Camouflage 4WD Sidekick


  Camouflage your 4wd vehicle and get ready for the great outdoors! This natural-looking, non-reflective paint helps your 4wd blend in with nature so you can enjoy all of your favorite outdoor activities.

What you need:

  • Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Primer - Gray (#51318)
  • Krylon Camouflage Paint with Fusion Technology - Black (#4290)
  • Krylon Camouflage Paint with Fusion Technology - Khaki (#4291)
  • Krylon Camouflage Paint with Fusion Technology - Brown (#4292)
  •  Krylon Camouflage Paint with Fusion Technology - Olive (#4293)
  • Krylon Snap & Spray - (#7099)
  • Latex gloves (optional)
  • Sand paper or a small orbital sander
  • Small putty trowel
  • Newspaper
  • Painters masking tape
  • Freshly cut live tree branches, some dead wood branches and any local vegetation in your area (wait until you're ready to paint to gather these)

Tips

The time needed for preparation of the surface to be painted will depend on the actual state of the vehicle's body. It is important to carefully mask windows and unremovable trimmings; that took me 3 hours. The primer coat itself should take 2 to 3 hours, and the painting took me about 4 hours. If bodywork is needed, this might be a little more challenging than the painting itself. If in doubt, have it done by a professional or a friend with some experience in the matter, making sure the right primer will be used. I think the best advice I could give you is simply doing a test on some object before starting your project. I used my canoe for practice and once I saw the result, it gave me all the confidence I needed to go ahead with my truck. I am certain you will get the same satisfaction of a job well done, and I have no doubt you will be very proud of your completed project. Using the Snap & Spray on the spray cans will make the painting easier and more comfortable. Do not forget that small mishaps while painting will hardly be visible once the painting is completed.

How and How Long:

  1. Remove all side trims, which are held in place by double-faced tape. To remove these, use a small putty trowel to lift one end gently as you pull evenly. The trim will slowly come loose without breaking. Remove bumpers and mask everything else that you do not want to paint.
  2. The whole surface to be painted should be without any rust, clean and lightly sanded to ensure proper bonding of the paint. Apply primer in THIN coats following directions on can until it fully hides the old surface providing an opaque gray finish. Ideally it should be left to completely dry and cure. Personally, I'd wait at least 7 days, during which dust and dirt is most likely to accumulate so a good wash will be needed before a LIGHT sanding in preparation of the final step.
  3. IMPORTANT: READ INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PAINT CAN PRIOR TO PAINTING. Collect fresh plants and dead sticks just before applying the Camouflage paint.
  4. The following color order of application should be followed for best results: Khaki, Olive, Brown and Black. With your Khaki paint well shaken, hold a leafy branch or dead stick as close to the vehicle as possible without actually touching it (by touching it or laying it flat on the surface you will make runs in the paint), then spray paint in short bursts until the negative of your branch is visible on the surface, change branch and repeat the process not too far from the first one again and again until you have been around the whole body of the vehicle. On my truck, 2 cans of the same color were plenty to go all the way around. Keep in mind you will have 3 more colors to apply once this one is done so at this point it is normal to still see primed surface.
  5. Now using the Olive green paint do exactly the same as above followed by the Brown and then black paint. Keep in mind that if you make the paint run on one spot you can wipe it off since you will be able to cover small mistakes like that as you go along with different colors and the finish job itself makes mistakes extremely hard to see...that's the beauty of this "Camouflage system". Even later if you scratch your paint, touch-ups are made by simply spraying a small amount of any of the 4 colors of the system for an invisible instant repair.
Approximate project time: 10+ hours.

What it Costs:

Approximate cost is $125.