O.K. so you've chosen your cache spot, chosen the container, assembled the notebook, pen, pencil, sharpener, plastic bags, and assorted trade goods.

Now you realise that once placed, the container is probably going to stick out like a sore thumb
and be prey to any muggle* within 10 metres who strolls past. So, what to do? Why, paint it of course!

Next decision: colour. This will depend on the location of the cache and how it will be placed.
A wonderful dark-green/light-green jungle camouflage paint job will not help much when placing a cache among golden tussocks or light gray rocks. Having said that, a general green/tan/black paint job will normally disguise a container in most positions. The effect of the camouflage is two-fold: firstly to blend in
with the general colouration of the area, and secondly for the colours to break up the outline of the container itself so that it doesn't immediately catch the eye as a man-made object, at least at first glance.

The first step will depend on the type of container. A metal ammunition container will need cleaning, then a light sandpaper over the surface before the painting begins. A plastic container can become much more complicated if the
best possible finish is desired.

Step 1: Prepare the surface

If you are using a metal container, follow normal paining procedures: clean the surface, give it a light sanding, then a wipe-down to remove all dust. For army-surplus containers it should be sufficient to sand off any lettering regards previous contents and give the rest of the surface a light sand. If you have taken the sanding to an extreme and have a nice, shiney bare-metal box in front of you, then a coat of metal primer is advisable.

For plastic containers, the first step is to give them a wash in warm water and detergent to remove any mould-release agent used when forming the container. Then ,depending on the type of plastic, a number of methods are available. This topic has been discussed in various forums:

It's all to do with the wax surface of the plastic ie
PP recycle code "5" and PE recycle code "4"- have
a waxy surface that needs to be removed.
Note: they are inherently waxy - and after surface
treating the wax will work it's way back to the
surface eventually.
PVC - recycle code "3" can be coated with a Metal
Primer to get good adhesion. Works on Marley
guttering and downpipes etc.
PET - recycle code "1" can be sanded or washed
with an etching primer. If the container is

Polypropylene or Polyethylene it would be easier
to lightly flame the surface with a blow torch to
remove the wax surface - it's the accepted
commercial method before printing containers. A
bit of experimenting with a big yellow flame
passed quickly over the surface should do.

Stopping in one spot is not recommended.

For an in-depth pictorial report of flame treatments on cache containers and the paint results refer to this site.
Other links to investigate are

• Service Tectonics
• Flame Treating
• Surface Treatment

Step 2: The Base Coat

Here we will assume a green foliage colour scheme. The base coat should be a mid-green that will show through underneath the stencil paintwork. Spray over the whole container and let it dry. Again, many army-surplus ammo containers have already got a good base coat that is sufficient.

Step 3: The Stencil

Place a number of leaf shapes or ferns on the container, slightly overlapping and as flat to the surface as possible to get a good paint shadow. Then spray wide stripes of two other colours (dark/light green, brown tan, gray, depending on placement) over the stencils.
Remove the ferns and leave the container to dry. See this good pictorial guide of the process being applied to an ammo container.

Alternatively, a series of sencils based on a standard camo pattern could be used. You can download a PDF of a camouflage pattern here.

Step 4: Identify your container

Stencil or print 'geocache' on the outside of the box to identify it. An easy way to create a stencil is to print 'GEOCACHE' in large letters on A4 page from a PC and printer, laminate this sheet then cut out the letters.

The lamination stage is not essential but will provide a much firmer, longer-lasting stencil.

Final Points

The type of paint to use hasn't been discussed: that will depend on the equipment, and your budget. Acrylic paint from a hobby shop for model work is ideal if you have the spray equipment, while spray cans are ideal as an alternative. Hand-painting can also produce good results when using a camouflage pattern stencil.

There can be a bit of work involved with setting up the equipment and materials for this exercise. If you are planning to paint your container, think about doing 2 or 3 containers at the same time. You don't need to place them all immediately, and it makes life easier when you discover the 'perfect' cache location to have a container at the ready.

Cache Containers

And lastly, if you're not happy with the final result...place it anyway and then start with another, as the name of this game is geocaching!
*Muggle: a person who is unaware of geocaching and it's addictive properties.