[GreenKeys] TTY Paint

[Roy Morgan]

At 01:23 PM 3/22/2005, Jack wrote:
>Has anyone been able to find, or have made, the
>"Bell green" paint used on Model 15's through 28"s?
>Looking for something real close to the original...

Jack and others,
These posts are from my collection of back posts.. a search of the archive 
may turn up more:
List-Archive: <http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/greenkeys/>


>To: "Jack" <wa2hwj at worldnet.att.net>, "Don Mehl" <dmehl at kc.rr.com>,
>    <greenkeys at mailman.qth.net>
>From: Don Robert House <drhouse at abac.com>
>Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] Paint
>Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 11:30:09 -0700
>
>Jack, et al:
>
>You have to order it special but "Spruce Green" by Rustoleum is almost 
>identical.  Rustoleum requires a lot af shaking before it is used.  --- 
>advice from Professor Hutchison...
>
>Don

>From: jhaynes at alumni.uark.edu
>X-X-Sender: haynes at Traveler
>To: greenkeys at mailman.qth.net
>Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 22:31:31 -0500 (CDT)
>
>When you say "original Teletype black" you probably mean black wrinkle.
>There was an earlier glossy black finish from the Model 12 days when
>typewriters and adding machines and other office equipment was painted
>glossy black.
>
>I've heard you can get black wrinkle in spray cans at Harley-Davidson
>shops, but the price is awfully high.  Maybe some automotive places have
>it.  If the original paint is not peeling and is not too scuffed up you
>can just spray with semi-gloss black paint as someone has suggested.
>
>For the gray-green, I've found Rust Oleum spruce green at Wal-Mart.  But
>it looks too green to me.  I took a clean sample of gray-green painted
>metal to a local paint shop and they computer matched it in a semi-gloss
>oil enamel.  They suggested I put it on with a sponge roller, which I did
>and to me it looks fine.  That is painting over an existing wrinkle finish
>that is dirty and faded and a bit scuffed.
>
>Many years ago I went to a Sherwin-Williams dealer in industrial paints
>and they had a color sample book and I picked one by eye that looked
>pretty close to what I thought a Teletype finish should be.  I have the
>formula somewhere but can't find it right now.  It was a gallon of
>Kem-Lustrall green with some gray added and also some "multi-purpose
>flatting base"  This flatting base is what you put in to adjust the
>glossiness.
>
>This paint was supposed to be smooth and sprayed on.  I never tried
>applying with a brush or roller.  I got the cheapest spray paint outfit
>that Sears had, which uses a diaphragm compressor.  Spraying with this the
>paint came out in globs and made a nice texture without even trying.
>However it is far less durable than the real textured vinyls that replaced
>the wrinkle finishes at Teletype.
>
>I suppose if I went to a Sherwin-Williams dealer today they wouldn't
>bother with the color samples and would just computer match to a sample
>I would bring in.

>To: greenkeys at mailman.qth.net
>From: Steve Schlink <schlink at mindspring.com>
>Subject: [GreenKeys] Re: More on  Painting
>Date: Tue, 02 Jul 2002 11:57:57 -0400
>
>Just FYI, the flatting additive is very finely ground silica sand.
>
>For toughness, Sherwin-Williams makes a catalyzed (two part) polyurethane 
>called Polane that is about as tough as you can get. That is what Western 
>Electric used to paint plastic telephone handsets and cases with.
>
>Crinkling involves a solvent mix that allows the paint to form a film, 
>then another solvent to soften it, much like paint remover does. I'm not 
>sure what the second solvent is, although that should be easy to 
>determine. I suspect that you could add the correct proportions and get 
>the desire effect using a conventional spray gun, although i have never 
>had the need to pursue it.
>
>Regarding spray painting, If you were getting globs, then the paint wasn't 
>being atomized.  This is caused by the paint being too thick for the 
>needle & air cap combination or not enough atomization pressure.
>
>There are two types of spray guns now:
>
>1. The older type guns with the cup on the bottom;
>
>         These are either suction or pressure feed. Most inexpensive guns 
> are suction, which requires that the paint be thinned (reduced) 
> substantially. Pressure feed guns are capable of 'spraying' glue, so 
> viscosity isn't an issue.
>
>2. The newer guns are HVLP (high volume low pressure) types that were 
>developed to reduce pollution. The are the ones with the material cup on 
>the top, and feed via gravity.
>
>Steve

>From: jhaynes at alumni.uark.edu
>To: greenkeys at mailman.qth.net
>Subject: [GreenKeys] Paint formula
>Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 14:11:46 -0500 (CDT)
>
>Keeping in mind that this is about 30 years old...
>
>1 gal. Kem Lustral (Sherwin Williams)   dark gray + 4 oz. green
>Mix 3:1 with multipurpose flatting base
>Mix 5:1 with VM&P naphtha for spraying
>
>(and as noted earlier, if you use a cheap diaphram-type sprayer this will
>come out in globs that make a nice textured finish.  So if you want a
>smooth finish you have to thin it more or use a better spray outfit.)

>From: "tony j. podrasky" <tonyp at m2404txp.nsr.hp.com>
>To: greenkeys at mailman.qth.net
>Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] Paint formula
>Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 12:57:33 -0700
>
>Back in the early 70's I used to buy spray cans of Krylon paint in
>wrinkle-finish. The Forest Green was a perfect match for the "real
>thing".
>
>regards,
>tonyp / W6ESE | ex-WA2EAA
>NNNN

>From: "Jack" <wa2hwj at worldnet.att.net>
>To: <jhaynes at alumni.uark.edu>, <greenkeys at mailman.qth.net>
>Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] Paint formula
>Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 19:14:15 -0400
>
>Up until about a month ago, I had never had my hands
>on a Navy gray TTY...now I have a complete collection
>of Navy gray 28 stuff. I have found that the Rustoleum
>"Ligh Machine Gray" is an identical match (just a little
>more glossy). And, the Rustoleum "Dark Machine Gray"
>seems to match another 28 cabinet I recently acquired.
>
>Thanks to Jim, I am going to find out if I can get
>some "gray/green" paint mixed up. When I get around to it,
>I will report results.
>
>Jack WA2HWJ


>>In a message dated 11/19/2003 8:15:50 PM Central Standard Time,
>>hsvham at yahoo.com writes:
>> > Does anyone know of a method for achieving a
>> > wrinkle-paint finish to look like the OEM finish on
>> > our machines?

>From: WA5CAB at cs.com
>Message-ID: <117.2bcf9ecd.2ced89a7 at cs.com>
>Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] Green Wrinkle Paint?
>To: hsvham at yahoo.com, GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net
>Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 22:06:15 EST
>
>
>Steve,
>
>There is a company in Chicago (or a northern suburb) that would make it for
>you, but their minimum order on custom color wrinkle finish paint is 600 
>16 oz.
>spray cans (+/- 10%).  Another mil radio collector and I are in the final
>stages of having an order of WW-II Signal Corps Green Wrinkle done.  We've
>received and tested samples and will probably be placing the order in the 
>next week
>or two.  Since neither of us needs 300 cans right now and the stuff has a
>rated shelf life of only two years, we will shortly (as soon as we know 
>that the
>deal has not fallen through!) be offering it to other green radio
>collector/restorers, keeping back what we think we might use in a couple 
>of years.
>
>I've seen WU green wrinkle but don't have a clear mental picture of how close
>it was to the narrow range of colors used by the Signal Corps.  If it's close
>or close enough, then great.  If not, then we will be more than happy to pass
>on to anyone from the Greenkeys list who can broker a deal for a different
>color the necessary contact info, etc.  To give a little more info, they will
>also make and sell it in gallons (and probably quarts) but the formulation 
>for
>use in disposable spray cans is different from that needed for use in spray
>guns.  So you can't mix and match.  Secondly, it appears that each 16 
>ounce spray
>can will contain actually 12 ounces of paint.  So a little calculation yields
>about 10.66 spray cans to the gallon.  Or about 56 gallons minimum order.
>They may have told my cohort in crime the actual figure but as we started off
>interested only in spray cans, if they did I forgot it.  But that should give
>some idea of the bulk minimum order volume.
>
>If WU green isn't close enough and there isn't enough interest to pay for an
>order, then your best bet is to find someone who will do flat paint in the
>correct color (I can supply a suggestion there as well), paint the parts 
>in any
>wrinkle color, and then after the wrinkle has thoroughly cured (usually two
>weeks minimum) overspray in the correct color.  I've done this for years 
>for the
>Signal Corps stuff and the results look pretty good, except that most of the
>black and gray wrinkle available today tend to produce a coarser wrinkle, and
>of course the color coat fills it in to some extent.


>From: "Richard M. MC Clung" <wa6knw at sbcglobal.net>
>Subject: [GreenKeys] Green Wrinkle Paint?
>To: greenkeys at mailman.qth.net
>Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 07:25:36 -0800 (PST)
>
>
>Cage: 91794
>Name: ILLINOIS BRONZE PAINT COMPANY
>Address: 300 EAST MAIN STREET
>City: LAKE ZURICH IL 60047-2580
>Phone: 800-228-5635
>  - It's a paint company that makes wrinkle paint. Spray and brush
>apllications.
>RICH  WA6KNW

>Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 17:54:14 -0500 (CDT)
>From: jhhaynes at earthlink.net
>Subject: [GreenKeys] Wrinkle paint
>
>Just saw this on rec.antiques.radio+phono
>
>From: "Linda Parker" <lindaparker3 at comcast.net>
>A dark brown wrinkle paint is available from most machine shop supply
>houses.  It is Kennedy paint for refinnishing or touch-up of their tool
>boxes
>
>Does anybody have such a place in their neighborhood?  One of the standard
>Teletype colors was dark brown wrinkle.
>--
>
>jhhaynes at earthlink dot net



- Roy Morgan, K1LKY since 1959 - Keep 'em Glowing!
7130 Panorama Drive, Derwood MD 20855
Home: 301-330-8828 Cell 301-928-7794
Work: Voice: 301-975-3254,  Fax: 301-948-6213
roy.morgan at nist.gov --