Info needed: correct colours for WWII Aust vehicles

[Mike K]

This is a good read . From around 1980 , it is aimed at US restorers but there are a few helpful tips for most MV restorers.

[Lang]

Colour shot Chevrolet Milne Bay July 1942

https://youtu.be/qRbVppxXs2k?t=116

[Mike K]

If anybody in Victoria is interested in buying the silicon powder. There is a industrial/pottery supplier in Dandenong South that sells 20kg bags of the fine grade silicon as well as many other materials involved with the pottery/ceramics field.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Mike

Couple times I have come across or had a can of the paint flattening compound dry out. Have had very good luck making the big lump usable again by regrinding it. Simply dropped the chunks into a food blender, close lid and hit blend. Just kept repeating until the entire quart was reduced back to fine powder. Put powder in fresh can added enamel reducer then mixed with color strain and paint.

Before someone asks no not the blender from the kitchen, an old one. They are often cheap at yard sales. Have also used the same process on old military paint that has skimmed over in the can. Not for painting vehicles but for painting non-critical things like gas cans, tables etc. Seems to work well and last.

One comment in general on painting with flattened paint, only put the fattening in the top coat, so under color layer provides a good seal.

Cheers Phil

[Tony Wheeler]

By geez you blokes are keen mixing your own paint! Sounds a bit messy to me so I'll probably leave it to the pros. I've seen Gina's Florite product on Keith's gun tractor and it looks awesome to me. Finish is dead flat, best I've ever seen. This to my mind is the key to authenticity, just as important as colour, if not more so.

[Bob Carriere]

Thanks for the excellent read.

In the late 70s there was a powder sold by paint suppliers called "Velveteen" which we mixed one to one.....but a quart of the powder was more than the paint. Based on old tales, using plain old gasoline * with no ethyl added) also made the paint duller.

From experience at the Barn nothing beats a drill driven paint mixer for old settled paint.Just recently we had to revive old NOS Randolph paint...... the residue was in there tight enough to free up the plastic propeller on the drill. We had to poor out half the can to make room for mixing......the two gallons were eventually mixed with a larger metal plaster mixer with all the paint in an old kitchen stock pot. Eventual yield....2 1/2 gallons....with added reducer.... we then screen the paint before filling the gun cup using standard fine mesh paint shop paper filters and still a light coating of the solids will eventually plug up the screen....so filters are used only once.

I have some 6 or 7 quarts of orange yellow lead paint..... quarts are heavy and very old but still liquid...... one of these days will have to try an old kitchen blender as suggested by Phil to revive it has it is now "verbotten".

Bob C