There is a long history when it comes to military paint chemicals and colors. The Federal and Military standard is CARC, which stands for Chemical Agent Resistant Coating, better known as the camouflage paint used on United States Army and Marine Corps tactical vehicles, equipment, trailers, aircraft, or helicopters. Here’s what you need to know and the options to choose when custom building your own military camper.
CARC camouflage provides more than visual camouflage and is a critical element in efforts to increase troop survivability on the battlefield. The rights to the patented CARC material are owned by the U.S. government and certain manufacturers are licensed to produce it for military use. CARC is also regulated under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR).
CARC (Chemical Agent Resistant Coating) is a two-component polyurethane paint (defined in MIL-C-46168) used as a finishing coat on military combat equipment since 1985. CARC is designed to be easily decontaminated after exposure to liquid chemical agents, and the coating also is resistant to water, weather, hydrocarbons and acids. It has an infrared signature that makes coated equipment harder to detect. Component A is a polyester resin and Component B is an aliphatic isocyanate curing agent.
Federal and local regulations resulting from the Clean Air Act and its 1990 amendments restrict the amount of VOCs emitted during the application of surface coatings. As a response, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory Coatings Research Team developed a formulation with a lower VOC content, creating Water-Dispersible CARC (WD CARC). In addition to improved safety and emissions characteristics, WD CARC has an improved heat signature and enhanced weather resistance, flexibility, and mar resistance.
Expedition Supply does not sell or offer CARC paint on our vehicles, read here why. We do sell CARC Color replacement paint that is a perfect replica of the military colors dating back to WWII. It’s a very durableWe sell them in both a touch-up can or 1 gallons pail. For a complete list of CARC color options download the PDF.
CARC Color options and codes
COLOR | CODE |
34094 | Green CARC Substitute |
383 | Brown CARC Substitute |
686 | Tan CARC Substitute |
911 | Flat Black |
931 | Semi-gloss Black |
955 | Raven Black |
23070 | WW II Semi-gloss OD |
33070 | Early WW II Flat OD |
319 | Late WW II Flat OD |
24087 | Semi-gloss OD |
34087 | Khaki Flat OD (lusterless) |
34086 | Current Issue Flat OD (lusterless) |
24052 | Semi-gloss Marine Corp |
34052 | Flat Marine Corp |
34079 | Camo Forest Green |
30118 | Camo Field Drab |
30277 | Camo Sand |
16081 | Gloss Navy Gray |
36173 | Flat Navy Gray |
25045 | Strata Blue |
24533 | Sea Foam |
17925 | Gloss White |
30257 | Earth Yellow |
11136 | Gloss Red |
967 | Earth Red |
977 | Sand |
990 | Woodland Green |
24052 | USMC Forest Green Semi-gloss |
Federal Standard Colors
The Federal Standard color system, officially named Federal Standard 595C – Colors Used in Government Procurement, is a United States Federal Standard, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA). It is last revised in 2008. The standard is also widely referred to as FED-STD-595, FS-595, or similar names with the version letter appended. The standard is built upon a set of color shades where a unique reference number is assigned to each color. Each color in the Federal Standard 595C range is identified by a five-digit code. The colors in the standard have no official names.” Learn more at www.federalstandardcolor.com
CARC Safety
Do you have a ride, rig or trailer with CARC paint or experience with it? Comment below or contact us.