R: [MV] M-38 Paint
Vittorio Argento (vargento@lcnet.it)
Wed, 17 Feb 1999 10:37:42 +0100
Hi from Italy, Maybe I've not catched the core of the problem. In this
case, excuse me in advance.
The way I intend the restoration is a very meticolous way (probably very
close to Todd Paisley point of wiew). The real question - om my opinion -
not the longlasting, the strongness of the paint but the kind of the
paint. In other words, if you want a close-to-perfect restoration (for a
WWII vehicle in "combat" conditions) the paint must fade, must crack (a
little), the tint must be a little different in the different area of the
body (the orizzontal and the vertical parts of the body fade and changes
the opacity in a different way due to the exposure to sunlight). The tint
of the various parts must be different: the rims were painted in a factory,
the tank in another. The FS colour is the same, I know, but even now in the
ultra sophisticated factories in Usa, Japan, Europe the tints are a little
different (and it depends on the wheater, the umidity, the brand). So the
same - of course - for a vehicle made over 55 years ago. The kind of paint
is really the key-problem. A syntetic paint looks (and ages) in a totally
different way than an acrylic or poliurethanic one. The fading and the
defects are part of the restoration. Even the differences in the tint are
part of the restoration. Look to a present time mil-vehicle: very seldom
the paintings are acceptable. The same I think must be for the vintage
ones. In the case of "factory class" vehicles the tint must be the same
except for the parts originally painted in different plants.
For the later vehicles the situation is more or less the same. The only
difference is the accuracy of the devices made to match the colours. So the
rims and the windshield of an M-151 will probably be exactly the same
although they were made and painted in different plants (but when the
vehicles were repainted on the field, the problem cames back more or less
in the same way). The key problem, I repeat, is anyway the kind of paint,
not the brand (assuming that we are talking of top level brands). Then, if
you want to paint your vehicle with a more resistant, durable paint
regardless of the autenticity, no problem, we are in democracy. But this is
another story...
Vittorio Argento
MVPA 9868
1943 MB
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