Decoy re-paints

[tearin' lips]

In anticipation of the upcoming season in NoDak I wanted to post some decoy re-paints that I recently did. I had a few old decoys that were looking a little ragged. The paint had chipped from years of hard use and the plastic underneath was shining through.

Instead of scrapping them, I decided to see what could be done to clean them up. I found some people have used Krylon camouflage paints to redo their decoys. This is how mine turned out. It's a fairly simple process finished with a clear flat coat.

Final Approach re-paint. The re-painted decoy is on the left.

Again, just closer.

GHG re-paint.

[dan z]

Should have done that when you brought them home they look great!

Never really liked the final approach paint scheme.

[TylerS]

Wow. Those look a lot better! Any chance you could post up the painting process? Did you make a stencil? I have some older GHG oversized shells I'd really like to freshen up.

[fishuhalik]

Tearin lips, where are you at in nw NoDak? Been workin in Williston since last spring. Maybe hit the river one of these days? Cats have been biting really good lately!!!

[tearin' lips]

Thanks for the positive feedback guys. I think they are decent for a cheap and fast attempt at re-painting. I will post pictures tomorrow of the process.

fishuhalik, I am in Watford. Moved here just over a year ago. My August schedule is pretty terrible, bit if I have a few free days I will PM you. I would love to get into some cats, I have only ice fished out here so far.

[tearin' lips]

Here is the process that I used. I am sure it can be adapted to be better. I thought about using more of a lighter brown, like the original GHG's, but I stuck with the darker stuff. Here it is, I will list the process first and then post pictures.

Take the decoy you are going to paint and sand it with a fine sandpaper. I then wet a towel and wiped off the residue from sanding. I wiped the decoy with a dry towel and let it dry.

1. Remove the head and tape off the portions of the decoy you do not want painted.

2. Coat the decoy with a fairly even coat of Krylon flat tan. It doesn't have to be perfect because you will be applying the other coats of other colors. Let the Tan dry for awhile.

3. At a steep angle as picture apply the Krylon flat Dark Brown. Start farther out and move closer to get your desired color. By keeping the can at an angle you get the "feathered" effect on the decoy where the tan shows through at the back of the feather.

4. After that coat dries apply tape to the sides of the decoy that you don't want darker.

5. Apply the Krylon flat Dark Brown again on the back at a steep angle much like you did on the side of the decoy to get the feathering affect.

6. What you do next depends on how you want your decoy to look. You can apply more flat Dark Brown to darken up the back, or you can apply a light coat of flat black. As you move down the back increase the darkness until you get to the black tail.

7. Remove the tape and coat with a flat clear coat sealant. A you see the final result glares no more that my 1 year old GHG lessers.

Pics of the process.

[TylerS]

That's a pretty ingenious process. Nice work! I'll definitely be trying that.