[ARC5] Touch Up Paint

[Robert Eleazer]

Here is a trick I came up with that may apply to touch up for wrinkle paint.

I have a BC-348 that obviously spent a lot of time outside in the sun.  In Arizona.  And without the removable cover over the frequency dial.

The dial was badly faded and I decided that repainting it would be hopeless.  But then I was cleaning it off with rubbing alcohol and noted that for one brief moment, until the alcohol dried, it looked great.

I realized then that the paint was not faded, but rather the top layer of paint had become worn and abraded and that caused light to reflect from it in all directions.  So I cleaned the dial with some Simple Green or Fantastic or something strong like that, wiped it down with alcohol, rubbed it down again to make sure it was dry, and then put a light mist coat of Testor's Model Airplane clear lacquer paint.  And the dial looked almost perfect after that.

By the way, this also works with those faded yellowed automobile headlight plastic lens.  The problem is that the front surface is rough.  Perform the same process and you'll fix that lens for a cost of next to nothing.

Wayne
WB5WSV