[Hallicrafters] Paint formulas

[Glen Zook]

As far as I know, all of the manufacturers had slightly different shades of paint.  Most of this was due to "batch" problems.  That is with many things having to do with the final color can be affected by things like tolerances in the paint formulas, the humidity at the time the item was painted, exposure to the sun in the years after being painted, the amount of dust in the atmosphere, etc.

Even Collins Radio had minor differences from day to day because of "batch" problems.

Whenever I have a paint matched I try to find somewhere on the item that has not been exposed.  This will often be in locations that are next to the chassis, on the inside portion where two sections overlap, and so forth.  I have found that these locations give the best sample of what the original color actually was.  Often the original color is significantly different from what appears today.  The effects of time definitely show.

It is my opinion that when a unit is restored that the idea is to return it to what it originally appeared, not to what the unit "looks like" 40, 50, 60, or more years later.

Now the Heath SB-Line cabinets are a whole different matter.  Heath used at least 5 different colors on the cabinets and it was even possible to order a complete "set" (i.e. SB-301 receiver, SB-401 transmitter, SB-200 linear, SB-630 station control, and SB-600 speaker) and each unit would arrive with a different colored cabinet!  Also, there were at least 4 (I used to think only 3) different shades of green on the front panels of the SB-Line equipment and you could get all 4 of those colors when the units were shipped at the same time.  For quite a number of years I thought that there were only 3 different shades of green for the front panels.  However, I recently came across a 4th shade of green!  The cabinet colors range from an almost "lime" green to a gray with just a "hint" of green.  The gray with the "hint" of green is by far, at least in my opinion, the best looking of the cabinet colors.  That is the color that I had matched and is the color
 that I have repainted all of my Heath SB-Line equipment.

As for the Hallicrafters light gray:  There are definitely minor variations in the actual color.  Again, these are due primarily to "batch" variations.  Unless you actually want to obtain the exact original variation on your items (and find a place on the cabinet where the actual original color shows) and get that exact item "computer matched", going with the formula that I use will give you the right color.  Basically, it is like the original paint job, that is, various conditions are going to have a slight effect on the actual color including the actual mixing of the color, the technique used to apply the paint, the humidity when the item is painted, and so forth.

One thing that I do recommend is getting the paint mixed at a "real" paint store and not at a home improvement center (i.e. Home Depot or Lowe's).  The paint store is going to have a much better selection of the paint "base" and they are also generally much more attentive to actually mixing the paint.  Also, when "computer matching" the personnel at a paint store are usually more attentive to getting the formula "right".  There are exceptions, but, it has been my experience that the paint store is generally better.

Glen, K9STH

Glen, K9STH

Website:  http://k9sth.com


--- On Fri, 3/5/10, Roger (K8RI) <Hallicraftersgroup at rogerhalstead.com> wrote:

> From: Roger (K8RI) <Hallicraftersgroup at rogerhalstead.com>
> Subject: Re: [Hallicrafters] Paint formulas
> To: "Glen Zook" <gzook at yahoo.com>
> Cc: hallicrafters at mailman.qth.net
> Date: Friday, March 5, 2010, 8:48 PM
> 
> 
> Glen Zook wrote:
> > I have redone the article on the formulas for the
> various cabinet paints for Collins, Heath, Hallicrafters,
> Johnson, and National.  The formulas are now formatted
> in a much easier to understand format.  The URL for the
> formula article is
> > 
> > http://k9sth.com/uploads/Boat_Anchor_Paints.pdf
> >   
> Is the rather wide variation in the paint shads common to
> all of the older rigs or just Hallicrafters.  I have
> SX101's, HT32's, an SX100, and a single HT-33B.  There
> seems to be about 3 different shades for each of the colors.
> OTOH that could be due to only having a small sample.
> 
> 73
> 
> Roger (K8RI)
> > Glen, K9STH
> > 
> > Website:  http://k9sth.com
> > 
> > 
> >   
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