Love of lathes.

[Radio Fixer]

I can only look at the pictures Colin as not something I have any knowledge of. Lots of bits that look nice and in excellent condition when cleaned. Wont be long to before up and running I would have thought. Very colourful paint finish, going to be the most cheerful workshop in 't North'.

Gary

[AlanBeckett]

How about contrasting colours on the Headstock, Tailstock, Saddle, Apron etc young Col?
Lathes in general are very boring when it comes to colours.
I'm sure Bron would advise

Alan

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks Gary for your welcome comments; yes the lathe sure does look colourful in the bright green and hopefully once it starts being used any oil on the paint won't show as much as it would had I painted using my regular cream/white colour; once I can spend some quality time on this restoration I'm sure it will come together quickly?

Many thanks Big Al for doing a bit of telepathy; I was indeed considering breaking the green up because I think doing the lathe completely in green would make it look sickly? The guards are solid aluminium and I am considering bringing these to a mirror finish by buffing then perhaps give them a blast over with clear cellulose; as to the other items still to paint for contrast I thought perhaps rattle can auto acrylic gloss black would be a good choice and in use any damage could be easily touched up? I wanted to use my big compressor and spray gun but the recent bad weather has prevented this but on a more cheerful note if I use rattle cans I can spray the items inside the garage and I have a stock of both grey primer and black gloss in rattle cans. The lathe won't receive excessive use in my care so auto acrylic should suffice?

We are out this morning but after dinner I plan to spend some time in the garage working on the Lorch which I'm looking forward to. It's a good job I have Bron to help with colour but I can manage black OK?

Kind regards, Col.

[Retired]

Hi,

I've had a much better day today; I've come out of the garage early because of wet paint needing to dry.

Returning home this morning I dashed into the garage with pot of tea in hand; set about masking the two carriage items then using a rattle can of auto lacquer primer gave both a generous thickness building this up wet on wet then knocking off for dinner. This afternoon I've now used a rattle can of auto acrylic gloss black and again built up a good thickness of paint working wet on wet. These rattle cans are UPOL 500ml and I've used the best part of both cans. Normally I avoid rattle cans because this is a very expensive way to spray paint; in theory two cans x 500ml should have sprayed the entire lathe using this amount of paint in a compressor/spray gun set up. The good thing really about rattle cans is their convenience; the paint however is extremely thin and fortunately I'm used to spraying with these. Because the paint was still wet I didn't remove the masking but the pictures show the process and the finish achieved which is impressive being totally run free.

As usual the weather joined in; as I sprayed quite a bit missed the item being sprayed completely because of the wind then as soon as the wind dropped the spray hit the item; it took considerable effort to paint these two items.

A quick edit for any novices. A well known tip for masking items having sharp edges such as the raised curved section on the apron is to simply apply masking tape ensuring good adhesion then tap all around the edge using a small spanner; with a little practice this leaves perfectly fitted masking with little effort or frustration. I've been using this method for 50 years starting at first to cut motorcycle gaskets from brown paper using the exact same technique.

I hope you approve Big Al now that I've gone the contrasting colour route which I agreed with you about; I'm sure it will be the right decision?

Kind regards, Col.

                       

[AlanBeckett]

It looks splendid young Col. It will look even better when it's all dried I'm sure.
Yes, that's a good way to make thin Gaskets - being doing it these last 55 years. Just remember to tap with something fairly soft so as not to generate a burr.

Alan

[Yorkie]

A bit of trivia about 'rattle cans'. Lacquer doesn't need a ball in the can because - well - it's lacquer, not paint, so there are no pigments to settle out. Nevertheless, they still put a ball in the can as people expect to have to rattle aerosol cans and expect them to make a rattling sound. Old fogeys like me hark back to the days of yucky full cream milk when you had to shake the bottle to mix it all up unless you wanted to pour off the cream separately. Nowadays, the semi-skimmed milk we buy is homogenised so the cream, (such that it is), doesn't settle out, hence, shaking the bottle is redundant. Nevertheless, through force of habit, each morning when I make my bowl of porridge, as I have for more than fifty years, I still shake the milk bottle while asking myself 'why are you doing that you daft old farty?' Then I do it again next morning. Must be OCD or something.

Back on track, U-Pol do make exceedingly good paint, as Colin's handiwork amply demonstrates.

[AlanBeckett]

Nevertheless, through force of habit, as I have for more than fifty years, I still shake the milk bottle.

So do I. I also run the Cold Tap before filling the Kettle to get rid of the Lead.
There's no point trying to re-learn now.

Alan

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks David.This morning when I was ready to start spraying the UPOL primer I gave the spray can a good shake first; the paint initially came out more thinner than paint not covering at all well and with unsightly runs so I gave the can a severe rattling then the paint behaved covering very well indeed? When I applied the black I gave the can a good shaking and this sprayed straight away without any trouble whatsoever and strangely I could apply an heavier coat of gloss than I could primer before I thought it would run. How do they measure the amount of paint in one of these rattle cans because although it states 500ml on the can I don't think there is this amount of paint available? I'm used to my proper spraying kit where I can mix 500ml in the gun and this then does a lot of spraying unlike using one of these cans? I didn't even bother to look if there was a notice on the can to "Shake the can first" this notice used to state shake the can vigorously for at least two minutes?

Bron and I use a lot of fresh Soya milk and I believe the instructions say to shake well before use? I still remember the gill bottles of milk us poverty stricken kids were given freely each morning at school 55 years or so ago.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=gill+milk+bottle&espv=210&es_sm=122&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=--0pU9ajH4Gg0QX1hYDgAg&ved=0CDIQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=955

I too always run the cold tap before filling the kettle Big Al; do we need adult supervision or something stronger?

The 5ltr UPOL cellulose primer I bought at Rufforth was like treacle when I removed the lid; it was difficult to pour and any thicker it would have been supplied as a solid? This primer also took ages to thin with cellulose thinner but being so thick it was excellent value at around £25; once thinned then it yields 10 ltr of spray-able paint.

Kind regards, Col.

[Alan Douglas]

The only reason I remember that we bought homogenized milk was a story my aunt used to tell, of when she came to visit once when my younger sister was 3 or 4. My sister greeted her at the door by announcing "Our milk is homogenized."

[Yorkie]

Nevertheless, through force of habit, as I have for more than fifty years, I still shake the milk bottle.

So do I. I also run the Cold Tap before filling the Kettle to get rid of the Lead.
There's no point trying to re-learn now.

Alan

I'm exempt from filling kettles Alan - it's not in my job description and hence, isn't one of my 'core competences'