylar.  Two 9"x12" stencils were included for less than $20.  Below is a picture of the stencil after using it for a while.  I taped the two stencils together in a manner to prevent the pattern from repeating in the opposite page. 

 

 

 

In choosing a stencil, be sure to avoid stencils that have small pieces of mylar connecting other pieces.  These can break during use or cleaning.

 

My next choice was to pick the colors.  The Backwater I was painting was already in reed, so I wanted to pick colors that would complement the background. The first color applied was black to add a shadowing effect.  I had two different greens, so I thought I'd experiment with how they played into adding depth.  The last color added was a darker brown to contrast with the reed color.  If desired, a person could easily get away with two colors.  I do suggest using a darker black or green to help create a shadow effect.

 

Prior to painting the boat was cleaned and wiped dry.  It wasn't scuffed, but can be to help the paint adhere better.  Scotchbrite pads work great.  It was painted outside over the course of a couple of days when the weather was warm, sunny, and low humidity.  I got lucky with the weather, but any non-rainy weather will work.  The better the drying conditions, the faster you can work.  I worked on a couple of different days because of other commitments that prevented me from working straight through.  Also, I was playing a bit with a few techniques and patterns on the hull.  From a practical standpoint, there is no reason to paint the hull unless you plan on turning the boat upside down while hunting.  Skipping the hull will also save you paint.  I masked off part of the hull in an experiment, but later did not.  Skipping the masking saved time and helped in overlap from one part of the boat to the other without creating a line between the two parts for ducks to see.

 

I began with black for a shadow effect..  I started by painting in a typewriter (left to right) fashion.  After a bit, I realized that I could go faster if I jumped around a bit to allow the paint to dry from one area while painting another.  It also created a more random look.  In the below picture, you'll see the typewriter pattern and spaces between the stencils.  Later, I went back and filled in the spaces.

 

I applied the black and then the green in a similar fashion.  Painting corners and seams took some patience.  Again, two colors would probably be sufficient, but I added a dark brown.  Below are the pictures as I added colors to different parts of the boat.  The hull was painted with a brighter green and the deck with an olive drab green.

 

The above pictures is with the black and green layers.

 

The above pictures is of the hull.  The top portion has all three layers and the bottom has the black and green layers.

 

This is a close-up of the black and green layers.

 

The boat was propped-up on its side for a better angle for the spray paint.

 

I didn't paint the inside of the boat.  This may be advantageous in some situations, but I chose not to for simplicity.  Also, there is a good chance that I'll be sitting in it (in camo) or my dogs will.  Also, the paint is likely wear out the fastest in the cockpit.

 

If anybody else has any pictures of their Meskousing Boat to share, please post it.  I'll be curious to know what others use as their paint scheme.