[Milsurplus] Clear protective spray on panels?

[David Stinson]

Re: Fixing radium paint.
Roll your eyes over this at your peril;
Radium paint fixed to the panel of your TBX or TBY 
is harmless, but 
Radium dust floating around in your shack is no joke.
When I was working around the Las Alamos and 
Livermore guys, surface coating with a fixative 
like paint was the preferred treatmentfor surfaces
that could not be otherwise decontaminated.
Done properly, it's a safe and permanent solution.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Hue Miller" <kargo_cult at msn.com>

> The clear spray some have suggested to apply to seal
> in radium paint: does that spray really adhere well? 

I applied it to my TBY front panel years ago.
It has given no trouble.  I used readily available
Testor's Clear Gloss Enamel.
 
> Would you expect it to flake off at some point? 
> Does it affect the appearance of the front panel?

This is why one must use gloss enamel.  It's tempting
to use matte or satin, in order to better preserve the 
original look of the paint.  Even with good surface prep,
matte and satin are not durable coats.  With good
surface prep, and with patience to allow it to 
cure properly, gloss enamel is a very durable coating.
Don't skimp on surface prep- no paint is durable 
on a poorly prepped surface, and a flaking coating
is going to give you more problems than you started with.

And don't even think about just removing the radium 
wholesale; you'll have a pile of low-level radioactive
waste on your hands (figuratively and literally).
You can be prosecuted for throwing that in your trash
and if you try to turn it in to the local HazMat people,
they and the Feds are going to get very curious about 
what other radioactive stuff you might have around there.
You might find your entire collection roped-off
until the Feds can come, put it all in barrels and 
send to to Area 5 in Nevada to be buryed.
Then they'll send you a bill for the work.
Don't laugh- I've heard of a couple of guys 
who collected old radium-painted aircraft instruments
who had it happened to them.