what colour is your machine?

[grunty]

My Student is now clean but it really needs a coat of paint to make it smart.

Is it ok to go wild with the colour?
It's just that I have a gallon of golden yellow in stock which will do the job.

Or should i get the wallet out and get some more of a standard machine colour ???

depending of the condition of the mill i end up with, that may go the same colour

Alan

 

[Russel]

I like the original color of your lathe, but I'm not the one that is going to use it. When it comes to color, I would say that you have to decide that.

If it were me, I would try to use something on hand as long as it was good paint for the machine. But I would also take into account how much the machine means to me.

Russ and his 2 cents...

edit: I almost forgot your thread title...my little Sherline mill and lathe are the original black color. They haven't been used enough to require new paint.

 

[Tin Falcon]

If you plan on keeping the machine a long time your choice . If you are worried about turning a potential buyer off at some point go with standard or factory color.
. You could just paint a disgusting color and then the grand kids will be forced to keep it.
Tin

 

[Babba]

You have time to . . . paint it ?

 

[vlmarshall]

My wife suggests purple. ;D

 

[Metal Butcher]

My wife suggests purple. ;D

Don't forget to add the pink poka-dots!

Cut a 1" hole in a 4" x 4" piece of cardboard. Use this as a template and spray the dots in a random pattern. The 'random' part is most important! A nice deviation from the norm would be to use 3/4", !", 1-1/2" randomly placed dots to give your work a bit of an 'artistic' flair. ;D

-MB

 

[Tin Falcon]

How about white with various sized black spots then a pink bucket under the chip pan of the lathe . You know the once poular country cow Holstein pattern
Tin

 

[dsquire]

Alan

Aren't you glad now that you asked? *discussion*

Cheers *beer*

Don

 

[bentprop]

Yellow would show dirt and oil stains fairly quickly,methinks.But since it won't cost anything,if you can live with it,get the brushes out.
My lathe is a sort of dirty green,at least where there is still paint on it :big:
My mill-drill has a mid-blue base,with the head white.I quite like the blue for a machine,but not too sure about the white bit.I had to get the mill cabinet base extended by a foot,and this extension is a turquoise/blueish colour,which was a leftover from painting my VW Kombi in the 80's.
My pillar drill is a weird sort of tan,with gunmetal base.
My saw is a slightly darker shade of blue.
My 3 grinders are blue,silver and a sort of gunmetal ,but they are in the garage part,so they don't clash with the other machines ;D
Life would be a bit boring if all your machines were the same colour.Have at it!

 

[Tin Falcon]

Hey on a more sane serious note . You said students I assume a Colchester student . An old classic lathe deserves an old classic color. IIRC the old south bends used japanning.
IMHO if you wanted to paint a import machine a fun color that would be fine or fun but you want folks to look at your lathe and say " What a great lathe! " Not EUWWW What a hideous color !!" or "What was he thinking?" Remember prep eration is esential in painting cleaning, decreasing, A tooth in any old paint and prime. Primer sticks to metal, paint stick to primer and protects. take your time make us proud.
Machine tools are like one of the most challenging items to paint they are usually covered in oil and there are lots of little things sticking out and many areas to keep paint away from. But i have seen some fine restorations out there. so it can be done.
Tin

 

[grunty]

Right then all points noted thank you

where is the best place for paint in lathe colours or does anyone know the code for a colchester student of 1967 vintage ?

 

[tel]

If you can get a chip of the original colour off, or even a small part, any decent paint shop should be able to match it up for you.

 

[mu38&Bg#]

My lathe was painted a wonderful cream and maroon. It came out of a high school so I suspect these were the school colors. Underneath is the original Clausing gray. I wish I had painted it prior to reassembly in the basement.

Greg

 

[Powder keg]

I saw a video of a lathe that was painted Black. The metal and black was a nice contrast I thought.