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Eliminating Glare from Factory Camouflage

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
This is a big issue, mainly for waterfowlers, but still applies to any other hunting pursuit. Factory camouflage, especially when printed on durable canvas-like nylon fabrics, produces an incredible amount of glare when hit by direct sunlight. To eliminate this, it's common practice for waterfowlers to "mud their blinds," referring to the process of smearing wet mud all over their layout blinds. This does work well, but there are some disadvantages. For one, it's very messy... both during the process, and then any time after when your blind is exposed to moisture. Secondly, it's temporary. That moisture that makes a mess of things also slowly washes away the mud, meaning you'll eventually need to reapply...and start the messy process all over again.

There IS a better way. It's cheap and it's easy. Flat spray paint.

What you want to do is just mist the fabric with the paint. Not so much that you turn your camo blind to a brown blind, but just enough to remove that glare the fabric creates. Spray it with the material in direct sunlight so you can see which spots you missed or need additional paint. After misting, I also like to go back and spray in heavy lines across the fabric to create more contrast in the pattern, as the misting process somewhat removes contrast.

This method is virtually mess-free and best of all, it's basically permanent. Once it's done, it's done.

Remember, the fabric of your blind is simply a "base coat" of camouflage. Before each hunt you should always add local vegetation or brush to your blind in order to match your surroundings. By spraying the blind, you effectively remove the glare that may potentially shine through that added brush.

In the pics below you'll see two items: a dog stand/blind and a decoy bag. Both made out of the exact same material and the exact same camo pattern. Can you guess which one has been sprayed? Notice is the farther picture how bright that decoy bag appears.

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bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
I have several cans downstairs right now with various projects in mind. Good write up JB. I even keep a can of flat brown in my waterfowl bag when we go new places or hunt with new guys. Never know when it'll be handy.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
Hunted a lush moist soil unit this morning and the blind worked out nicely. Stuffed some millet in the straps and it disappeared. Ended up being a real nice hide for the dog. The brownish base color matched up well with the muddy water below.

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Ttalos

Junior Member
Would it be a good choice to use a flat finish spray instead of colored flat paint? That should give you a nice flat finish but not affect the pattern at all.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
Would it be a good choice to use a flat finish spray instead of colored flat paint? That should give you a nice flat finish but not affect the pattern at all.
That's a very good idea, and one I haven't tried so I really can't tell you which method works best. I do know that clear coat sprays can be very finicky and have a tendency to turn white if humidity or temperature isn't just right. I've made attempts to clear coat other items, in various finishes, and have had some that were almost ruined by the clear coat. Not saying this would turn out the same, but it's a risk that you won't have with using colored flat paint.