Alright I'm building me a deer stand and am trying to come up with a way to camo it. I know I can paint it or net it or even buy the plywood with the precamo patterns printed on it. But the netting tears up after a season, and I'll be back up the side of it in 5 seasons repainting it and the prepatterned plywood doesn't seem to hold as well. I'm looking for a ten year plan.

So my brain started thinking of unconventional ways to camo it and make it last and look good. My idea is to take a netting material (because it has a great camo pattern) and glue it to the outside walls. Then take something like a polyurethane, or epoxy coating that is clear and not glossy and cover the netting to give it a clear shell to protect it from the weather. Sounds great right?

Well does anyone know if this is even possible or what type of coating material I'm looking for. Everything I seem to find says glossy and not sure if its just going to soak into the netting or if it will indeed form an outer protective coating. I wont be putting the stand up until the end of season so I'm thinking about going to the paint store and lowes and buying small amounts of different coatings and just seeing what happens, but thought I would come to y'all before trying this step.

Any advice or thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Unless you're in the shade I would use a satin poly with UV protectorants. It will definitely hold up. Make sure you completely encapsulate it and use 2 or 3 coats.

Hey I appreciate the info, will give it a look. Yeah I hunt out of a tripod right now and its in the sun all day except for about the last hour of daylight. I've been using netting but it just doesn't last with the constant 20 mph winds and sun. But life will be alot more comfortable when I get the box in its place.

Are you doing a camo for deer or hiding the stand from man? If the stand is going to sit in the same place most of the time, I don't see a reason to camo it. Animals get pretty use to stationary objects. While it may be disguised from man, animals can see camo objects more than you would think. Polyurethane and epoxy would put off an odor for a while. Two part urethane is mostly going to be gloss. Most around here just paint with flat house paint, dillweed color for that nice outdoor look. I have 2 wooden pallets standing on their side in an angle shape (half square) with some branches around it that does a good job. Also have a box stand painted, that animals come all around it.

If you want to net it the above idea sound good.

Yeah I realize that the deer adventually get use to the stands and after a while they don't even notice them. The old stand I use to hunt before the tripod never had a coat of paint on it, just let the natural affects of weather color the wood. I'm just playing around here with different ideas. It is more of a confidence thing. I would feel more comfortable hunting in a camo stand than one colored neon green or something. This is one of those projects where I have a ton of time and just like trying new things and designs and thought it would be cool looking having the same look as the camo fiberglass stands but on a wooden box stand. I really think the smell of the coating would fade over time. I'll probably have it finished in the next month or so (if time permits) So it will be outdoors for about 8 months before it sees the deer lease. I beleive most of the smell will have disolved by then.

Always like to see stands. Sounds like a nice project. Can't wait for your picts. I'll start off with my condo.