Shopsmith Forums

I want to repaint the headstock. There are a few small areas where I can see aluminum. Should I prime the entire headstock or just those areas. What kind of primer works best. What type and grit of sandpaper works best before painting.

rwilabee wrote:I want to repaint the headstock. There are a few small areas where I can see aluminum. Should I prime the entire headstock or just those areas. What kind of primer works best. What type and grit of sandpaper works best before painting.

If the areas are 'small', just paint over them. Make sure the surfaces are 'clean'(mineral spirits wipe down).

rwilabee wrote:I want to repaint the headstock. There are a few small areas where I can see aluminum. Should I prime the entire headstock or just those areas. What kind of primer works best. What type and grit of sandpaper works best before painting.

I was lucky and my SS was in fantastic shape, but I was considering buying one that may have to be restored at one time. It appears that the primer of choice here among guys who have done some fantastic restorations is to use a self etching primer. If I remember correctly, many of the guys simply use something like 'citrus strip' to remove the paint and then clean throughly and then spray with a self etching primer. The hammered paints seems to be a favorite here,and I agree, I think this finish looks great on the SS.

I an no painter I do OK but that's it, here is my lesson by error to share.
The headstock casting is not all that smooth if your not painting a hammered finish these imperfections will show later.
I noticed this when painting the topcoat clear gloss finish then it jumped out. I guess I should have used some auto body
product and sanded it first there were a few places I'm not happy with. If I had more time I would strip it and start over.
You can see what I mean above the on/off switch hole.

JPG40504 wrote:If the areas are 'small', just paint over them. Make sure the surfaces are 'clean'(mineral spirits wipe down).

I painted the headstock and just painted over the few smalls areas where I could see the aluminum like you mentioned. It came out just like new. It came out so good I painted all the painted parts. The cans of paint from Shopsmith seem to go a long way.

Rich

rwilabee wrote:I painted the headstock and just painted over the few smalls areas where I could see the aluminum like you mentioned.

I striped all the paint down to bare aluminum.
Then ...primer... paint... clear coat...

I recently repainted the table legs on a 1993 Shopsmith. They were much lighter than the rest of the machine. Paint fades over time, it doesn't get lighter. This was a major mismatch. I could have spent $10 less and bought something elsewhere. So, unless you want to paint the entire headstock, don't count on Shopsmith to match the paint.