DIY custom paint job, pro advice needed.

[Ail]

Hi everyone,

I bought a 14 jon boat last year and started what I guess you could consider a "full rebuild." Through some trial and error (mostly the latter) I gutted the boat, replaced all the foam, fitted a new transom and now I am close to doing the outer paint job.

First, here is a mock-up I did in Photoshop to give a general idea of what I am looking to do:

https://i.imgur.com/SBr0M7X.jpg

That's my boat.

Second, the idea came from debating how I was going to do digital camo, when I came across this World War II urban camo style for tanks:

Pixel-camo, block camo, whatever you want to call it, it is basically digital camo if you would zoom in on the stencil very far. I really like it. The only problem is, with how unflat and not straight my boat is, I am having trouble determining the best way to handle applying the camo. I figured if I wanted it done right, and as clean as possible, I would have to map out a grid on the boat, tape one color at a time, and then apply the paint with an airbrush. My only concern is the tape not giving me a clean edge when I pull it away, especially since the blocks line up against one another.

So I guess my question is, are there any pro painters out there who would have a suggestion on the best way to apply such a pattern? Am I wrong in thinking a stencil of a square would not work due to the lip in the side of my boat? I really don't want to screw this up since it is what everyone will see, and I am a very particular person when it comes to art and design. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks everyone, and thanks again for the wealth of information everyone has provided to get me this far. =D>

 

[bobberboy]

I don't know what size "pixels" you plan to use but your project is a good candidate for spray cans. RustOleum sells several camo colors in spray cans. Given the relatively small areas you'll be painting, the spray cans should be fine. Unless you already have an air brush I don't any need to get one.

As far as the masking goes, there is a way to do it and have very little if any color bleed. The basic idea is to control the bleed if you can't prevent it. As the illustration shows, start with masking and spraying the first pixel. Step two is to mask pixel 2 and along the edge where it meets pixel 1, spray that line with the color of pixel 1. What this does is seal the taped edge and any bleed will be the existing color (in this case the color of pixel 1) and not the new color (the color for pixel 2). After that edge is dry, spray the second pixel with the color intended for pixel 2. When the tape separating pixels 1 and 2 is removed there should be a perfect line between the two.

Because you will have many such squares to mask this may become tedious but it will work. In my former work in museums, when we wanted to separate one wall color from another we used this technique successfully. For us it was pretty easy as the line separating the two colors was long, straight and continuous. In some cases we had considerable "orange peel" on the wall surface from many years of painting but this masking technique worked well.

I really like the idea of using the pixelated camo paint scheme and hope you'll post pics of your process and the finished project. Good luck.



If this is unclear let me know and I'll attempt to explain again.

 

[Ail]

Thanks man, that makes sense definitely. I will try it out tonight on some cardboard to make sure I am understanding the technique fully and do it correctly.

Yes, I was pretty much resigned to the fact that in choosing this particular kind of camo pattern I would be doing a lot of tedious and meticulous masking to get it near perfect. I feel it will be worth it and hopefully in the next week or so, weather depending, I will have some pictures I can be proud of. Many thanks!

Edit: Oh and I thought the airbrush might give me more control over the overspray and coat thickness. I bought a qt. of all three colors I intend to use already, but could send them back. Going with rustoleum cans will probably give me more color options as well seeing as the 5 bottom swatches on my mock up image are pretty much all Duralux offers that are woodland/water camo friendly.

Food for thought.

 

[Pappy]

Isn't there a "wrap" for that? May be easier down the road if you want something different on it.

 

[Djknyork]

If you use spray cans hit it with atleast 3 mist coats of matte clear after you're done. I mist coat my camo job every year after a quick cleaning and it's holding up good. Just my option tho.

 

[Ail]

Pappy » 06 Aug 2014, 20:50[/url]"]Isn't there a "wrap" for that? May be easier down the road if you want something different on it.

I'm sure there is, and it would certainly be easier, but once I decide on a paint job, there will be no "something different." I will do touch-ups, and keep the boat in the best condition I can, but this has been a learning experience boat and I fully intend to get myself in to another project boat, ASAP. I feel like I have done the most of what I can with this boat because it is a 1415, and decking or storage, or livewell mods are not really an option.

Plus, I would like to try a somewhat technical paint-job so I have experience with that moving forward as well.

 

[Ail]

Djknyork » 06 Aug 2014, 21:03[/url]"]If you use spray cans hit it with atleast 3 mist coats of matte clear after you're done. I mist coat my camo job every year after a quick cleaning and it's holding up good. Just my option tho.

I was actually planning on a matte coat in any case just to make sure I protect this paint job as much as possible for all the work I am going to put in to it. Any brand in particular?

 

[Johnny]

Visit a couple of your local SIGN SHOPS for advice and assistance.
I think you will find that a VINYL DIGITAL VEHICLE WRAP your best choice.
Just like the wraps on commercial trucks and city buses.
They can digitize YOUR design to fit YOUR boat 100%.
They can also provide you with a VINYL PAINT MASK that will NOT leak at the edges.
If the wraps can last 4 years on a CITY BUSS surely it can last twice as long on your boat.
look at https://www.camomyride.com


or, get yourself some FROG TAPE and paint it yourself.


oh yea, just to be accurate, the military did not use digital camo in WWII ....
Those are Desert Storm era vehicles.

This tank is my father's Sherman tank in WWII he had for the invasion of Leyte Gulf, Philippines
and in the first landing of Okinawa, Japan.

 

[SumDumGuy]

FWIW camo and pattern do not belong together.

 

[Ail]

Barefoot_Johnny » 07 Aug 2014, 08:56[/url]"]

or, get yourself some FROG TAPE and paint it yourself.

I've got the frog tape with the edge sealer already, so I am set there. The wrap is not an option for reasons previously mentioned as well as I would like it to look painted, not printed. Not to mention I do not want a digital camo, I want that "Berlin Camo." shown in the OP.

oh yea, just to be accurate, the military did not use digital camo in WWII ....
Those are Desert Storm era vehicles.

The British Army of the Rhine who supplied units in the British Sector in Berlin by the 1980s adopted a unique system which they called ‘Berlin Camo‘. It consisted of blocks of pastel colours, colours commonly seen on Berlin buildings and structures, to help break up the outline of the vehicle in the urban jungle that was Cold War Berlin.

According to the above you are correct about this style of camo, although I did not say it was digital camo, just that it looked like a zoomed in version of it. I thought I read some where it was used by Germans during WW2, sorry about that. I stand corrected.

 

[Ail]

SumDumGuy » 07 Aug 2014, 09:45[/url]"]FWIW camo and pattern do not belong together.

Agreed, I would like my final configuration to look as random as possible.

 

[Johnny]

okay Picasso, time to post some pics of your masterpiece

 

[Djknyork]

Bump it up. Let's see the finished product.

 

[Ail]

I have a rebuild thread going, you can see my progress there, but I am not on to the camo phase yet. This was a preliminary discussion of sorts. I assure you once I attempt this camo pattern I will share the results. :mrgreen: