The New Huntmastersbbs!: Camo'ing an ATV

This is topic Camo'ing an ATV in forum Hunting Vehicles at The New Huntmastersbbs!.

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Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on August 06, 2003, 06:05 PM:

Here's one fer ya. I followed the directions given on the PM board about how to camo my rifle and damn! That works well. Did my shotgun, too. Looks awesome. Well, I've got this old beaten up '95 Beartracker ATV and I want to camo the plastic. Has anyone used any particular method to camo their 4-wheeler? How'd you do it and how well did it work? Did you use the Krylon Camo method and stencils?

Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on August 06, 2003, 06:30 PM:

No idea.

But, if you have not considered it, I suggest that you pay attention to the physical properties of the parts you intend to paint.

For instance, you may want to use lacquor or enamel for metal parts, but the plastic stuff might be better to use a vinyl spray paint?

Good luck, LB

Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on August 07, 2003, 03:47 PM:

Thought of that. One of the guys I work with is a body man and he suggested I use lacquer versus enamel primers (if I remember right)to avoid having the chemicals react with the plastic. I figured I'd just buff the surface of the plastic really well and prime, then go at it with the Krylon Ultra Flat paints. Those areas that get scratched up can be quickly spritzed with any color of paint, maybe hit it with the stencil again, and it's as good as new. The ATV is for hunting, primarily, and I don't care much how "pretty" it is to outsiders. I was just kinda hoping that someone had tried this successfully before me. [Smile]

Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on August 26, 2003, 10:37 AM:

In the event that anyone else is wondering how bad I'm gonna frig up my ATV trying this, here's what I'm gonna do. I have spoke with the nic tech guys at Krylon/ Dupli-Color, and with a paint man for Kawasaki. I will start by removing all the plastic from the four wheeler and hang it up. It will then be washed down with Coleman white gas and allowed to dry. When the temps cool below 90-degrees, I will coat the platic with Dupli-Color's Adhesion Promoter, which is a clear primer used to prime plastic bumpers, etc., before painting. Once that stuff's dry, I can just go at it with the Krylon Ultra Flat Camo paints and stencils. I'll try and post pics so you can see how God-awful ugly it turns out.

Posted by WhiteMtnCur (Member # 5) on August 26, 2003, 08:16 PM:

Cdog, a friend and I did almost exactly what you describe above to two ATV's. The do look ugly, but they sure blend in.

The only thing is the black seat, black handlebars, black grill guard, tires, etc., also need camo or they still stick out.

Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on August 27, 2003, 01:58 PM:

Cur,
I kinda thought about that. I can either buy or make a seat cover, and I've got all the racks off and will mask and paint the handlebars while I'm at it. Tires will just have to stay the way they are. Did the paint adhere pretty well?

Posted by WhiteMtnCur (Member # 5) on August 28, 2003, 09:01 PM:

We also spray-painted the handle bars, racks, put on seat covers, rims, etc. It helps to cut down on a lot of the black that tends to stick out.

The paint does adhere well. The two ATV's we painted receive a lot of very hard use. The hot temperatures in the summer, and cold temperatures in the winter, in conjunction with the flexing plastic and scrapes does wear off the paint, but touch-ups are easy.

The two ATV's we did are very ugly. They've been touched up many times, and aren't a pleasing sight. But they really do blend in.

Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on September 14, 2003, 09:44 AM:

Well, it worked. yeah, it's ugly - to most ppl. To me? Well, beauty's in the eye of the beholder. Looks much better than it did. And this morning, my efforts proved their value.

Snuck out just before sunup to slip a couple stands in before church. Rode the ugly mobile down a field road and parked it on a low water bridge out of sight of the highway behind me. Keep in mind the reason I even painted this ATV wasn't so much to hide it from critters as it was to make sure that two-legged varmints woudn't see its red fenders and bust my stand.

Anyway, I walked about a hundred yards along the creek's edge and plopped down along the edge of the trees where I could watch a doe and fawn go about their morning meal. I gave a couple high-pitched puppy howls as soon as I could see and the camcorder would pic up a good picture. Three minutes later, I looked back toward where I had parked the UM and here comes a coyote beebopping along right past it. Didn't even so much as look at it as it walked within five feet of it. The coyote circled me, giving me the bad eye every so often, until the doe I'd been watching decided he was too close for her fawn's comfort. She made a short charge, he bolted, circled wide and that was the last I saw of him. A couple times, I was able to stop him with bunny squeals on one of my own calls, but all in all, he was non-commital.

As I was making my way out on the four-wheeler, I spotted something alongside the creek just past the pickup. Raising my binos, I see a good-sized bobcat sitting there watching me. I don't know if he was coming in to my calling or not. But I'll count him as having done so. [Smile]

And no, I didn't shoot the coyote. At the closest, he was maybe thirty-five yards from me in alfalfa above the line of his belly. Close enough to tell that he was at least a year old and lacking that big ol' punkin' head those young 'uns have. He'll still be there in a month or two.

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