[Milsurplus] To paint or not to paint ?

[Bill Cromwell]

On 08/28/2013 12:37 PM, Mike Durff wrote:
> Thanks to this list, I am now the owner of an RBA & 2 RBC's with an RBB in the works. The RBA & RBC's are Navy gray. The RBB is black wrinkle. In most of the old photos I have found on the internet these were originally black. I like black. So, I will present this loaded question to the list; do I repaint the gray ones black wrinkle ? Or, does the fact that they may have gone thru depot maintenance and re-painted with a more modern Navy gray change the provenance forever ? I would hate to have all 3 on my desk with one original black one in the middle... can you guess which way I'm leaning? Of course, you must assume that I would do a decent paint job, and I have already procured the "proper" Seymour black wrinkle.
> Thanks to all in advance, Mike
>
Hi,

I have a 'set' of command receivers - six in all. It includes one each 
for 80 and 40 meters and the rest are the low frequency navigation 
receivers. Two of them are bare aluminum and the rest are black wrinkle. 
I expect to run four of them as a "set" and my 'bandswitch" will select 
an entire radio. I am planning to have all of them black and I have been 
playing with paint before I try to paint a whole radio. I have 
successfully touched up the ones that are already black but that's not 
the same.

The set will cover 600 through 40 meters with a Q5er style converter for 
the 160 meter receiver. An amateur allocation at 600 meters is expected. 
There should be no wailing or gnashing of teeth since my receivers were 
already rejected by the 'museum piece' collectors and I have made 
changes in the reverse direction toward original condition. Putting 
black paint on a bare radio will be the most radical mod I am making. 
New owners will have the option of removing the paint. Those are your 
radios and you want them all black so my choice would be for you to 
paint the gray ones black.

73,

Bill  KU8H