Today we build another “Evil” cache for geocaching. The techniques used are similar enough to the first Evil Cache I made and can be use up to a point. Where the first one was designed to resemble a pile of rocks, this one will be made to look like ground cover. It took me awhile to come up with the right way to make a ground cover cache. Green was definitely out as it would be conspicuous in the winter time. Brown, however, will do the trick nicely.

First we wrap the container in ordinary plastic wrap which can be found in any grocery store. We do this because the container is with all kinds of materials during the process of the cache building. When completed, the wrap can be removed for disposal. It is important to keep the curing material away from the container while you are doing the build. Epoxy will bind to just about anything. If the epoxy should leak onto the container, you might damage it trying to pry the container loose.

Because of the over-hang on the container, it is impossible to cast around it for our purposes. We are going to be making a fiberglass shell for the container, but we want to get it out of the shell when finished. To do this, we trim the container with clay, which is easily removed once the shell is complete. Once again, the artist clay used can be found at many craft stores. I recommend a curable clay because the non-curable ones are cut in oil which might interfere with the epoxy curing process.

Next we cut the fiberglass mat into thin strips of 2 X 6 inches and lay them over the wrapped container. Using a disposable paint brush, a clear epoxy is brushed on the fiberglass and allowed to sink into the mat. The process is repeated until a good shell is built over the wrapped container. You make the shell as thick as you like, but I recommend 2 to 6 layers of epoxy-soaked mat. Any clear, two-part epoxy purchased from a hardware or paint store can be used, but I recommend one which cures in 2 to 3 hours at room temperature.

Take care not to get any epoxy on your skin and place a barrier between the cache build and the table. Plastic gloves, also found at most hardware stores, are very handy to keep the epoxy off your hands.

When cutting away the shell trim, be very careful. The epoxy cured fiberglass can be very sharp. The individual fiberglass strands also have the tendency to turn into needles. Make sure any sharp edges are sanded away. You can also coat the sharp edges with Kraftmark Stick Putty.

This time we coat the shell with Kraftmark ProCreate Terrain Putty. The idea is to completely hide the fiberglass. And, once again, I am pushing a product made by my company. I developed this product years ago for miniature scenery, but it has plenty of other applications. It’s also amazingly light and will float on water when cured. Terrain Putty has the consistency of a thick cream. At room temperature it will cure in 2-3 hours. Did I push it too much?

To give the appearance of ground cover I pushed small wood shavings into it before the Terrain Putty cured. These wood shavings are sold for scenery effect and can be found in many craft stores. I’d tell you where and what, but I’m not pushing any of their products until they push mine. You can also use wood chips.

After allowing the Terrain Putty to cure, we brush away the loose wood shavings. Finally, the cache hide is sprayed with a brown paint to simulate the ground cover. I selected this reddish shade to blend in with the ground where the cache will be placed. You can use other colors to match the brush where you live. Remember: it should be a color which will blend into the background all year round.

Here is the Evil Cache with the container it will cover. If done correctly, this container will fit snug into the cache and be very hard to find. All you need to do is place the cache.

I’ll be releasing four caches in the days to come. Some of them haven’t been shown in these tutorials, but I will furnish pictures of them in their locations. I’m looking forward to the comments from other Geocachers as to how difficult they were to find.

6/14/12

Building Another Evil Cache is a post from: GeoCache Creation