[Hallicrafters] Paint formulas

[SX-25]

>One thing that I do recommend is getting the paint mixed at a "real" paint store 


     I disagree.
     My experience has been that trusting "real paint stores" to color match with their spectrometry toys is rarely successful. The last time I did this I spent $25 for a quart of so-called "custom paint" that looked terrible. Still trusting the system I went to a different "real paint store" where I dropped  $22 for a quart of a different color for a different rig. Similarly it was a waste of time and I ended up using both quarts to paint a doghouse. 

     My advice is to buy a quart of something close in color. Also buy a pint of white, black, blue or red...whatever the color highlights seem to indicate. Darken with black. Lighten with white. Change hue with blue or red. Take an old butter container, plop in a little of the base color, then add in a few drops of whatever shade you are working toward with a Popsicle stick. (Obviously use one Popsicle stick for EACH different color and don't dip one from container to container...sigh. Try a test sample somewhere and let dry. While it dries, place your covered butter container in a sealed plastic bag to keep it from drying out (in case the shade ends up being perfect and you wish to go ahead and use what you've mixed. Yes, it is a tedious and time consuming process. It took me every night for a two weeks to hit the shade right on for a match on a Hallicrafters SX-25. But it ended up perfect. Once done, overspray the whole cabinet with matte, semi-gloss or gloss acrylic. The end result will be beautiful. I can't stress enough...patience...and testing the effect of everything you do, including the overspray of the acrylic. If it is at all discernable once dry you haven't hit on the formula yet.

     Also bear in mind that the shade MAY NOT BE CONSISTENT ON THE ENTIRE CABINET. Aging, sun bleach, nicotine etc does not envelope all areas equally and your color may need to be spot applied. This is why it took me two weeks on the SX-25; it took me a week to realize how spotty the coloration becomes.  Also, I have found the best way to apply the color is by daubing it on with a foam brush, then feathering lightly toward areas of different color or where you have left the original silk-screening. Obviously if you have an airbrush it is easier but not everyone owns an airbrush. 

     I've used this technique on two SX-25s, a Johnson Viking Valiant and a National NC-303 and the results have been most satisfying.
     
     Save your bucks at the paint store. They might do OK matching house paint but for smaller things like radios my experience has been otherwise. Good luck.

     WA9VLK