Painting Recomendations Wanted

I am refurbishing the Corbetts XL 7" motorized shaper I have just obtained. See picture below. It is now stripped to all component parts and existing paint is being removed as I write using Nitromors.

What are peoples recommendations for painting. I am likely to handpaint unless advised otherwise. I was think of using Hammerite smooth but have struggled a bit in the past to get a good smooth finish. Would I be better with some form of enamel or Urethane type finish paint. Having visited local Wickes store they have Hammerite but also their own similar type of paint but theirs is water based as opposed to the Hammerite being spirit based. Any thoughts anyone?

What type of Primer should I use.  Would red lead based metal primer be suitable.  I want to paint all the inside of the castings as well as external surfaces.

Does anyone know what colour this machine was originally. It looks as though it was possibly a Green colour.

Thanks in advance,

Colin

Edited By Colin Heseltine on 27/02/2014 13:16:23

Hi Colin,

When I repainted my Boxford shaper and Denham lathe I used Tractol enamel and their industrial etching primer which seems to have worked well. You can use the Tractol enamel without a primer but I decided to use one anyway. The fumes from the etching primer are pretty noxious so you need plenty of ventilation and probably a face mask when you are using it.

John

Edited By John Baguley on 27/02/2014 15:06:22

Edited By John Baguley on 27/02/2014 15:07:32

I would just use a standard red-oxide primer on bare metal. Hammerite type paints are usually better if warmed slightly first. I've put can in warm water for 10 mins. If inside of sump etc. then use oil-proof paint.

I've used both ordinary enamel paints and Hammerite on my machinery in the past Colin.

I didn't pre-prime with the Hammerite and frankly I didn't really prepare the surface well enough either, so found it tended to chip easily. I did prime before the enamel coats though and this has lasted well (thus far) on the smaller tools I've used it on.

My learning has been to do as good a job of prepping the surfaces as possible (I take it right down to bare metal where possible using Nitromors) and then priming it with a good metal primer. I also take time to mask everything up. These days I generally use 'Engine' enamel from these people below (read the paint spec):

**LINK**

It's not a cheap paint but then most good paints aren't these days. It takes quite a bit of time to do a good job on a large bit of kit, so it makes sense to buy decent materials to do it with. I used to worry about original manufacturers colours etc. but these days just choose one that looks right (e.g. pleases me)

Regards,

IanT

This thread seems close to what I am seeking information on, I am nearing the completion of my traction engine and would like advice on painting it. I would like to use enamel paint, Brunswick green suits my tastes. Am I correct in thinking once i have put the paint on I can gently heat the parts to bake the paint hard?

Bri

Nitromors is pretty nasty stuff fume wise so I would use a scratch brush on an angle grinder plus a dust mask.

If a machine is painted by a pro they spray on a high build primer which will leave a nice smooth coat and mask any casting mottling etc. When I have done this in the past the priming has let it down so I'd guess some sanding and maybe a couple of coats at least might be needed,

One trick to obtain a very high gloss finish is to use Techaloid and thin it with white spirits but it will take days and days to dry out. I've also polished brush marks out with automotive cutting paste but again more than one coat is likely to be needed - I did that on a morgan type kit car once. It took 3 coats and a lot of elbow grease.

John

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Oil based paint mixed with double the amount of varnish will dry rock hard. I did a load of capstan lathes and it lasted for four years before they were all sold.

Any more info on the paints used David - do you mean artists oil paints and solvent based varnish such as the exterior grade stuff?

John

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My experience of hand (and to a lesser extent spray) painting is that I'm often mildly disappointed when I view the finish immediately after it has dried. Coming back to it after a week or two is a different experience - the paint levels significantly in that time.

What would happen if you baked it immediately after it has dried, I don't know but I'd be afraid that it would "freeze" the finish at that point and you wouldn't get the benefit of the levelling. So I wouldn't do it, at least not immediately.

Then again, I'm definitely not an expert on painting.

The problem nowadays is finding suitable paints,a lot of manufacturers have disappeared or bought out,I mainly restore stationary engines and have also built some Allen foundry hot air engines, 40 years ago Woolworths wet look gloss was superb paint lasting up to 30 years on engines, in more recent times Japlac enamel was very very good but no longer available,I recently tried an widely advertised coach paint with a good range of colours to suit the vintage market buts its awful stuff to use and the finish is poor particularly on sheet metal,despite using expensive brushes. There is also the problem of the increasing change to water based paint,I have never tried it on metal surfaces,has anyone on this site used water based paint on cast iron which has been primed with a couple of coats of oil based red oxide ? . Has any one tried the B and Q Valspar ,an old name re introduced ? I never liked Hammerite. Blackfriars red oxide is very good ,Screwfix red oxide is very poor,

They used to use quite a lot of filler on old machines and the paint used was not a high gloss finish either. You can buy stuff to make paint less shiny but I'd contact a specialist paint supplier for advice. A good primer filler should make prep easier as well.

I've not used this but have heard reports that it's pretty good for machine painting. They do a number of colours, matt or gloss. Also spray cans. The reports were based on using a brush but I have no idea if it was diluted or used as it comes.

**LINK**

Techaloid is still available and as far as I know remains unchanged. It's a synthetic coach paint. That does benefit from thinning when brushed on - as I mentioned. The correct thinners might dry more quickly.

David's post interested me as International Yacht Varnish is available and seem to brush well.

John

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I've not tried it on metal but I wanted a durable smart finish for outdoor use recently and used a can of modern gloss applied with a gloss roller rather than brush (2 coats over primer) and then followed with three coats of yacht varnish. It's a pain waiting for each layer to be fully dry and hard but the end result means that any ingrained dirt or scuffs just mean sanding off the top varnish layer(s) and refinishing....and the UV protectants should keep the gloss colour bright for longer?