[Hallicrafters] Painting a Hallicrafters S-41G

[Glen Zook]

Actually, many of the "standard" colors varied for most of the "boat anchor" cabinets.  That is, there were variations from "batch to batch".  Collins Radio was probably the best in keeping variations to a minimum.  Their St. James gray ("A" Line) and both the cabinet and trim colors on the "S" Line are very constant in the actual color.

Heath was absolutely the worst in colors.  There are 5 different colors (6 if you include the wattmeters) of the cabinets in the "SB" Line, and 3 different colors (4 if you include the wattmeters) of the front panels of the "SB" Line.  It was possible to order, at the same time, a complete station consisting of an SB-301, SB-401, SB-200, SB-620, SB-600, and HM-102 and getting all 6 cabinet colors and all 4 panel colors!

Another thing is that due to different environmental conditions, the paint fades at different rates.  For example, a cabinet exposed to sunlight over the years will be a different shade than a cabinet that sits in a dark room.  The best place to find out the actual original color of the unit is to find a location where the color has not been exposed to the "elements".  Often this is between the inside of the cabinet where it is in contact with the chassis.  This is pretty much the original color and can be quite different from what is on the outside of the cabinet.

A location where the paint is pretty much original is the spot that I have matched.  The result is that when the unit is repainted it is the original color and not the faded color that the cabinet appears 40, 50, 60, or more, years later.  When restoring a unit the idea is to get as close to the original ("new") as possible and not the faded color which appears at the present time.

Glen, K9STH

Website:  http://k9sth.com


--- On Tue, 6/14/11, Roger (K8RI) <hallicraftersgroup at rogerhalstead.com> wrote:

Hallicrafters paints varied over quite a wide range to the point it's difficult to call any a "standard color".  I had the local shop to mix  them up and use them in a regular spray gun.  It wastes a bit of paint  with over spray, but it's what I'm used to and does a very good job. > I've never tried a thicker paint in an HVLP system. I'd have to learn  how to paint all over again.