painting a tent

[sandsnakes]

Hi,

I have an instant pop-up-tent I leave in the car for when I need to crash. ie was taken to dinner by friends and realised I had drunk to much, alcohol in the fruit punch (I dont drink and drive) so kipped down in a field. trouble is its a hideous colour. Any suggestions in painting PU?

Sandsnakes

 

[sallyinwales]

What about one of those fine camouflage nets to chuck over the top? Simpler and possibly more versatile?

 

[Jodie]

I'm with Sally on that one - it seems like the path of least resistance too in that you just
have to buy one of those nets rather than have to get paint (perhaps special fancy paint),
paint it and let it dry before repackaging it again. I take it you can't just press a button
and it repacks itself?

Glad that you don't drink and drive of course

 

[sandsnakes]

Good idea in general ladies, but the idea is lightness. This basic kit lives in the boot of my car all of the time. In fact used it last night after a wedding. I slept in a corner of a field I noticed earlier and the others used a hotel, they were disturbed by fire alarms (some silly bugger with a cigar) and an evacuation. I slept through the night like a baby and it did not cost me £125 .

Sandsnakes


so in short I still want to paint it or dull it down some how.

 

[Jodie]

Ah fair enough then, I can't help you
I've got no idea about the type of paint you need nor the recommended designs for
your tent, other than covering it entirely which might wreck the breathable material?

Google knows all though - apparently Millets were selling (but aren't at this moment)
a tent and paint combo for "paint your own tent" so that you can find it at festivals
and there are a variety of articles for tent-painting enthusiasts and other forum posts
here: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=tent+paint&meta=

Until this point I didn't know that there's a whole world of tent painters out there!

 

[Bozle]

Hi sandsnake,

I had a similar problem with my marmot twilight a while ago (great tent, but the colour scheme must be visable from space).

From what I remember the few methods of dyeing tent nylon that there are, require heat treating to 100C afterwards.

On the 'drape some camo over it' theme, perhaps a olive green surplus nylon parachute might fit the bill without too much added weight.

 

[xylaria]

PVA paint thinned with liquid latex is what we have used on our canvas tent. If we had more money at the time we would of used acrylic based piant instead. There wasn't such a thing as tent painting kits in my day though

Painting or putting a net cover on it may cause the tent to leek due to wick effect. It certainly damaged the water proofness of our canvas tent but not greatly. You will need a paint that is both elastic and water retardant. Dying maybe a better option, I have often wondered if tie die camo would work as natural blending as I am not keen on the soldier look.

 

[sandsnakes]

Thanks for the links.

Yes you can dye cammo. I have dyed US desert camo, UK DPM and GDR flecktarn. Basically use the 2nd darkest colour in the pattern and use a dylon wash dye that matches. What will happen is, in the case of DPM, the two greens will blend and the brown will have a green tint added. This as the overall effect of making it more like a mottle and it stops looking like military DPM but still blends with woodland very well.

The other trick is, if you just want to stop it being military, is dye the entire thing very dark blue. This will make the greens and browns a lot greener so you end up with a fairly distinctive and strong/deep blended three green pattern.


Sandsnakes

 

[Jodie]

Does it have to be unplasticised stuff? My only experience of camo type fabric was
a tarp which had presumably been made water-resistant so I'm assuming it wouldn't
easily take a dye...? Where do you get this fabric? It seems to be missing from the
haberdashery section of John Lewis

 

[stonyman]

A friend of mine once used the marker paint that is some times used to mark sheep on his PU stuff.

Please check the cans before buying though as I have never tried it myself.

 

[xylaria]

Thanks for the links.

Yes you can dye cammo. I have dyed US desert camo, UK DPM and GDR flecktarn. Basically use the 2nd darkest colour in the pattern and use a dylon wash dye that matches. What will happen is, in the case of DPM, the two greens will blend and the brown will have a green tint added. This as the overall effect of making it more like a mottle and it stops looking like military DPM but still blends with woodland very well.

The other trick is, if you just want to stop it being military, is dye the entire thing very dark blue. This will make the greens and browns a lot greener so you end up with a fairly distinctive and strong/deep blended three green pattern.


Sandsnakes

What I was thinking was do a tie-die pattern with camo colours, like hippy camo .
I am not sure how much the pattern is tied to how non obtrusive the final product is for blending in, in nature.

 

[Tengu]

Well I want to remove paint...

my one man is a Eurohike, and isnt afraid to boast it.

 

[sandsnakes]

Try white spirit (turps sub) you will have to reproof the area after.

I shall experiment with spray cans of car acryllic. Then leave it up and see if it leaks. I shall keep you all informed as to the results.

Sandsnakes

 

[sandsnakes]

I have seen tie dye camo worked very well, infact better than the military stuff. Trouble is that it is very labour intensive and most camo is actually printed onto a surface, so is far cheaper to produce.

If you combine batik and tie dye you should get the desired affect. I feel the sale of a limited edition designer BCUK woodland camo coming on!


Sandsnakes

 

[Corso]

What about Krylon - its the camo paint that the US military use to spray their webbing, rifles etc

 

[xylaria]

I have seen tie dye camo worked very well, infact better than the military stuff. Trouble is that it is very labour intensive and most camo is actually printed onto a surface, so is far cheaper to produce.

If you combine batik and tie dye you should get the desired affect. I feel the sale of a limited edition designer BCUK woodland camo coming on!


Sandsnakes

Today I was the proud recieptant of three magikelly hammocks. Now I need to accquire enough tarps that are large enough to cover the asaid ample boats of sylnylon. Tarps look no more difficult than making curtains, so tie die batik decor maybe the way forward for the family camp.

 

[sandsnakes]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What about Krylon - its the camo paint that the US military use to spray their webbing, rifles etc

Corso

Where do you get it, who makes it, who sells it. Manufacture details would be useful to check their website etc, etc.

Sandsnakes

 

[gorilla]

http://www.krylon.com/main/product_template.cfm?levelid=5&sub_levelid=12&content=product_list
the wonders of google......

 

[Corso]

its sold through most airsoft retailers

 

[sandsnakes]

Having checked the content of krylon paint, I ended up using a acrylic spray paint from Halfords. It would appear to work, I left the tent up last night and it did not leak. In the end I opted for a grey undercoat and just dulled the entire thing down. The trick is now to see if it flakes off when the tent is folded.

I will keep you informed.

Sandsnakes