CAMOUFLAGE: Real, Nature friendly and long lasting

[Mc_Mickey]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm really excited to create caches that really blend in with nature, but also do not put in risk any kind of pollution, contamination or danger to the environment I place them. Adding to this I also you'll like you to have in consideration the small cost want to have. Bellow, I'll let some ideas/concepts that I want to use and the problems related to them:

 

- Using real leafs to camouflage a cache(do I glue them? how do I prevent them from decomposing/braking? Can I use some sort of hairspray, is it still flammable after drying?) the idea is durability and safety, I don't want to drop toxic stuff in the wild or cause a fire!

 

- Want ty of spray ink can I use? again the same thought durability and safety

 

- Creating a real log cache(wood) can I use some kind of varnish and can I use real wood logs(the ones you buy to burn in a fireplace)?

 

 

PLEASE HELP - I'll ideas and tips are welcome. My concerns are real in terms of dangers and durability!

Thanks

[+cerberus1]

We've had real logs, bored with a forstner bit (Matchstick holder inserted) from a series, now reused in another's multi.

They're still in one piece going on six years now (replaced ones from four years earlier with poor outdoor glue).

Cedar both times. Natural. Gorilla glue for the first batch, Gorilla epoxy the last.

 

We use Krylon paint and leaf stencils on most of our ammo cans (and a lg rural mailbox), and paint sticks for added effects.

Never attempted bark. leaf, or grass camo, as every cache we've ever found using it (I thought the grape vine sheath was a nice effect) was failing, and we were FTF on 'em.

[+frinklabs]

Not sure if this counts, but my favorite is the cloth camouflage hockey tape.

 

Completely 100% superior to camouflage duct tape: it is completely non-reflective and will not deteriorate over time.

 

In fact, over time, the camouflage hockey tape will start to acquire the characteristics of the location in which the container it is covering was hidden.

 

Love that stuff.

[+TheTravellingWilmys]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm really excited to create caches that really blend in with nature, but also do not put in risk any kind of pollution, contamination or danger to the environment I place them. Adding to this I also you'll like you to have in consideration the small cost want to have. Bellow, I'll let some ideas/concepts that I want to use and the problems related to them:

 

- Using real leafs to camouflage a cache(do I glue them? how do I prevent them from decomposing/braking? Can I use some sort of hairspray, is it still flammable after drying?) the idea is durability and safety, I don't want to drop toxic stuff in the wild or cause a fire!

 

- Want ty of spray ink can I use? again the same thought durability and safety

 

- Creating a real log cache(wood) can I use some kind of varnish and can I use real wood logs(the ones you buy to burn in a fireplace)?

 

 

PLEASE HELP - I'll ideas and tips are welcome. My concerns are real in terms of dangers and durability!

Thanks

 

The best thing to do is to grab a piece of wood from where you're going to hide the cache, take it home and do what needs to be done and then take it back and put it where it was. Don't do anything other than drill a hole and put in a log container otherwise it's going to stand out from the rest. If, in a few years time it rots just replace it with another one.

[+niraD]

Here's a design I used, wrapping eucalyptus bark around a wide-mouth water bottle. I used indoor/outdoor adhesive caulk, Gorilla tape, and mechanical fasteners to hold it all together. (You should be able to use whatever local tree bark is thin and flexible when fresh.)

 

[+huskydays]

- Using real leafs to camouflage a cache(do I glue them? how do I prevent them from decomposing/braking? Can I use some sort of hairspray, is it still flammable after drying?) the idea is durability and safety, I don't want to drop toxic stuff in the wild or cause a fire!

I've seen a couple of these, the leaves appeared to be glued and then gone over with a PVA/water solution (essentially Decoupage), the result looks good but from the caches I've seen, it doesn't last and will require a lot of touch ups.

 

 

The best thing to do is to grab a piece of wood from where you're going to hide the cache, take it home and do what needs to be done and then take it back and put it where it was.

I think taking a log from GZ to do this would go against the guidelines regarding damaging private/public property and the natural environment, can anyone confirm?

[+J Grouchy]

The best thing to do is to grab a piece of wood from where you're going to hide the cache, take it home and do what needs to be done and then take it back and put it where it was.

I think taking a log from GZ to do this would go against the guidelines regarding damaging private/public property and the natural environment, can anyone confirm?

 

If it is deadfall or a portion sawn off by the property owner in the course of maintenance, I don't see why it should matter. It's one thing to go pull down a perfectly good branch, but something that already came down and was just going to lay on the ground for the next decade or two is, in my mind, "fair game".

[+TheVoytekBear]

Drilled wooden logs are nice, I've also seen a real stone drilled (?) just enough to hide a PET container (that one IS going to last long). Once I've seen a wooden "man" hung on a tree (Thick branches were drilled and a steel pipe was put inside. One of the hands was a torx screwdriver needed to open the container.). As for the leaves - they look nice... in summer .

[+huskydays]

The best thing to do is to grab a piece of wood from where you're going to hide the cache, take it home and do what needs to be done and then take it back and put it where it was.

I think taking a log from GZ to do this would go against the guidelines regarding damaging private/public property and the natural environment, can anyone confirm?

 

If it is deadfall or a portion sawn off by the property owner in the course of maintenance, I don't see why it should matter. It's one thing to go pull down a perfectly good branch, but something that already came down and was just going to lay on the ground for the next decade or two is, in my mind, "fair game".

 

My thinking is that dead wood forms part of the wood/forest's ecosystem by encouraging biodiversity and soil stability, which is why land managers will often leave it on the ground for the next decade or two. In that context, I don't think it's fair game.

[+J Grouchy]

The best thing to do is to grab a piece of wood from where you're going to hide the cache, take it home and do what needs to be done and then take it back and put it where it was.

I think taking a log from GZ to do this would go against the guidelines regarding damaging private/public property and the natural environment, can anyone confirm?

 

If it is deadfall or a portion sawn off by the property owner in the course of maintenance, I don't see why it should matter. It's one thing to go pull down a perfectly good branch, but something that already came down and was just going to lay on the ground for the next decade or two is, in my mind, "fair game".

 

My thinking is that dead wood forms part of the wood/forest's ecosystem by encouraging biodiversity and soil stability, which is why land managers will often leave it on the ground for the next decade or two. In that context, I don't think it's fair game.

 

But you just made my point...that if you are using on-site materials for camouflage, it's pretty much doing all that you said as well as camouflaging a cache. If you are concerned about pollution due to you putting out a plastic or metal container, just don't do it.

[+kunarion]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm really excited to create caches that really blend in with nature, but also do not put in risk any kind of pollution, contamination or danger to the environment I place them. Adding to this I also you'll like you to have in consideration the small cost want to have. Bellow, I'll let some ideas/concepts that I want to use and the problems related to them:

 

- Using real leafs to camouflage a cache(do I glue them? how do I prevent them from decomposing/braking? Can I use some sort of hairspray, is it still flammable after drying?) the idea is durability and safety, I don't want to drop toxic stuff in the wild or cause a fire!

 

- Want ty of spray ink can I use? again the same thought durability and safety

 

- Creating a real log cache(wood) can I use some kind of varnish and can I use real wood logs(the ones you buy to burn in a fireplace)?

 

 

PLEASE HELP - I'll ideas and tips are welcome. My concerns are real in terms of dangers and durability!

Thanks

Leaves will break down into soil pretty quickly. Fake leaves change colors in surprising ways. One of my duct-tape hides once turned bright blue in the sun. You won't know exactly how it will work til you try it. But I stick with fake leaves (usually cloth in the shape of crumpled leaves), and plan to touch it up when needed. For one film canister out in the open, I would re-paint it and matte-coat it (clear acrylic spray) every few months. It got a lot of favorites. Cloth "leaves" actually look better in a tree (more tattered) over time.

 

For an ammo can, there are various brands of outdoor paint for metal. Something rust-preventive is good. You might find some paint around the house that can be brushed on (pretty cool, since you could use a sponge or roller for nice effects), or spray paint. Especially with spray paint, you can paint it one solid color, then over-paint leaves, sticks, or stencils. But even a few bold strokes of a couple of colors of paint can be enough to hide it. Some people even used black and yellow!

 

So let's say you go with an ammo can, one of the least expensive containers that is proven especially durable. Coat a side, or the whole thing, with clear silicone sealant (RTV), then mash a bunch of dry leaves, sticks, dirt and pieces of pine cones into that, whatever is at the hide site. Let it cure for a few days. I adopted a cache like that, and although the leaves and stuff is now all gone, the rough brown texture remains. It still looks pretty good.

Edited July 13, 2016 by kunarion

[Mc_Mickey]

 

Thanks everyone for the tips! I really look effort to use the cloth-leafs method. Once again big thanks, learned a lot

Edited July 14, 2016 by Mc_Mickey

[+Woodstramp]

On a few of mine (LNL boxes) I've used silicone. Just abrade the exterior with rough sandpaper and slather down the exterior of the LNL with clear silicone caulking. Take care to not get any on the lid seams and sprinkle dirt, sticks, grass, etc. Let cure and you are good to go.