I'm trying to restore a 1950 6v Motorola 600 under-dash AM radio that I've had for a while. The original color (which was apparent under the emblem once removed) is a hammered light bluish-green. I know finding the CORRECT 62 year old paint would be about impossible. I can custom mix my own paint to a close approximate shade from enamel paint I have out in the workshop. My question is, is there anything I can add, or do, to the paint to get the correct hammered look? The only suggestion I've come across so far has been to mist it with WD-40 from a spray bottle while it's still wet. If you've done this, please let me know whether or not it works before I mess up a "one-shot only" batch of paint. Or, if you have any other suggestions, I'd appreciate those as well. (Pic 1 is more for the "texture" or effect, pic 2 is a better representation of the color. Kind of a seafoam green I guess...)
Do a search here on the HAMB for hammertone. I listed two silicone additives and that can be used with enamel paint to create the hammer effect. Check with the suppliers listed. Otherwise you can use Hammerite paint.
I have sprayed hammerton paint before back in the 70's it is basicly a high metallic paint that was sprayed without any reducer after you sprayed it the metallic would seperate into the hammerton look. I dont know if you can do it with just regular paint or if it was special. Hope this helps RED
kscarguy, I just found the info you posted. Thanks! I'll have to make some calls tomorrow. Hammertone additive pn 173003-001 Quaker Chemical One Quaker Park 901 E. Hector Street Conshohocken, PA 19428-2380 +1-610-832-4000 ADDITOL® VXL 5905 is another additive. Cytec Industries Inc. 5 Garret Mountain Plaza Woodland Park, New Jersey 07424 973-357-3100 custinfo@cytec.com
Cool. Thanks, but I didn't see anything like the color I'm looking for. Was worth a shot though, and I appreciate it!
This subject was just brought up the other day. Both Rustolium and Krylon make it in spray cans. Quite a few colors available. Check hardware store. I have used Rustolium on many projects like this radio. Works great.
That's the problem... Not in this color. I've got a bunch of cans of hammered spray paint out in the workshop, just about every color I've ever come across. But for this, I'm having to mix my own color. Trying to keep it as original as possible. Just wondering how to make it hammertone.
Why don't you buy a quart of hammertone, close in color, and then tint it match. I bought quite a bit of hammertone over the years, but never found mixing instructions. Always came in factory packs.
I use this.. http://oem.sherwin-williams.com/mx/...ingCategory=categories/metalplastic/finishes/ But I can not find their color chart....They did have several colors.......The paint can stuff turns very flat in the sun over time............I painted my trailer tongue w/ it and it did not hold up...I sprayed my Model A Pickup frame w/ the above Sherwin Williams out of a gun....It has held up great............Good luck..Littleman
Iam going to try to hammer & then spray a light coat over it .(to match color) good luck & keep us posted B.B.
I would buy Rustoleum hammertone silver and add Rustoleum blue until you get the shade you want. It needs to be thinned with acetone to spray though.
I'm looking for the same color. I need to restore on of these. http://vintageairstream.com/panel-ray-heaters/
I thought about that, but in addition to the texture of hammertone paint, you also get a darker ring of color around each pock. Spraying hammertone and then misting it with the correct color would give me the texture, but not the pigment effect. I might shoot a little bit of enamel (just some excess color I have out in the workshop) on... something... and then trying the WD-40 thing I read about. I think silver would show the effect of the WD-40 better than an actual color because you would see a concentration of metalflake around the perimeter of each pock if it works.
Now THAT is wicked cool. I love these vintage components. Things we take for granted because we've always had them, but at one time they were in their infancy, not too complex, and did the job that a "first-run" product was designed to do. I don't even know if this radio is going to work, but I figure it'll look cool mounted under my dash. God knows I can't find much info on it online, let alone a color picture of an original. This is the ONLY pic I've been able to find. It's actually from the cover of a service manual on eBay right now.
It took a bit of research but Dow Chemical makes an additive too. Dow Corning Additive 61 Here is the US phone number: 1-800-258-2436 It looks like it is basically silicone thinned with xylene. From what I've read, the best way to use any of these additives is to spray several coats of your metallic color (enamel), then add in the additive for the last coat. The silicone then changes the surface tension and the metallics clump and create the hammer effect. Kind of like putting Dawn soap in a sink with oily water. The amount of silicone is actually very low. I've also been trying to find out if Silicon Oil thinned with xylene will work the same. So far I have not found that information.
By the way, hammertone from back in the day, was smooth, but with the hammer effect. When I used the rustoleum hammertone spray paint in a rattle can, it had a lot of orange peel.
Yeah, y'know, when you said that I reached down and picked up the front cover and ran my finger over it with my eyes closed (sometimes your eyes can cause you to "feel" shit that ain't there based on how it appears to your brain), and you're absolutely correct. It is as smooth as any other enamel paint. Thanks for the research. I appreciate all the help. I really want to do this right. I'm not an overly anal person when it comes to stuff like this, but I'm starting to think this little AM tube radio might be a rare little diamond in the rough, and if done right it could get a lot of attention. It doesn't have to be perfect, but if I'm going to display it in the '53 I'm working so hard on, I want it to be at least somewhat period correct, and it seems like everything accessory-wise had a hammered paint job on it in the early 50s. If the radio doesn't work when I hook it up, I may just remove the insides and mount a speaker in the housing, or maybe an iPod dock, or a place to stash a flask of hard liquor for those long roadside breakdowns...
OK, little update here. I decided to shoot a piece of clean steel I had laying around, then mist it with WD-40. I sprayed a base coat and let it tack up, then shot a medium-heavy coat and hit it with the WD-40 almost immediately. Oddly enough, it does somewhat work! It isn't exactly like the old finish, but it does in fact give it a "hammered" effect. I used silver because I figured it would show the best. I didn't get a chance to make any phone calls today in order to obtain the CORRECT additive, so I guess it'll have to wait until Monday. I'm going to toy around with some different "mistings" this weekend in order to see if I can accidentally stumble upon something that works better than WD-40. Thought about; mineral spirits, acetone, diluted Dawn, gasoline, brake fluid, and mold release conditioner (used in poly resin casting). I THINK the last one actually has a silicone additive that allows the cured poly resin to release from the mold it's poured into, so that may end up being my best bet. The biggest issue with WD-40 that I've found is consistency. because the droplets that come out are of all different sizes, you end up with big pocks, small pocks, and everything in between. The trick is going to be finding a means of dispersion that will give me a uniform coverage.
I'd use this stuff. I'm a huge fan of Hammerite, not to be confused with that rustoleum crap. Hammerite contains glass particles, it looks great and really works great to seal right over rust. I've used it under cars to seal rust, cheaper than por 15, and does a really nice job. http://www.tcpglobal.com/autobodydepot/hamrustcap.aspx
Again, looking for the original finish. I agree with you that it looks great, and is probably better than Rust-oleum, but I'm trying to duplicate the original finish of the radio. Thanks!
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