Ryme or reason to bumper markings?

[1 Patriot-of-many]

Is there any set protocol to bumper markings? I see white box with gloss black markings and regular black markings on camo.... I decided to redo mine with the white box, black markings.

 

[wsucougarx]

I've only seen tan boxes with flat black stenciling or just black/green stenciling over the regular paint. http://olive-drab.com/od_mvg_markings.php

 

[1 Patriot-of-many]

I'm seeing a lot of this type

 

[wsucougarx]

Ok, it's actually desert tan paint (looks faded) with black stenciling

 

[CARNAC]

Most common is desert sand with black lettering. I did a thread up before about how screwed up bumper numbers can become. Many, many moons ago in my previous life, I inspected a motorpool and found 3 versions of bumper number markings on the same units vehicles in the same motorpool....and they only had 14 vehicles!

Ovals are almost exclusive to the 29th ID and maybe one or two other units but the 29th is the only one I can remember off the top of my head.

 

[Carlo]

WOW did you hit the nail on the head. I have been going crazy trying to figure out the army's logic in this. In europe I see 98% desert tan with black lettering but I have seen some old M35's with white. These trucks have been setting for 10 to 15 years though. What I cant figure out is the abbreviation they use. Some units to it one way and others completly different.

 

[steelandcanvas]

Carlo, This may help you.

 

[sigo]

Other recent info here:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?107600-How-to-stencil-question

 

[Dodge man]

I'm seeing a lot of this type

That's the style that the Fla Nation Guard is currently using (black on white). Your picture is too small to read what on the vehicle but it may be another NG vehicle. I'm not sure, but I suspect that since NG vehicles are under state control (most of the time) that they follow what ever regulations their state sets and it's possible that every or at least, most, states have different requirements.

The letter in post #7 is interesting in that it basically says that all Army vehicles should be marked to meet the given standard. But only when it's being painted for other reasons and that vehicles are not to be painted just to meet the marking requirement. That means that some vehicles could be left with old markings for a long time to come!

 

[bikeman]

A note on abbreviations... it also depends on the "size" of the unit. My old unit was a Sustainment Brigade and they wanted "SUS BDE" on the Higher echelon side... I came back with the fact that if I did that on my HMMWVs it would take 3 lines or be half an inch tall. It was shortened down to "SB" and a few other things sorted out. Remember that when you are doing this, ALL vehicles, trailers, generators, pump units, water buffalos, TWPS, Fuel systems, flat racks, etc... all should have the same left and right side minus the company / PLT / admin #. so, realize that M9XX trucks have a LOT more space than a 3k generator... Just something to throw out there.

I am 100% positive that I can walk through ANY motor pool in the Army and find trucks that don't agree with each other....

 

[CARNAC]

........That means that some vehicles could be left with old markings for a long time to come!

Once time we had a change in organizational structure that changed our 2 star reporting change. 3 years later it changed again to yet a another different 2 star command. 7 years later, I was still finding bumpers marked with the correct bumper numbers.....of 7 years previous. The absolute energy and time it takes to get it all straight is disheartening. You brought this stuff up and I was hoping to forget this PTSD time in my life. OOOOHHHH the horror.

 

[Castle Bravo]

I spent a lot of time making the bumper markings on my M916 "correct" to what I thought looked good and fit well. At the next parade I went to, there was a recently painted LMTV with 1" markings with overspray all around them. Looking "correct" and looking "authentic" can be different things sometimes, it seems.

 

[Carlo]

You know this is one of the things that makes these trucks so special. Im lucky to have one truck from the 1st CAV unit and I use this on my bumper tag.

 

[emmado22]

You want "authentic" looking? Get some well used brass stencils, some elcheapo black or tan spray paint (Whatever the hardware store sells CHEAP) and hold the stencil on with 2 fingers, and spray it. Get some overspray on everything around it too. Add some drip marks too. Those of you that have been in know what Im talking about!

 

[sigo]

Mark nailed it. Like I said before the abbreviations are consistent, but that's about as far as consistency goes.

I came back from a tour in Iraq as a company commander and as part of our unit level "reset" my BN CDR wanted every company in the Brigade Troops Battalion (Signal company, Engineer company, MI company, Anti-tank company, and Brigade HHC) to get all of our bumper numbers consistent by submitting a job order to the directorate of logistics (3rd shop) to have every bumper number in the BN repainted... 18 months later we were still submitting work orders to get them done. In the meantime we did our own temporary painting within my company to get them right. They weren't exactly perfect, but at least we made them consistent.

 

[Castle Bravo]

You want "authentic" looking? Get some well used brass stencils, some elcheapo black or tan spray paint (Whatever the hardware store sells CHEAP) and hold the stencil on with 2 fingers, and spray it. Get some overspray on everything around it too. Add some drip marks too. Those of you that have been in know what Im talking about!

Yup, see my photo of the LMTV.

 

[1 Patriot-of-many]

You want "authentic" looking? Get some well used brass stencils, some elcheapo black or tan spray paint (Whatever the hardware store sells CHEAP) and hold the stencil on with 2 fingers, and spray it. Get some overspray on everything around it too. Add some drip marks too. Those of you that have been in know what Im talking about!

Well then I did a good job, I got overspray on the left side

 

[bchauvette]

Is there a good process to gently strip the layers paint off the of paint to uncover the markings? I would love to display the markings actually used on the vehicle.

 

[Dodge man]

I've never tried it but I'm told that you can take paint off by the layers by using brake fluid. YMMV!