camoflauging a boat?

[ATM]

I have a sixteen foot alluminum boat that I would like to camo. Would I be better off painting or using some of the large camo type addhesive products they sell at sporting goods stores? any advice would be appreciated. Adam

[Lunker]

I'd paint if I were you. Mills Fleet Farm has paint in the outdoor section for like 3.50 per quart per color, so getting olive drab, bark gray, and khaki(the three basic camo colors) would cost only a little more then 10.00. I just bought some myself actually.

[rvvrrat]

You need to score the aluminum with an acid (phosphoric?) before painting or else the paint won't hold very well. This is from personal experience of not doing the scoring.

[Farley]

Also, make sure you use flat paint, not glossy or anything like that. I painted my little jon boat last year with three different colors of spraypaint; dark green, brown, and then painted "reeds" with a light brown and green. didn't look like a realtree pattern but the birds didn't seem to mind.

[Guest]

Adhesives are crazy expensive compared to good ol marine paint. Go with paint.Also,I do custom Duck Boat work. Give me a jingle if you've got any questions.
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[This message has been edited by waterfowler54014 (edited 07-24-2003).]

[icehousebob]

Paint is the way to go. I bought a gallon of marsh grass tan that I painted both the inside and outside[it took half a gallon]Then I got spray cans of olive drab, dark brown, and flat black. We used a handful of cattails held up to the boat as a template. When they were full of paint, we whipped them against the boat for an extra splatter. Be sure to wash the boat beforehand with Trisodium Phosphate. You can get it at any paint store, and it preps the surface and makes the paint hold better.