Shopsmith Gray Touchup Paint questions

[trainguytom]

[quote="fgrule"]Is that the exact name of the paint "textured gray"? Does it hold up pretty well?

The color is: 7221 Dark Pewter in their textured enamels.

While we're on the subject of painting the machines, I'll mention some success I've had regarding paint adhesion to the aluminum parts.
As I began my journey through Shopsmith restoration land, finding mostly Greenies with much of the original paint gone, I've tried several different ways to get paint to adhere to these parts, not initially, but after dry & when bumped or scratched. I found that re-painted parts seemed to chip or scratch way too easily.

It looked as if when Shopsmith painted the parts originally, they were not primed because when I saw the green chips, they didn't appear to have primer residue on the underside, nor was there any primer on the castings. I'm also amazed at just how thin a coat of paint was on the parts. (Having been in the auto painting business for a number of years, I'm using that as a reference.)

Okay, back to my original point. I tried painting the color coat directly on the aluminum, tried regular metal primer, and tried aluminum primer. All of them gave me less than acceptable results. I then decided to try something completely different. Since aluminum gets a thin coat of oxidation as soon as exposed to air/humidity, I surmised that since that creates a problem in unshielded welding, it probably does the same for paint adhesion.

I decided to try a product I've used for treating rusted iron surfaces. It's Skyco Ospho. There are probably other phosphoric acid based rust products out there as well. It attacks the oxidation & leaves a paintable surface coating when dry. My logic was to dissolve the oxidation & leave the metal immediately coated which seals it from contact with the air & subsequent oxidation.

The results have been a vast improvement in paint durability on repaints. I usually scuff the part with a maroon Scotch-brite pad,(might not actually need that, but it's habit & can't hurt), then I paint the ospho on with a foam brush, let it dry for 24 hours and give it a coat of a generic gray primer for color uniformity, and then color coat it.

Anyway, it works for me. Just thought I'd pass it along.

[fgrule]

I think I looked at Ace Machinery Gray and it seemed to be too light. I tried an Ace Dark Smoke Gray, that was closer but still too light.

I'll have to try Tom's suggestion of 7221 Dark Pewter Textured. I tried the Machinery Gray and is is too light.

[oddie]

Another paint to consider is Rustoleum's Hammered Gray (number 7214). Google Rustoleum Hammered Gray and at their site look at the various hammered colors available. I'm using the gray to restore my Redie. I'd call it a medium gray and I'm pleased with it. I could not find it on the shelf but I found a Do-It-Best store that would order it for me in one or two can lots.

I'm not an experienced painter. I don't know the effects of paint on various metals with or without primers. And my spraying technique has not improved over the years. At best it's haphazard. In spite of all that I dived in and I will try to post pictures later.

The instructions on the hammered products say apply a medium coat or two. That medium thing is subjective. After trial and error I found that for me two or three slow passes with the spray can got a good hammered effect. Too little application gave a nice solid cover. Too much application caused muddling of the hammered effect. After making two passes and pausing for a second or two you can see the hammered effect taking place. Practice your application first or you'll end up with lots of coats on your object.

Painting on horizontal surfaces gives the best hammered result. I'd paint a box with six separate paint sessions one for each side positioned horizontally. I painted my motor pan in four sessions, belt cover in five, and the casting in four. Then I put them together and each piece is slightly different. Different metal? My casting was stripped and primed with a self etching aluminum primer (a hint from Bill Mayo). I still haven't figured it out.

I plan to do the rest of my 500 in the hammered gray. The pieces I've done so far look nice and I assume the finished product will look great.

Hammeral (? On the spelling) also makes a hammered gray they call silver gray.

[trainguytom]

Rustoleum or other brands of hammered gray make for an attractive finish. I've used them on both 10er's & Mark 5's. If you're not going for an original look, they look great. They do take a bit of practice to get an even hammered look, though. I've also gotten them in quarts & sprayed with my own gun...cheaper that way. I know the Menards in my area carries many of the hammered colors, including one that's a good match to the Greenie light metallic green, and light & dark goldie colors as well. Here's one I did.
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[billmayo]

Okay, back to my original point. I tried painting the color coat directly on the aluminum, tried regular metal primer, and tried aluminum primer. All of them gave me less than acceptable results. I then decided to try something completely different. Since aluminum gets a thin coat of oxidation as soon as exposed to air/humidity, I surmised that since that creates a problem in unshielded welding, it probably does the same for paint adhesion.

I have used dozens of the 16 oz cans of Eastwood Self Etch Primer Gray for many years for Shopsmith aluminum headstock and parts as an undercoat after cleaning parts with actate.
http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-s-self ... black.html
I use only the Rustoleum Rust Reformer spray can paint for metal surfaces for the inside of the motor pan and belt housing without any additional coating over this paint. I still bake the Rustoleum Hammered paint in a spare stove oven at 200 deg for an hour or so to harden the Hammered paint. I have not tried the metallic paint. Alway try a small sample area before doing a complete job to see if the results meets your needs and looks. I buy my paint in 12 can containers so I have a lot to spray with

[oddie]

In an earlier post I said I was using Rustoleum's Hammered Gray. Here's a closeup picture of the texture and color. It's smooth to the touch.

[ATTACH]17049[/ATTACH]

Here's a picture of the casting. I masked off the area under the belt cover so this shows the grayness of the paint in contrast to the bare aluminum. This gray is lighter than both my original 500 and my redie (which no longer exists as a color). The closeup pic is taken from the middle of this pic.

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