[Heathkit] SB-200 cabinet

[Glen Zook]

I haven't had any problems stripping an aluminum
cabinet and then priming it with "regular" primer
before painting with acryllic paint.  What I use for
primer is the really "cheap" stuff that you get for 97
cents a spray can at WalMart.  In fact, I just got a
couple of cans yesterday.  It is

ColorPlace 20010 Gray Primer.

I have found that the ColorPlace primer works as well
as any other primer including that which costs from 3
to 5 times as much.

When you strip the cabinet you are going to need to
recrackle the finish.  I have found that most of the
wrinkle paint now available can be very "spotty" in
how it works.  Sometimes it works very well but the
next time you use the paint it is a failure.  Then
sometimes it will work on part of the cabinet yet not
work on other parts even though done at the same time.

What I use for crackle is Stone Creations by Rust
O'leum.  It takes a few minutes of practice (spray a
piece of cardboard to get the "hang" of it) but you
will soon be able to get a nice finish.  Just hold the
can about 18 inches from the surface and do very short
"bursts".  Stone Creations comes in several colors and
I have found that the gray seems to give the best
finish.  You have to spray the finish coat over this
so it really does not matter with what color you
start.

Heath used at least 5 different colors on the SB-Line
cabinets and what color came with each unit could be
any one of those colors (they also used at least 3
different shades of green for the front panels). 
Those colors range from a "yucky" green to a light
gray with just a "hint" of green.  The light gray was
the color used on most of the SB-104 units and it is,
at least in my opinion, the best looking of all 5 of
the cabinet colors.

The Sherwin-Williams formula for the light gray/green
like was used on the SB-104 is as follows:

For 1 quart Sherwin-Williams ProClassic Extra White
satin base:

BAC Colorant  OZ  32  64  128

B1- Black     -    7   1    1
L1- Blue      -    6   1    -
N1- Raw Umber -   62   -    -
Y3- Deep Gold -    -   1    1

By the way, Heath did not prime the original cabinets
before painting and the paint will definitely flake
off in many cases.  Don't even think of putting a
Heath cabinet in a dishwasher unless you are prepared
to have the paint removed under most circumstances.

Glen, K9STH


--- Dave <w8qwdave at peoplepc.com> wrote:

I am renovating an SB-200 and the cabinet has several
coats of paint on it.  I'll need to strip all the
paint off and start over, but my question is; Because
the cabinet is aluminum after stripping off all the
existing paint will I need to alodine the thing before
repainting or am I free to simply strip and then paint
without alodine?









Glen, K9STH

Website:  http://k9sth.com


       
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