[Big Bone]

I am finally in the process of nailing down a project I've been working on for a while. That is, to provide a digicam paint kit at a reasonable price. We'll start by offering omnipat and our SO woodland digi kits and go from there. This kit will come with paint (not duracoat per say, but a paint of comparable quality and similar application techniques), precut vinyl in digital shapes, and instructions- and that is where I need help. One of my last hurdles is coming up with comprehensive instructions for DIYers that will cover all bases. I am also looking into youtube instructional videos as well but the written instructions needs to be bullet proof.

This is my beta version and is a bit wordy but I wanted to really make it so your average reader can grasp the how too's of painting. Let me know what improvements can be made, because I'm sure there are some.

Painting Instructions

Step One: Supplies
You should be able to find most everything you need at your local hardware store.

1) Masking tape: 3M's Scotch Blue� painters tape works great and is easy to remove.
2) Rubber plugs and wooden dowels: These will come in handy when you're plugging up sensitive holes or needing something to hold on to while painting.
3) Solvents: We recommend one small can of Lacquer Thinner and a small can of Paint Thinner.
4) Respirator
5) Latex or vinyl gloves
6) Disposable Tea spoon set
7) Exacto Knife
8) Air Brush or Paint Gun. Preferable with a needle/nozzle of .5 but a 1.0 should be ok as well
9) Air compressor

Step Two: Prep

1) First, find a well-ventilated area with plenty of light and away from anything that may be damaged by overspray.
2) Disassemble your marker removing all internal components that could be damaged by the painting process.
3) Mask, plug, and stick any hole or area that may be sensitive to paint, such as threads, ends of a barrel, etc... You can use a piece of wooden dowel with the end tightly wrapped with tape to get a net fit to almost any hole. The dowel can also be used as a handle to hold on to while painting.
4) We recommend sandblasting your marker and parts. Use 80 to 120 grit aluminum oxide media at approximately 60-80 psi. Make sure all of the old paint is removed. After the blasting is complete use a blow off nozzle to spray any remaining sand off of the marker or parts. It is especially important that you keep the surface of the marker oil free after sandblasting.
5) If you do not have access to a sandblaster you can use soft grit sandpaper (6oo+ Grit) and carefully sand the surface of your marker to give the paint something to "bite"� into. Make sure you blow off all the parts once more prior painting.
6) Find a clean area where you can safely set or hang your parts.
7) Before proceeding make sure you have a game plan. Figure out what colors you would like as your most predominant down to the least. I recommend you start by painting the lightest color first and your most predominant color last.

Step Three: Paint

1) Start off by checking over your paint gun or airbrush and compressor. Make sure your paint gun is working and that it is regulated to the proper PSI. This depends entirely on the paint gun or airbrush you are using. Run a little lacquer thinner through it and see how it sprays. You will need to find a balance between your air pressure and the amount of paint you feed before you start painting.
2) To prepare your paint, measure hardener using a teaspoon set and mix approximately 1/4 teaspoon of hardener per 1 oz of paint. Blend the two together and load your gun. After the hardener is added to the paint, the paint then has a shelf life of only 4-6 hours and after that it is unusable.
3) Test your paint gun or air brush one more time using the mixed paint to make sure it's working properly and adjust as needed before you start painting your marker.
4) Begin spraying roughly 4-6 inches away with straight, flowing passes over the length of the gun or part.
5) After spraying the bulk of the marker or part, examine and paint any missed areas with brief sprays, allowing it to dry before hitting it again to avoid paint build up.
6) Allow plenty of time to dry. If you proceed laying the vinyl stencils too soon, the paint will not have enough time to outgas and your paint may lift up when you remove the stencils at the end of the paint job.

Step Four: Laying the Stencils
It is important to remember to keep your hands oil free during this process.

1) After the parts are completely dry, lay them on a soft surface (a stack of paper towels or soft cloth will do just fine).
2) Carefully use your razor knife to pick the digital stencils off the vinyl sheet.
3) Lay the stencils on the marker, keeping them flat to the surface and square to the gun. If you have trouble keeping the vinyl stuck to the surface (this will usually occur around bumps and curves), you can use a blow dryer to soften the vinyl to help contour around edges. If you are dealing with a sharp edge that the vinyl can't bend around, make small relief cuts using your razor knife (being careful not to cut into the paint job) and patch up any slits with small squares of vinyl or tape.
4) To help keep you on track, find an example of the digital camouflage that you are copying and place it next to your work area to reference from.
5) Start with the larger sizes of stencil and work your way down to small squares, keeping in mind how much of this color you want in your camouflage. Don't get carried away.
6) Once your finished laying the stencils, make sure all the vinyl is adhering to the marker. If so, you are ready for your next coat.

Step Five: Repeat

1) From here it is simply a matter of repeating steps 3 and 4. Always keep in mind that this takes allot of time. Don't rush your self.
2) Make sure you keep your hands clean and oil free.
3) After you have painted your last color and have given it enough time to dry, you can now begin to remove the stencils.


Step Six: Stencil removal and final coat

1) To remove the stencils simply use your fingernail to carefully pick up one edge and peal back. You can also use a thin soft piece of wood to help pick the stencil off.
2) After you think you've gotten all the stencils picked off, go over it 6 more times making sure you've got every single one (you think I'm kidding don't you?).
3) You may have noticed a sticky residue the stencils left behind. The best way to get this off is to dampen a soft rag with paint thinner (do NOT use liqueur thinner). Softly run it over the sticky areas, it should come up fairly easy.
4) Once it's wiped down and all the paint thinner is dry, blow off the marker removing any fabric or dust.
5) Look over your marker one last time to make sure you have not missed anything. This is the last time you can make any major changes. If you are happy with your camouflage, you are ready to clear coat.
6) Clear coat is the final step in camouflaging your marker and though it is not necessary, I would highly recommend it. It adds and even sheen to your camouflage along with a final protective coating. Mixing is much the same as step three but requires more care in its application. Clear coat is not as forgiving as the other paints and will give a gloss sheen if allowed to build up. To avoid this- decrease the amount of paint released by the spray gun, spray 6-9 inches away, and make fast passes allowing time for the clear coat to dry before making another pass.
7) After the clear coat is totally dry, reassemble your marker and enjoy or new camouflage.


I also want to know what YOU think a reasonably price paint kit should run for and if there is a demand for just the digitaly cut vinyl it's self for those who just want to use a spray can at home. Let me know, thank you!


BB

This post has been edited by Big Bone: 01 February 2009 - 03:31 AM

[thisissparta]

I like this idea, I kind of skimmed over the instructions, but I'll go through and look at them a little better later, I'm tired.

If you want, I can check it for typos and/or clarity.

[Big Bone]

Don't worry about the typos, I'll handle those later, really I just need to know if it all makes sense and if there is anything major I missed.


BB

[1weasel]

Sounds good from someone whose duplnt certified for auto. 320 grit is small enough for automotive so I don't see a reason for anything bigger for markers and I wonder why u don't use a primer for a substrate. But sounds the same.

[SIEFKA]

I love this idea and have been waiting for this day. I just have one question though, if it is not duracoat (per say) will it still stick for as long as you have that gun. Becuase I don't really want to paint my own gun and then paint if again in 2 years.

I will probely be sending my gun in soon as soon as the plans are final.

Srry about bugging you about an earlier paintjob last year.

[Maj Tom]

SIEFKA, on Feb 1 2009, 09:28 AM, said:

I love this idea and have been waiting for this day. I just have one question though, if it is not duracoat (per say) will it still stick for as long as you have that gun. Becuase I don't really want to paint my own gun and then paint if again in 2 years.

I will probely be sending my gun in soon as soon as the plans are final.

Srry about bugging you about an earlier paintjob last year.

No, normal aerosol paints aren't nearly as durable as Duracoat. Hence the Dura portion of the name. Which it why BB suggests blasting the piece due to other paints not adhering well to the metal. Anyone with an older 98 or A5 knows what I mean.

[Big Bone]

SIEFKA, on Feb 1 2009, 07:28 AM, said:

I love this idea and have been waiting for this day. I just have one question though, if it is not duracoat (per say) will it still stick for as long as you have that gun. Becuase I don't really want to paint my own gun and then paint if again in 2 years.

I will probely be sending my gun in soon as soon as the plans are final.

Srry about bugging you about an earlier paintjob last year.

It is as durable in every way and comparable to the quality and application techniques. The only thing that will be significantly different is the price.

Which brings me to a questions I asked earlier. What would you pay for this paint kit-

Omnipat Paint kit:

5- 3oz. bottels consiting of 5 omnipat colors and 1- 3oz bottle of matte clear

A sheet of vinyl stencils 13" wide and 24" tall. This is the pattern I developed and have been using it for years in everything I've digicamed. It looks small but I've packed enough stencils in it to do something as large as a JCS Launcher. Here is a pic of the path the vinyl cutter makes. It's like a puzzel of digi, leaving little waisted vinyl, saving you guys money-



And Instructions.



BB

This post has been edited by Big Bone: 01 February 2009 - 05:26 PM

[SIEFKA]

It all depends. I have a couple mods and mp5 parts on there and I would say around maybe $100 - $150. Thanks for your help.

[snipa12]

i would say around $50-100 for the kit i mean you can reuse the kit but if the kit is too expensive no one will buy it, i would buy definitly if it was $50 but higher than $80 i would have to think about that one

[Suicide Jockey]

This is a brilliant idea. Reminds me of the SpecOps of yore.

I think $75 would be the max limit for a kit like that. Somewhere between $40 or $60 seems a bit better to me, especially if Home Depot is just down the street. Of course, I say that without knowing what the paint and the vinyl would cost when the packaging and kit components are all worked out. If you included some of the simpler items needed (the disposable tea spoons, gloves, etc.), or offered a paint of a quality significantly superior to what the hardware store keeps in stock, you could get away with an $80 or $90 kit. Anything north of the $100 seems prohibitive, but again -- I don't know how much the materials would cost.

Am I seeing a marketing scheme similar to the Action Ghillie? After buying the base kit (ghillie suit / paint kit), you can buy additional elements (different or more vinyl leaf / different or more paint) to completely customize the way your gear looks. You could sell replacement pattern cutouts and individual paints. Want to tweak the Omnipat color scheme? Buy bottles of Omnipat 1, Omnipat 4, and Omnipat 5 as well as some SO Digi 3 to give your marker the precise shade of awesome! Mix and match! And when the paint-it-yourself craze takes off, you can start selling by the gallon for those of us who are working on their tank in the garage, or who just want to give their parents grey hair by painting their whole room Omnipat.

Mmm. . . seems we got a bit carried away there. Omnipat would just be the ceiling; SO Digi for the walls.

Heh. . . anyway, a great idea -- I'm interested to see what happens to it.

This post has been edited by Suicide Jockey: 02 February 2009 - 03:59 PM

[Violator]

Great idea- I'm tired of doing it myself for me and my friends, so the kit would be a welcome addition to the store, and it's a great way to get players who might be afraid of using Duracoat, or painting their guns in general, over that initial trepidation. Win all around. I think most buyers would be happy with a $40-75 price point, depending on the colors and any other materials included. I'd like to see various colors and patterns, though, since while Omnipat is great, it is not the absolute best for every location/terrain, and many players like to match their guns with whatever camo they wear.

This post has been edited by Violator: 02 February 2009 - 04:10 PM

[Big Bone]

Suicide Jockey, on Feb 2 2009, 03:57 PM, said:

This is a brilliant idea. Reminds me of the SpecOps of yore.

I think $75 would be the max limit for a kit like that. Somewhere between $40 or $60 seems a bit better to me, especially if Home Depot is just down the street. Of course, I say that without knowing what the paint and the vinyl would cost when the packaging and kit components are all worked out. If you included some of the simpler items needed (the disposable tea spoons, gloves, etc.), or offered a paint of a quality significantly superior to what the hardware store keeps in stock, you could get away with an $80 or $90 kit. Anything north of the $100 seems prohibitive, but again -- I don't know how much the materials would cost.

Am I seeing a marketing scheme similar to the Action Ghillie? After buying the base kit (ghillie suit / paint kit), you can buy additional elements (different or more vinyl leaf / different or more paint) to completely customize the way your gear looks. You could sell replacement pattern cutouts and individual paints. Want to tweak the Omnipat color scheme? Buy bottles of Omnipat 1, Omnipat 4, and Omnipat 5 as well as some SO Digi 3 to give your marker the precise shade of awesome! Mix and match! And when the paint-it-yourself craze takes off, you can start selling by the gallon for those of us who are working on their tank in the garage, or who just want to give their parents grey hair by painting their whole room Omnipat.

Mmm. . . seems we got a bit carried away there. Omnipat would just be the ceiling; SO Digi for the walls.

Heh. . . anyway, a great idea -- I'm interested to see what happens to it.

I like those ideas. I think I will add in some of the supplies like you said. Maybe just some gloves, tea spoon set, and stir stick.

The plan is to start out with the omni kits and woodland digi kits and see then see what the demand for more product is. We are also going offer just the vinyl stencils themselves for those who wish to use there own paint.

Thanks and keep the replies coming.


BB

[snipa12]

maybe have something like a beginers kit then upgrades that makes it harder but makes it look better. the beginer kit would come with basic tools then you could upgrade and get things like air brush or different stencils. what i would like to see is some thing special for rounded serfices like barrels and somthing for different types of material like plastic vs. like a metal. i don't know just a suggestion

[Suicide Jockey]

I do like the idea of different stencils. If the paint kits sell well, you could add some special vinyl stencils to the mix, like the Ace of Spades Skull or Celtic weave patterns. I don't know how feasible a beginners' kit and an advanced kit would be, but simpler camo patterns like Tigerstripe could be targeted towards the more apprehensive buyers.

Another thought might be to sell kits for specific markers or types of gear. For instance, a tricked-out X7 with air-thru stock and large foregrip is going to take considerably more paint than an out-of-the-box Ion, and I might have to buy two kits to properly finish my JCS Launcher. Will five 3oz bottles and one 3oz bottle of matte clear be sufficient to paint most guns? Or might you sell marker-specific kits like the Omnipat A5 and the SO Digi X7, or even the Big Bone JCS Special?

I hope sales do well. I think I'd like to use my old 98 Custom as a sort of trial-run learning experience before moving on to bigger and better projects.

This post has been edited by Suicide Jockey: 03 February 2009 - 12:21 PM

[bob endo]

I find the next bit confusing:

Quote

Step Four: Laying the Stencils

2) Carefully use your razor knife to pick the digital stencils off the vinyl sheet.
3) Lay the stencils on the marker, keeping them flat to the surface and square to the gun.
5) Start with the larger sizes of stencil and work your way down to small squares, keeping in mind how much of this color you want in your camouflage. Don't get carried away.
6) Once your finished laying the stencils, make sure all the vinyl is adhering to the marker. If so, you are ready for your next coat.

Step Five: Repeat
3) After you have painted your last color and have given it enough time to dry, you can now begin to remove the stencils.

My reasoning is:
A) Step Four: 2&3 -> I'm not sure if the stencils are used as males or females.
Step Four: 2&3 -> Newbs will need that distinction & explanation to be made for them too.
C) Step Four: 5&6 -> I'm not sure if the stencils are layered on top of each other at first,
as it 'starts with the big ones' & leaves it to question.
D) Step Five: 3 -> Sounds like you're removing everything at once, which you may or may not be.

We have an unwritten policy at the field:
ASSUME THEY'RE RETARDED.
This applies in the order which things appear as well.
We must assume that the person reading the instructions will more than likely complete each one
without even reading the next line.
For quick example ... mention having a photo reference as Step Three: 1, rather than Step Four: 4.
Otherwise ... there will be strange camo on everything.

That's all I can think of.
Cheers !