Painting the body of a DSLR?

McCoyC

TPF Noob!
Joined
Aug 24, 2010
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Location
Southeast US
Can others edit my Photos
Photos OK to edit
This may be an unusual question but I'm hoping that someone may have some useful insight...

I recently purchased a Canon T1i that I will be using on deployment with the Army in Afghanistan. I need to paint the body of the camera as well as my lenses using non-reflective tan paint. Black is a very unnatural color and believe it or not every little bit matters. I have spray paint and can get regular brush-on paint if you experts think that it would be better as I can control where it goes more precisely. I know that I will need to mask off the buttons, lcd screen, flash lens, and microphone holes on the body. Am I missing anything?

What about the lenses? Obviously the glass but what else? I do not know that technical names of parts but are the rings that you hold to manually adjust focus sealed or will spray paint get in there and ruin the lens?

I really appriciate any advice that you can give and I look forward to sharing some of my photos of Afghanistan.
 
I understand your concern, and we all do want you to be safe.

I would lightly paint it on with a somewhat dry brush. You do not want the overspray to go where you have not control to keep it from going.

Good luck - in all ways. If you do not mind, maybe a couple of photos when you are finished.
 
My biggest concern would be getting paint in-between any part that slides. I'm thinking about lenses in particular, because they need to slide in and out. I would imagine that every aspect of your camera needs to be camoflauged, but have no idea how you're going to paint the portion of the lens barrel that shows when it is fully extended.

Be careful not only with your cam painting, but of course, on deployment.

Thank you for your bravery and your service!
 
My dad use to paint his camera with model paint and use a really fine quality brush. Took forever but the finally product was excellent. I have his old OM-1 and its paint is still in good shape. Been all over the world in his flight suit.

Good luck on your deployment, stay safe.


I will be heading over in about 9 months and be using his method on a Leica X1 or maybe a Leica V-Lux 20.
 
Thanks for all of the input. I suppose that I will get the brush on paint and really take my time. Painting or in any way altering anything that is expensive always freaks me out. I mean to watch those shows like "American Chopper" on Discovery it looks so easy to paint something simple but that, of course, is not anywhere near reality.

As far as the part of the lens that is only exposed when extended, I guess that will have to stay black. I cannot afford to ruin the lens so I will hand paint it at it's shortest.

I will post pictures of the finished product when I complete it.

Thanks Again.
 
Thanks for all of the input. I suppose that I will get the brush on paint and really take my time. Painting or in any way altering anything that is expensive always freaks me out. I mean to watch those shows like "American Chopper" on Discovery it looks so easy to paint something simple but that, of course, is not anywhere near reality.

As far as the part of the lens that is only exposed when extended, I guess that will have to stay black. I cannot afford to ruin the lens so I will hand paint it at it's shortest.

I will post pictures of the finished product when I complete it.

Thanks Again.


Just a thought but can't you use some camouflage cloth or netting even over the lens part, rubber banded on or taped into place? That way you can still extend it and keep it covered/camouflaged.
 
Thanks for all you do for our country!

I think they have covers or "skins" that you can put on the camera to make it that camouflage feel. Also, I know they have it for lenses.

I'm not sure if regulation would allow, but it was just my 2 cents...
 
I painted a p&s to send to my son in Iraq during his deployment (I threatened pink but I actually used the same matte tan you will probably use). First I cleaned the camera really well with alcohol and made sure to not get oil or anything on it that would interfere with the paint.

I used a small, fairly dry brush and thin coats of paint, most of the camera took 2 coats but a few areas I needed to have three. I did not extend the lens and try to paint it and wouldn't advise it on a dSLR lens.

Don't forget the to paint the lens cap and buy several extras and paint them too. Same for an extra few body caps.

The paint held up well during his year there and being shoved in BDU pockets and dropped multiple times. He's got it in Germany now, as he's recovering from a knee reconstruction.

Thank you for your service. My son graduated OSUT at Benning and, scared though I might be, he fights for us all - as do you.
 
Krylon is your friend.

I don't think it would be much different that painting a rifle (which I'm sure you have done, or know someone who has).

Mask what you can, remove the rest.

The only worry I would have is that you would be painting over the decals that say what each button does - either mask that off, or memorize it all.

If you can disassemble the camera prior to painting, that would be best. But, I don't know that it would be practical...

Black is very rare in nature... I would concentrate on that (which is what most of a camera body/lens will be).

A little common sense will go a long way - try not to get it too thick around buttons/moving surfaces. For the most part, I think it will be fine though.

Just memorize what each button does, or write it on there after painting with a sharpie or something.
 
You might try calling Canon and tell them what you want to do. I'll bet you're not the first and they may have advice (after they tell you that your warranty is void). I'd love to see pix of your final product.

There are camo covers available for the longer lenses (Lens Coat) but I don't think they make them for the shorter ones.

EDIT:

http://www.lenscoat.com/
 
Last edited:
I honestly wouldn't be worried about painting your camera tan... it would be like painting your m-4 tan... it looks cool but not really needed. There are alot of people here at kandahar that have nikon d90's and nikon d2000 and i have seen a couple canon eos t1i's and t2i's and they are black and just about every single person has a point and shoot.
 
I've seen several photographers who have used gaff tape to cover parts of their cameras. One example is when they are shooting at an event that is sponsored by a different camera company...ie: a nikon shooter at a golf tournament sponsored by Canon...they won't want the Nikon logo appearing on camera so it might get covered up with tape.

You'll want to use tape like gaff, that won't leave a sticky residue like duct etc.

If you can find a tan colored tape, it might be an easier and less intrusive option than paint.
 

Most reactions

Back
Top