Great forum, lots of good info! I'm new and have yet to purchase a mini truck, but would like to do the camo paint myself. Has anyone done this and what is some of the problems? Where did you get the stencils/paint and how much of each did it take for the minis? I like the Realtree Hardwoods design. Not sure I'd do the vinyle. Would appreciate any info. Dan
stencil paint job Dan, I have done a few with the stencils and it was pretty easy. I bought the kits from Cabelas and it is made by Styx River. The kits come with one can of each color and that is not enough. I had to go to O'rielly auto parts and buy a few more cans of each color. If you need any more info of if you want to see a truck done with the max-4 pattern you can check out our website. www.gatewayminitrucks.com then click on gallery and go to the last page and you will see a subaru with the paint job. Hope this helps. Mike
This is 3m Vinyl. Not too hard to install if you take your time....this one took us 2 days. But it has a great result, if you are looking for a commercial camo design. Also other pictures here on my ebay listing. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=011&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=&item=320141239956&rd=1
Thanks Mike, so three or four cans of each color would do the trick. How long did it take you to do your truck? I like your trucks, the max-4 might be the camo I'll use. I'm currently looking for a truck with A/C, dump bed, less than 50K miles, good exterior/interior. Thanks. Dan
Thanks ABCMINITRUCKS, I heard the vinyl had a shiny finsih, almost fake looking, is that what you've experienced? I suppose it would be faster to apply the vinyl than paint kit. You have a nice looking truck. Thanks. Dan
Dan, We have used the real tree hard wood kit. Looks great, but takes a long time and you need a couple of buddies to help hold the stencils while you spray. We now have built our own custom stencils that are the cut to the exact size of our trucks. 6 pieces. 2 that cover the doors, 2 for the bed sides, 1 for front, 1 for tail gate. we then use our door stencil on the roof. We are set up to mass produce these stencil camo paint jobs. By building these stencils we have cut the time from 7 hours down to 2. We shoot with professional gravity feed air guns. They look great when complete. Texas deer hunters love it! Let us know if you have questions or need tips.
I have done one truck with the stencils from Cabelas as well. The actual camo time wasn't bad, but the prep work and base coat took the longest - removing the trim, sanding, fixing any rust/dents if needed, taping off windows, etc. You can see my truck on my webpage - it's the one with the hunting seat in the back.
