Need help matching colors (rattle can)

[Tarheelpwr]

I'm looking to take the plunge and test a camo job on an old stock. Is there a sticky or anywhere that has compiled a list of colors that match certain camos?

I'm hoping to do a Mcmillian style desert camo. I picked up some Rustoleum Earth brown, tan, and Khaki, but they just don't seem right.

Has anyone used those 3 together that can provide a pic?

How about arctic camo and rhino? Anyone have good matches?

Thanks!

 

[ankratz]

Tag for later

give me some time but I have extensive data on this as I wanted to figure it out for myself.

In the mean time, check out Aervoe paint. You will be impressed.

 

[Tarheelpwr]

Tag for later

give me some time but I have extensive data on this as I wanted to figure it out for myself.

In the mean time, check out Aervoe paint. You will be impressed.

Any updates Ank? I think I'm leaning more towards a Manner's Desert Sage style now.

 

[ankratz]

Here you go:

Hard to see, but top left is Krylon Khaki---it's more of a gray tone, compared to top left Rusto Khaki which is more yellow tone. Bottom is Rusto Brown which is "slightly" darker and more chocolately than Krylon Brown. Rusto brown is a better choice for woodlands, while Krylon Brown is a better choice for desert.

For Desert brown though, I would recommend Aervoe "Highland" which is more reddish brown. Similar to Georgia dirt, but more brown and darker.

Next is Aervoe "Field Drab" next to KAC Taupe and B5 Systems "Coyote". Great color, kind of "orange" for the desert though. Better accent color...

Lastly, here's my Mk12 in my "Fleckticam". It uses a mix of tones to mimic the Multicam spectrum.
Aervoe paints: Coyote (med brown PERFECT match), Urban Tan (the "pink" color), Field Drab (optional but tasty accent)
Rustoleum: Khaki was used as the "white" in the "Multicam"
Krylon: Light Woodland Green (lighter, more yellow tone green), Brown (dark brown spots)
Rapco: NATO 383 Woodland Green (darker green that is transitioned to, but Krylon Olive Drab would suffice as well)

PRACTICE!

 

[ankratz]

And if you need a "reset button," Methylene Chloride will peel it all right off in about 10 seconds without a trace. Just do NOT get it on your skin.

 

[ankratz]

One more quick thing....If you want a Sage or "foliage green" color, I would check out Aervoe "Khaki". It actually comes out like a lighter foliage green. Their actual "foliage green" is a nice color, but really dark....almost blue. I'm not sure where it would be effective at all honestly...

 

[ankratz]

I just noticed you're in SW PA.

For an effective camo in your neck of the woods, I would suggest mimicking the Finnish camouflage. An emphasis on tones of green (60%), browns (30%), and a medium gray (10%). I can't recall what eastern PA looks like in the winter time, so you may want to change those ratio's to something more brown tone based. IE: In summer, there's more foliage to disrupt any visuals. Where autumn or winter, it's probably more brown/gray and there's little to know foliage to block a visual.

Food for thought

 

[Tarheelpwr]

Thanks for the feedback. That's great info. I like the color swatches. That helps.

You talk a lot about Aervoe. Is it more durable, just better colors, etc? Why do you like it so much. I thinking about putting a base coat of Alumahyde II down, then a coat of stone for texture and then starting my paint.

 

[ankratz]

Aervoe is just tough paint. It bridges the gap between paint and a coating, but is as easy to apply and as cheap as rattle cans (dsg arms is the cheapest place to get it at 6 bucks a can). plus, a HUGE range of color choices.

What I do is wipe everything with acetone. If I can do parts separately, I heat them in the oven at 170 for 15 minutes. same with the paint. 170 for 10 minutes.

This flashes the solvents and it goes on like a coating, super flat and super thin.

After LIGHT coats (less than four coats. ... you're spraying too heavy) I let it air dry, then bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 170. If you can't do that, sticking it in your car for a day in the summer should do the same.

at that point, there's no tackiness and it's "fully" cured in about a week.

The paint was originally made as a vehicle paint for military vehicle restorations. There are better options for that now, but it makes a great paint for firearms.

It goes on thin, yet is highly resistant to CLP and solvents. In fact it takes some work to get it off with acetone. The only thing that strips it quickly is methylene chloride.

Its still paint. it's going to wear, but it takes about 10 times as much abuse as krylon or equivalent.

Good stuff!

Allumahyde will be tougher I'm sure, though I haven't any experience with it personally.

 

[Tarheelpwr]

Thanks again for the input. I emailed them asking if they would send color swatches. We'll see what they say.

Brownells sells it for ~$4.50 a can with my dealer (C&R) discount.

 

[ankratz]

Holy smokes, do that! Brownells charged me $10 a can when I was desperate

 

[I Am Hero]

I did a couple of guns recently wih the new duracoat easyway kits. It's nice, but expect to pay a decent chunk more and also it doesn't come off easy like krylon or rusto does.

 

[Tarheelpwr]

Holy smokes, do that! Brownells charged me $10 a can when I was desperate

Yea, $10 is the normal price. If you don't have a C&R, look into it. They discount most stuff for "dealers". It's $30 for 3 yrs and easy to get.

 

[Tarheelpwr]

I did a couple of guns recently wih the new duracoat easyway kits. It's nice, but expect to pay a decent chunk more and also it doesn't come off easy like krylon or rusto does.

Yea, I saw that and thought about it. Only downside is it's only good for like 24-48 hours once you activate it. Not sure id get my use out of it. Plus, at $40 a color, is be money ahead to just send it to short bus to paint.

 

[Tarheelpwr]

I checked with Aervoe and they don't have any samples/swatches/brochures. I really want to mimic Manners desert sage. What would you recommend for the base and then the 2 accents? I'm not going to be Able to get any feel for the colors before I order online.

 

[Tarheelpwr]

I'm, thinking a base of sand or earth yellow of with accents of Highland for the FDE like color and either earth brown or olive drab for the greenish brown color.

 

[Tarheelpwr]

Looking a little harder, I think Sand will be the base with Earth yellow as the "tan" accent. Still stuck on the greenish brown color. Here's what it's down to:

Olive Drab (34087)
Forest Green (34079) ..... can't tell a difference in those two.
Dark Green (34102)

Those all have a brownish tint to the greens.

Possibly Highland, Coyote, or the Khaki for the sage like you suggested. I think I"m leaning toward Forest Green though

 

[Strykervet]

There are military spray paint cans, but I haven't seen one in a while. Don't know where to buy them at, but you could search. They have a better paint that what they sell in stores, this shit doesn't wear as easy but removes with regular stripper. The cans seem to last forever too, I have or had one in OD from the early 80's, still worked fine last I used it few years ago.

We used to paint our rifles in the army with bowflage. It's a removable paint they make for bows. They make a spray on remover or you can use paint remover (I think alcohol works but it takes forever). It wears easier, but it's easier to remove and change too. They quit making it when I needed it the most, around 2004, but I've seen it or something like it since, so maybe they brought it back. Anyway, bowflage is my number one choice and it has 5 or 6 colors I think: a dark and light green and brown, a gray and a black. You can also shoot it with bowflage, then go over it with regular spray paint and it'll still be easier to remove with the bowflage used as a primer coat, FWIW. Sporting goods stores should carry bowflage.

 

[Strykervet]

Yea, I saw that and thought about it. Only downside is it's only good for like 24-48 hours once you activate it. Not sure id get my use out of it. Plus, at $40 a color, is be money ahead to just send it to short bus to paint.

You can activate small amounts using a luer lock 3ml syringe with no needle. It fits right into their bottles. Use one for activator, one for color, use once and dispose. I sold all my Duracoat stuff to a fellow on here for a good deal, airbrush and all. It's a pain to get it just right, prep is key and was my major problem --no sandblast cabinet, which you will in fact need. But if you have all THAT, then just get the damn Cerakote! It's MUCH, MUCH better. Not just IMO, it's really better.

If I had a setup, I'd get the Cerakote for rifles and knives and such, and use the Duracoat for other gear --ammo boxes, hunting gear, etc. It's better than spray paint, worse than Cerakote. Wears easier than Cerakote, but won't strip off like spray paint, Duracoat has to be blasted. So it basically has all the drawbacks of both and none of the perks considering firearms.

So now I send my rifles off to a local fellow, GH Coatings, he does antiques, cars and firearms and has been to the Cerakote class. Does superb work for a great price. Now I could buy the cabinet and I need a compressor, and I could get another airbrush and a LVHP gun, the paints and chemicals, etc., but I'd have invested nearly as much in the gear and I'd have to do all the work... It would cost me less to have a pro do it and I'd get better results.

I'm not bad at painting, and oil painting is a hobby of mine, but I have to admit this guy at GH did a far better job than I could have. His work doesn't wear AT ALL. Rather, it burnishes, and is appropriate for use inside of the weapon. Close tolerance parts with scraping actions may wear down a bit, but you'll remove all that debris the first time it's cleaned. Cerakote is the way to go for a permanent job. If you want a semi-permanent job, try FDE or Patriot Brown and then spray can greens or what not over that. You can use stripper to remove the paint and leave the Cerakote behind, rinse, repeat. A nice and fast, easy way to camo a rifle with a decent base color to begin with.

 

[Tarheelpwr]

Thanks for the input. My comment about one use was on the new rattle can option they offer

 

[beb0541]

That AR is a dream to look at - NICE JOB!

 

[Djstorm100]

What color out of a can match OD green the best (rustolem or Kyron)?

 

[Tarheelpwr]

What color out of a can match OD green the best (rustolem or Kyron)?

Rustoleum only has a forest like and sage. My guess would be Aervoe. Their colors seem spot on.

 

[Djstorm100]

What about Krylon? I've got a stock I want OD green and just want the closest thing to it that is easy to get a hold off (lowes/HD/Ace Hardware/Etc).

 

[Tarheelpwr]

Never messed with Krylon. No one local carries it. I'd they so near you, gets Cana test it on something first.

The people at Aervoe said Ace/True value carries their products. Might be worth checking.

 

[Djstorm100]

Thank you!!

 

[Tarheelpwr]

What about Krylon? I've got a stock I want OD green and just want the closest thing to it that is easy to get a hold off (lowes/HD/Ace Hardware/Etc).

I just sent Aervoe an email. They will send you one full can sample. Took around a week to arrive. They have 2 versions of Olive Drab. Here's a link. They also include the military code associated with them. One is more of a greenish and the other is more of a brownish.

Military Vehicle & Recreation Camouflage Paint :: Paints and Coatings :: Industrial, Maintenance, and Construction Chemical Products :: Aervoe Industries Inc.