Camouflaging Your Marker

24/08/2004
By Jamie Innes

In bushball, a marker without camouflage is like the player without camouflage. Neither the player, or the equipment actually need to be concealed, but if your objective is to blend in with your surroundings... and hence be harder to see, then you ought to disguise your paintslinger.

Study picture 1 and Picture 2 carefully. What's one thing that stands out between the two recballers? You guessed it, one has camoed his marker, and one has not. On a bushball field where you utilise camouflage and concealment, chances are you want every edge you can get... why let your equipment give you away? the same principle that applies to your clothing, also applies to your equipment. Your clothing, mask, harness or pod holders... and your marker.

Part 1 - THE THEORY

- What are you really trying to achieve?

You are attemnpting to make your marker harder to identity, harder to recognise. Since your marker is going to be carried by you, into a variety of situations. Like a bdu... it's going to be impossible to come up with something to suit every environment. In sniper training, snipers change the camo on thier equipment according to the conditions, but even this is never perfect. So at the end of the day, you too are not expecting miracles.

So start trying things out, see what appeals to you. See what works better. And remember to ask your fellow recballers for thier opinions on how your marker camo is working out. But remember to take what they say with a grain of salt.... there are no right olr wrong answers in camouflage.

- 3D or 2D? please explain.

2D is when you're simply adjusting the colour and/or pattern on the surface of the marker. Using this method means your marker's shape still stays recognisable. An example of 2D would be applying paint or camo tape.

3D is applying additional material on top of your marker, to break up it's familiar shape. In theory, when your opponent see's it on the field, he is unable... or takes longer to recognise what it actually is.

- Do colours really matter?

If you are not expecting miracles from your marker camo, then your colours won't matter a great deal. This said, as with all bush-camoflauge, earthy colours are the way to go. Greens, tans and browns... perhaps even some grey or black. There are a few schools of thought on what colours to choose...

•    Use the same colours as your bdu.
•    use the same colours as the grass, or whatever is on the ground of your field (if you like laying prone a lot)
•    Use the same colours as tree branches or bushes (If you like being concealed behind trees or bushes)
•    The hell with it, just pick any old woodland colours

You can subscribe to whatever theory you so choose. I personally tend to lean towards "just pick any old woodland colours".

Part 2 - IN PRACTICE

- Camouflage tape

...Is your BEST friend. Camo tape is good because it offers a pre-made colour or pattern, it protects your marker from scratches, and it comes off when you tire of it. The downside is it can fray, become damaged with wear and tear, come off, and leave sticky glue residue when you remove it.

There are several kinds of camo tape. The best kinds, in my opinion, are duck tape and fabric tape. Fabric tape doesn't stick too well to metal and plastic, but it does stick to itself, and although it can fray... it comes off easily and leaves very little glue residue. Duck tape on the other hand, sticks on well, but usually has a glossy finish to it, which reflects sunlight and is a real turnoff to many bushballers. It also leaves a lot of residue.

- Veil

...Is ALSO your BEST friend. You know wehat veil is right? think of a sniper and his ghillie suit. Think of the ghillie suit's hood. Often there's a piece of veil sewn into the hood to cover the sniper's face while stalking. To see this in action, watch the action/war movie "Sniper".

Veil is an incredibly versatile material for camo purposes, and not just for your marker. Because it's like fine netting, it can easily be sewn onto things. You can wear it like a headband or bandana, cover your mask with it, and of course, cover your marker with it. If you put your mind to it, you can camo just about anything with veil.

Veil can be purchased at a reasonable price from your local army surplus store, and usually comes in different shades and patterns of green or brown.

- Jute string

Jute string is basically a bit like wool, slightly fluffy and all-natural, it's also very strong. Unfortunately it's often incredibly difficult to source. I spent many hours going to fabric and sewing shops and was unsucessful at finding some. The closest matches were...

•    Jute twine from "The Warehouse" (You can dye the ball an earth colour using clothing dye).
•    Jute cord. You can buy this from fabric shops, unlike jute string, the cold is several strings interwoven, forming a strong, thick cord. You can still use this, but it's not as versatile as the string itself.

Jute string is commonly used on ghillie suits. An entire suit can be made of nothing but jute string and netting. It can also be used as an all-purpose "fastener" when camouflaging your marker, mask, or other pieces of equipment.

- Burlap

The other common material ghillie suits are made of is burlap. Burlap is simply woven jute string... and is commonly used in manufacture of sacks. The common technique for using burlap in marker camo, is cut it into strips, and apply the strips as a wrap for your marker,

- Netting

This is not fishing style netting, I am talking about army netting. This netting is often used by the military, in the field, as a cover for tents, vehicles, artillery etc. You can use it too. Be advised... as this stuff is synthetic (plastic), it can be a nuisance cleaning paint splats out of it.

- Synthetic materials and aftermarket products

Like netting, anything made of plastic is a nuisance to clean of paint splats. However... either made for paintball products, or leaves from a plastic plant, have thier upsides. They are waterproof and durable, and thier colour will not fade or change.

Opsgear.com sells some fantastic aftermarket synthetic products, to name a couple...

•    Gearpatch; this affixes to the smooth surface of your marker, and has an elastic loop, allowing you to affix natural vegetation, or something else.
•    Chameleon leafy rifle wrap: This is an elastic band with synthetic leaves sewn in, wrap it around your marker for a 3D effect. And when you're done, simply unwrap.

- Limitations and what's practical

Obviously, your marker needs to function the same way it would if it had no camoflauge on it, this generally keeps keeping obstruction-free, areas of your marker that are moving parts, or parts that are regularly accessed and serviced by you, the owner.

•    The trigger. Do not obstruct your firing mechanism! Otherwise you are holding a big-green paperweight.
•    The cocking rod. It must move freely.
•    The feed neck. Your hopper still needs to go on, and come off.
•    The grip(s). These can be covered... but this is a little fruitless since your hand(s) will cover these anyway.
•    Your sighting system. The barrel, the iron sights, red dot or scope... you still need to be able to aim.
•    Any other moving parts. Ie- cocker back blocks, pump handles.

- Painting

Painting your marker is a pretty involved process. Like exercise and diet, "you get out what you put in". Meaning;- if you don't put the time and effort in, you don't get good results. In brief, you can simply slap the paint on as is... but you'll find that the paint will chip and flake, and re-touchups will be a frequent requirement. On the other hand, if you follow these steps, you can get a much better result...

NOTE: This is a simple explaination on how you would paint your marker. More in-depth information can be found with a google search.

    1. Take the marker all the way apart, clean any dirt, oil, debris etc from the parts (including the inside), use soap and water, or rubbing alcohol.

    2. Use sandpaper to remove all the existing paint from the marker parts. Get into all the crevases.

    3. Wash the debris off in water, use a paper towel, or let it air-dry.

    4. Use masking tape to seal openings and surfaces that are not to be painted, ie- inside of barrel, inside of reciever etc.

    5. Spray the parts with primer, don't over spray, a second coat will go on anyway. Let it dry for several hours.

    5a. Roughly scuff the surface with sandpaper, then wipe the dirt off.

    5b. Apply primer again, scuff again, and let it dry overnight. (Coat hangers are good for hanging parts up in the air)

    6. Be sure there is no debris left on parts, wipe off.

    7. Apply paint. Apply 3-4 coats. Leave periods in between coats to allow the paint to become touch-dry. Usually around 30 minutes.

    8. For the final clear coat, make sure the previous paint coating has been left to dry for at least an hour. Apply 2 coats. Allow final clear coat to dry for several hours, if not overnight.

As you can see, it is a long process. From start to finish it should take at least a couple of days, if not longer. If in doubt, talk to somebody at your local hardware store about painting metals and plastics.

- Camo painting Hints and Tips

•    Think long and hard about what kind of colours and pattern you want in a camouflauge paintjob.
•    If you wish to replicate a specific pattern, test out paints you intend to paint with, to check they are a good colour match.
•    Spray painting is not an exact science. It has limitations
•    If in doubt, a single camo colour can be a good option, ie- Brown or Olive Drab.
•    Stenciling cannot be rushed.

Credits: "Picture 1" thanks to Joseph Carpenter "A mix of 2D and 3D camo" thanks to Ricebrnr of www.A5OG.net