night cache reflecting

[sandlanders]

When we put our night cache out a month ago, we used glow paint, which didn’t glow very well. The firetacks worked super, but we’d like to get our “moon phases” to show up more. Then today when I was checking on the cache, I could see that the paint is peeling right off the white plastic.

So… Reflective tape? Reflective paint? Does one thing work better than another? I don’t mind retouching every so often, but not every month.

[cheezehead]

Pat, I found a can of refelective spray paint at a store in Rice Lake thinking it would be pretty cool and I could make my own fire tacs. I was pretty disapointed in it. I tried it on an ammo can too, and it didn’t show up too good either. I have an experiemnt cache out with two of my HCH containers in the back yard. I took some fine grit sandpaper to the containers and then applied the paint and then dprayed on a clear coat. One can as the glow in the dark pain and the other the reflective paint. The been sitting out for a few weeks now and I will check on them. I curious how the paints will hold up in freezing conditions. The refelectiev tape works pretty good but can get kinda expensive.

[TheBalks]

sun light will make any glow paint become non glow paint very quickly. If you want something that can stand up to sun light and not fade or peel, you need to get it embedded in something. Flourescent clay will stand up to sunlight for about 5 years before needed to be replaced. you can also get sheets of the reflective tape they use to make the letters on stopsigns and such, that will last about 10 years or longer since it is a layer inside the product.

[Buy_The_Tie]

I found some tape at an auto-parts store. It is made by 3M, and during the day it shows up black, but is bright white at night.

[TyeDyeSkyGuy]

When painting anything that is going to be in the elements, preparation is key. Make sure to sand the surface to give your paint something to attach too. Always use primer before you paint. Use at least 2 coats of your color (reflective) paint, and use a matt or flat clearcoat designed for outdoor use. Still these things will take a lot of abuse, so they won’t last forever.

[sandlanders]

Bought some plastic reflectors, then camo-taped off the areas I didn’t want showing. Since the markers are moon phases, the circle shape is perfect. Couldn’t find white, so I got blue. These looked OK in the yard last night, and I put them out at the cache today. Might go back near dark to see how these look. Wanted the new stuff in place before this weekend’s Pumpkin Walk at RAC Park.

Cache is: GC2F810

[sandlanders]

The reflectors looked good in the woods tonight. We’ll see what the spring brings. Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. I like the tape idea, but I sure wish it came on a big roll (and at a similar price) as the camo duct tape.

Sounds like the prep work was part of what was missing in my attempt with the glow paint. And that fluorescent clay sounds cool, Nate! Good for some 3-D effects. Chris, let me know how your “experiment” with the HCH containers works out: glow paint vs. reflective paint.

Got some ideas for some more night caches now, but they’ll have to wait till the winter is over.

[CodeJunkie]

I got thinking today driving home about trying to get one of those orange traffic barrels that has been run over. I wonder if they’d be willing to sell one of these cheap. There’s a ton of good reflective material on these things that could be used for a whole lot of things.

[sandlanders]

Dang! We hit one of those suckers exactly a year ago yesterday. Dragged it about a mile till we could pull over. Left it by a dumpster at a gas station. Should have just thrown it in the trunk!

[sandlanders]

Here’s how one of the reflectors looked last night:

[Mister Greenthumb]

@sandlanders wrote:

Here’s how one of the reflectors looked last night:

Looks like a picture of an outhouse door to me.

[Crow-T-Robot]

@sandlanders wrote:

Here’s how one of the reflectors looked last night:

That looks like it turned out very well. Nicely done!

[huffinpuffin2]

************** WHAT A TACK FOR A NIGHT CACHE!
Snapped this photo of the FULL MOON last night, up through the leafless branches in a stand of hardwoods, while caching along the Peshtigo River.

[CodeJunkie]

I got a lead on orange traffic barrels and will post back here once I find out what they do with the damaged ones.

[Crow-T-Robot]

@huffinpuffin2 wrote:

************** WHAT A TACK FOR A NIGHT CACHE!
Snapped this photo of the FULL MOON last night, up through the leafless branches in a stand of hardwoods, while caching along the Peshtigo River.

I’ve been seeing alot more orange colored tacks lately…but not quite this big 😯 😀

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