[Hallicrafters] Paint formulas

Sat Mar 6 18:02:03 EST 2010

Glen Zook wrote:

Thanks for all the work.
> 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,
I pick a fairly well protected area and then go over it with rubbing 
compound.  This normally removes the top layer, or just enough paint to 
see the original. Even this is tricky though as so much depends on the 
ambient light.

An example as to light and paint.  We're getting ready to completely 
redo my den/ham shack in the house. This is from carpet to paint and 
even adding a patch panel where the coax comes in.  We've even installed 
all new windows through the house. I discovered the two in the shop need 
replacing as well when I washed them...not that they needed it. It had 
only been 6 years since they were installed.  But back to the paint.  
You can now get paint samples in small jars, or enough to paint about 
one square yard. We have two samples plus the carpet sample.  Depending 
on what room, or which light (time of day) the two paint samples 
completely change character. In the afternoon on the front porch which 
has many windows (East side of house) the two samples looked identical 
to me. At mid morning they were quite different. Our lighting varies 
from CFLs, to regular fluorescent, cool fluorescent, warm fluorescent, 
to full spectrum. (Look at the color temp on fluorescents.) No longer do 
all fluorescents have that green cast that our eyes don't even notice.

A camera can be a good way to check colors, but that too comes with many 
pitfalls and adjustments.  I do a lot of photography work so my monitors 
are all adjusted, or calibrated to a standard. 

The typical human eye is not very good, or rather is very poor at color 
matching except under controlled conditions as it only takes a couple of 
minutes and your brain will "recalibrate" and change the color you see 
into what you think you should be seeing.

Wearing the "pink" tinted shooting glasses for contrast gives some 
strange colors when there are scattered clouds on a bright day.  After 
wearing the glasses for half an hour you take them off to find the 
clouds are now "Green" and a rather brilliant one at that.
>  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.
>   
Agreed and *usually* some where under that faded paint is the original.  
The paint doesn't always fade either. It may darken or even change hue.  
Some years back I purchased an old amp.  I figured I had a real job 
ahead of me as that thing looked bad.  The first step was to get out the 
auto polish.  Low and behold, those weren't scratches, they were scuff 
or rub marks that came off easily.  When I finished the amp looked like 
new.  It's usually a good idea to perform the operation with the cabinet 
off the equipment. Also not all equipment reacts favorably to the 
polish, or more aggressive rubbing compounds. It or they can make one 
piece look like new while completely ruining another.
> 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.
>
>   
They also have a few that are a beige, tan, or light brown.
> 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.
>   
Again, I agree.  There is a commercial pint store locally and I can get 
almost any mix I want and typically at about half the price of the big 
box stores.

Then there is the wet Vs dry appearance of the paint and the texture of 
the paint Vs the application technique.  I much prefer the regular paint 
gun to the spray cans, maybe because I don't have the skill or steady 
hands for the smaller paint pattern.  I hang the cabinets in such a 
manner that I can pint the entire cabinet without having to stop. That 
way there are no overlapping marks.

On added note about 2 part acrylics. They are a paint that does not take 
well to rubbing compound or polishes with any abrasive cleaners in 
them.  If it's a shiny finish they wax well, but  they have a glass like 
surface and rubbing compound just turns it dull.

73

Roger (K8RI) www.rogerhalstead.com
> 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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