[Nathan Slingerland]

I've been searching for a good color match for the painted stripes on the 45C and 16B tombstone and other cabinets from the 1935 model year.

Here are some reference pictures on original finish models with a sample of the paint I've started using:

Philco 45C

[Image: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4320/3609...4072_z.jpg]

Philco 16B tombstone

[Image: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/3605...283f_z.jpg]

[Image: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/3528...6dbf_z.jpg]

The color on the 45C and 16B isn't exactly the same - but really close.

And the winner is?

Deco-Art 'Honey Brown' acrylic paint.

[Image: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/3549...f95c_z.jpg]

Not-winners

I tried several other colors from the Deco-Art palette before settling on this one. As with Mohawk's lacquer color chart, it's really hard to tell the true color from the Deco-Art color chart.

• Cocoa
  
• True Ochre
  
• Antique Gold
  
• Camel
  

Application

I tried applying the paint after the cabinet is done - which is kind of a pain. Here it is being applied to a 45C I recently refinished:

[Image: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/3590...9199_z.jpg]

I tried masking the cabinet next to the stripes - which helped - but still resulted in paint outside the lines. I was left with quickly wiping away excess paint with a wet paper towel. It's hard to do this and not make a mess or disturb the paint in the groove. I think it would be better to apply the paint prior to the last clear coat - then sand away any coloring outside the lines when flattening the coat.

Result

[Image: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/3590...bd50_z.jpg]

The sheen of the stripes on the originals looks slightly shinier. Having a layer of clear coat over top would also make the sheen a closer match for the original (in addition to making it easier to make sharp lines). So next time I'll try that.

[mark123]

Hi Nathan -

Great info. What are you using in the first few photos to apply the paint? It kind of looks like a Q-tip shaft.

[Nathan Slingerland]

Hi Mark - it is exactly a qtip shaft. But I didn't use it to apply the paint - just as a way to get a sample I could compare to the original finish radios.

I ended up just using the smallest paintbrush I had to apply the paint on the 45C in the last photo.

[klondike98]

I think the match looks pretty good!


I've mixed those paints to try and recreate some of the colors for resistors, usually adding a little black to a color to tone it down a bit. A little of various colors on a piece of cardboard as a pallet and some creative mixing. Sometimes I'm better at it than others.

[Nathan Slingerland]

Yeah - I originally was going to try mixing colors and keeping careful notes on the color ratios. But I chickened out. An 'official' color is easier to work with - fortunately there was one.

[Scott D]

Great job! I was wondering how to "freshen up" my 16B. Have you tried it on yours yet?

[Nathan Slingerland]

Thanks Scott!

I don't think I'll do anything to the original finish examples since they look decent enough as is.

I do have another 16B 'peaked top' tombstone that I refinished earlier this summer and is ready to be put back together:

[Image: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4314/3514...e1a7_z.jpg]

I'll add an updated photo once I've done the stripes on that.