Ever painted a tent?

Hope-a-Lope · Post by **Hope-a-Lope** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 7:15 pm

I'm itching to fancy-up my (cheap nylon) tent, and I like the idea of painting it either by hand or with spray paint, but I suspect it would be a moop nightmare. In my research, people generally believed:

- nylon won't take to dye
- acrylic or spray paint will chip/flake off

And I believe them. But I couldn't find anyone who had *actually* done it. Other thoughts I had:

- permanent marker (but would need to be darker colors than the tent material, and would take a TON of time)
- diluted bleach on a brush (bad for waterproofing?)
- cutting fun fabrics in the right shapes to cover the panels and sew or glue them on

I don't want to buy a new tent yet, and am in the mood for a fun project to beautify my shelter situation. Anyone have experience with bedazzling their tent?

southern crone · Post by **southern crone** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 7:38 pm

I don't know how good it would hold up under Playa heat but you might check out Flex Seal rubber sealer paint. It comes in 12 colors but is rather expensive.

Joeln · Post by **Joeln** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 7:39 pm

If its cheap nylon and a bit aged it might take dye quite nicely.

The Rod · Post by **The Rod** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 9:03 pm

I spray painted (used krylon, which is a pretty shitty quality spray paint) a nylon tent once... it flaked off. I would not do it again... Years later I learned about the right stuff:

There is a thing called One Shot! paint. It's professional sign painters paint and it'll stick to just about anything. You'll want to first use a product called Ti-cote, made by the same company, which is basically a primer for flexible synthetic fabrics... like nylon!

However, like most high-quality paints the shit ain't cheap...

Ratty · Post by **Ratty** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 10:14 pm

I'm in the same boat with big , plain, boring tents. What about the dye that I used to fill my ink cartridges with? I still have a bunch and it has handy needle nozzles. That stuff does NOT wash off. I could do a faux tie-dye look. Another decoration is silouettes. Sure it would take a while to fill them in with black sharpie or ink but wouldn't it be fun?

Post by **Sham** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 12:37 am

Sharpie makes markers that with go on dark fabric. Gold/silver/bronze as well as very bright colors that will mark on brighter fabrics.

Fan C · Post by **Fan C** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 11:45 am

Anyone had experience with decorating a Kodiac canvas tent? It should dye very easily but I'm not sure if that would negatively affect the waterproofing.

The Rod · Post by **The Rod** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 12:20 pm

I have no experience decorating a canvas tent, but I do have a couple suggestions that may or may not be of any use at all....

Screen printing ink? You could use a blow dryer or heat gun to set it.

Other kinds of fabric inks and pens/markers abound in the craft world. Cotton canvas is pretty absorbent stuff, so most fabric dyes and inks should take fairly well.

I use canvas drop cloths all the time for ground protection when I paint things. Last year for the burn we took a bunch for ground-cover (worked great!) and I grabbed a few from the studio that were all painty from a spray-paint project. Folded up on the trailer, deployed on playa, rolled up and brought back home, no noticeable paint came off. Now I'm thinking about how many paint-stains I have in jeans and work clothes that will never, ever come out...

If you do try something out, remember to test a small inconspicuous area beforehand.

The Rod · Post by **The Rod** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 12:21 pm

Also, if the dye affects the waterproofing negatively you could always re-waterproof if post dye.

Drawingablank · Post by **Drawingablank** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 5:21 pm

I'm fairly sure that paint would flake off, Sharpies sound like they might work though and a tie dye effect can be produced with them and alcohol.

One of the worst moop producers I have ever seen was a poly tarp that had been spray painted. Although nylon might bond a bit better, just imagine having to pick up thousands of delicate slivers of thin dried paint.

Another thing to bear in mind with tents (nylon or canvas) is that any waterproofing they may be treated with will resist most forms of coloring.

maladroit · Post by **maladroit** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:21 pm

Drawingablank wrote:I'm fairly sure that paint would flake off, Sharpies sound like they might work though and a tie dye effect can be produced with them and alcohol.

I see two possible explanations for how alcohol would be involved, and one seems a lot more fun than the other.

pretty_monster · Post by **pretty_monster** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 9:28 am

what about creating a cover, second skin, or shade cover of some sort that can be easily decorated? you could make it out of a fabric that takes paint well and not have to worry about mucking up your actual tent or MOOPING.

mudpuppy000 · Post by **mudpuppy000** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 10:01 am

Drawingablank wrote: Another thing to bear in mind with tents (nylon or canvas) is that any waterproofing they may be treated with will resist most forms of coloring.

Yes, you'd need to remove the waterproofing before dying it.

I've been experimenting with dying untreated canvas tarps and it works pretty well with rit dye. The downsides are that the canvas shrinks after dying so trying to get an exact fit for something can be a pain. Also it's expensive if you want custom shapes/sizes.

Hope-a-Lope · Post by **Hope-a-Lope** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 3:35 pm

Yeah loller, I've considered covering my rain fly or making a new one, but it's mostly the drab green side panels I don't care for

And yes, panels for those places in a decorate-able fabric, but the best way to attach it? I worry that sewing will let (more) dust in and those tiny holes could eventually snag or grow.

lollergirl wrote:what about creating a cover, second skin, or shade cover of some sort that can be easily decorated? you could make it out of a fabric that takes paint well and not have to worry about mucking up your actual tent or MOOPING.

pretty_monster · Post by **pretty_monster** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 3:15 pm

how big of a tent are we talking? 'cause i'm picturing 2 arches of PVC that cross at the center (much like what a basic dome tent that has as its skeleton) that could be covered in canvas and the whole unit would then be placed *over* the existing tent. it would do double duty as something decoratable (not really a word. whatever.) AND shade for your tent. that way the integrity of your actual tent does not have to be compromised.

Post by **trilobyte** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 3:29 pm

I'd leave the tent as-is, then make a shade structure to go above/around it. If you're already under a good shade structure, you could use fabric and maybe even some lighting (if you've got power) to decorate the space.

Hope-a-Lope · Post by **Hope-a-Lope** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:43 pm

Paint is out, schmancy tent cover is in.

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

Ratty · Post by **Ratty** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 6:15 pm

Hope a lope. One thing I always want when I get there is...a fleece door flap that hangs down over the entrance. It would have to be extended out on both sides so it would cover the opening. I get so tired of zipping and unzipping. I want to just push the fleece blanket to the side and yet keep the dust at bay. Maybe I can try one with clamps to hold it on.

MyDearFriend · Post by **MyDearFriend** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 1:34 pm

*ahem* Just sayin, I stenciled golden flames around the bottom of a nylon dome tent (Eureka) back in 2011, using cheap no-brand metallic spray paint, and they still look good after 4 trips to the playa. No flaking or MOOPing. The tent was clean, straight out of the box when I did it, which no doubt helped the adhesion.

Hope-a-Lope · Post by **Hope-a-Lope** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 1:00 pm

Sounds awesome! I'm worried I won't be so lucky (this tent has been to the playa twice so far), and I'd rather not replace the tent yet. But, glad it worked for you, gold flames are badass!

MyDearFriend wrote:*ahem* Just sayin, I stenciled golden flames around the bottom of a nylon dome tent (Eureka) back in 2011, using cheap no-brand metallic spray paint, and they still look good after 4 trips to the playa. No flaking or MOOPing. The tent was clean, straight out of the box when I did it, which no doubt helped the adhesion.

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