[Milsurplus] Refinish radio face with recessed lettering?

[mikea]

On Fri, Jul 22, 2005 at 09:12:07PM -0500, K3PID wrote:
> Isn't the correct material called "white lead"? I think it is the base for
> real white paint!

Not really. 

White lead is just a pigment -- and one that isn't available in the US any
more, if I recall correctly. White lead has a number of problems, including
long-term toxicity, but even ignoring the toxicity, it isn't a good white
pigment: it yellows in the presence of sulfur, and does other color changes
in the presence of other compounds.

Nowadays the pigment in white paint generally is Titanium dioxide (TiO2),
which is a lot less inclined to color changes, a lot more permanent, and 
every bit as "real". 

But it's how the white pigment is packaged that counts, and the white 
lacquer sticks from the various vendors are good for re-doing recessed
lettering. There's also the old fill-in-and-wipe-excess technique with
paint, which is tricky. 

-- 
Mike Andrews, W5EGO
mikea at mikea.ath.cx
Tired old sysadmin