[ARC5] Black Wrinkle Touchup... again

[David Stinson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Brunner" <brunneraa1p at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] Black Wrinkle Touchup... again

> If you're not too fussy, satin-black may be good enough for small areas.
> It won't pass a close examination, but for a casual view it won't be
> noticeable.

Good advice.  Anyone who is going to give you thunder over 
a few 1/4 inch imperfections you should ignore.  Believe me-
in a display, 99 out of a hundred won't even see it.
On the other hand, if it's for your personal satisfaction,
then any effort would, of course, be worth it.  

The following is my personal experiance, 
and I won't wag my finger at anyone else's.
We all find what works for us:

I've tried several methods.
Years ago, as Mike said, I let a thick daub of paint
get real "tacky", then made a "stamp" by pressing Silly Putty 
on a good spot.  
It worked the first couple of times and 
I ran and told everyone- silly me.
 I haven't had as good luck with it since, 
but Mike is better skilled then I in such things.
Maybe they changed the oils in Silly Putty now that it's 
made in China or maybe I was just lucky the first time,
or maybe I'm just a klutz ;-)
I've tried daubing-on three coats and heating them with 
a heat gun.  It came out "right" about 30% of the time.
The rest of the time, it made a wrinkle that didn't match
and a sheen that didn't match and thus, 
a bigger flaw than the original one.

Unless you have a time machine, we're never going to
see any "real" wrinkle paint that acts like the original.
I'm tired of trying to make this Chinese imitaiton stuff work.
I have sworn-off wrinkle paint.  
Period.  I mean it.
I'm done with it. 

My "fix" for finishes is still evolving, and I keep trying 
new approaches.   I've even made a ratty finish on an ATB case 
look good enough for display with a big Sharpie marker 
and a follow-up of clear satin spray.  By the way-
small dings can be touched-up with black Sharpie during a display.
It will rub off, but that's only a concern during the display.
I keep one in my pocket at those times.

Today, when I have a lot of small flaws in wrinkle paint, 
I lightly thin Rustoleum Flat Black enamel and use a dry-brush 
technique.  If the flaws are few and small, I brush only the 
flaws and the immediate area around them.  This will leave
an area that does not match the rest, but we'll address
that shortly.  If there are many small dings, or if the finish is
faded and has that "dingy" look from super-fine grain dirt
that you can't remove without damage or oxidized paint,
I dry-brush the entire surface, being careful to brush-around 
any markings, until it's all a nice,  even flat black.  
The sheen around markings won't match at this point, 
but again, we'll address that later.
You must either thin your paint or be very skilled 
with dry-brushing, else you'll fill-in the original wrinkle.
Try your "thinned" paint on a scrap panel first.
A caution on paint thinning-  a little paint thinner 
goes a long way.  Consult the local paint monger.

Once it's completely dry and set, I use a 2-inch 
paint brush and a few drops of light machine oil- like 3-n-1 oil- 
and dry-brush that over the entire surface, brushing and brushing
until the sheen is even all over.  Use indirect lighting so you can see
where the coat needs to be brushed more.  When done right,
The result is a very even, high-satin finish that looks excellent to me. 
The places you touched-up and those that were dingy, oxidized 
or had markings will all magically meld into an even finish.
I daub-away (not wipe) any excess and let it sit overnight.  
The shine tones-down over time.   After they've cured a 
few days, I'll give them a gentle buffing with clean,
old denim which will further "flatten" the sheen toward
a real satin. 
When not in use, I cover my rigs with cloth to keep dust away.

Here are photos of two dynamotors I refinished just yesterday.
They haven't been buffed yet, so are still a little "bright."
The dynos on the right are representative
of how they looked at the start.
The dynos on the left were re-finished as above:

http://home.netcom.com/~arc5/ARC5/DY8A.JPG
http://home.netcom.com/~arc5/ARC5/DY8B.JPG
http://home.netcom.com/~arc5/ARC5/DY2.JPG

Still need to clean-off the screw holders.
I have pieces that were treated this way three
years ago and they still look and work fine.

No, it's not perfect.  But as I said awhile back:
I'm done with making "Perfect" the enemy of "Good."
I know, I know... there's a dozen of you lining-up
to tell me how awful this is and how it will cause my 
rigs to suddenly collapse into corroded heaps 
or explode into glittering shards, etc. etc.
My friends- respectfully, and kindly-  
I ain't gonna move on this.
Nope.  Sorry.  I'm too blasted old to spend one more 
of my few, precious remaining minutes of  life 
fighting with the cursed gloop they call "wrinkle paint" today.
This works for me.  
People at my displays think it looks great.
And that light coat of warm machine oil 
smells sooooo good when I'm running the gear.

So there's my answer.  
Best wishes on finding one that works for you.

GL OM ES 73 DE Dave AB5S