Machine paint for lathe

[M K]

Can any suggest the best type and where to get a good paint to re paint my Harrison M300 lathe? Also as it will be bare metal and casting in your experience do you recommend a primer or not?

I wasn't going to paint it but have took so much off of it now that I may as well

The paint needs to be a brush on if possible as i don't have the space to spray it and want to do it in my heated garage over Xmas ideally while I have some time off but do they leave a nice finish without showing brush strokes?

I'd like to find the paint close to original colours like the beige for the bed, head, box & tray etc then a green or grey for the cabinet stand

Thanks
Marc

 

[Pete.]

I just bought some paint for my machines if you have a look at a recent thread I made that paint I bought can be applied with a roller

 

[MBB]

The best paint I ever used for machines was a acrylic floor paint. It was tough and didn't chip like some machine enamels, the only drawback was a limited choice of colours. The last machine I painted I
painted it with Poundshop grey spray undercoat at £1 a tin. It looked so good I just painted with a topcoat of clear spray lacquer the total cost was under £5.

MBB

 

[mr migwire]

craig and rose machine enamel or tractol machine enamel, both very good coverage on bare metal and flow out very well for a smooth finish.

 

[nick952]

Have a look at Paragon Enamel Paint :- https://www.paragonpaints.co.uk/Workshop-Machinery-Colours.html

 

[Pete.]

Paragon paint is quite a bit more money to buy than most because they take the trouble to mix factory colours. If you bear in mind that paint fades/chips/wears off you might think that it's not worth the extra premium when you can get a RAL colour that's very close.

This is what I bought and it's not too far away.

http://www.paints4trade.com/2-pack-epoxy-top-coat--metal-paint-260021-p.asp

You can check out the colour charts to find your best match, they will mix it while you wait at the counter. I got 5 litres of paint and 5 litres of thinners plus some masking tape for £70-odd. They also do basic masks and other PPE you might need.

 

[M K]

Thanks for the reply's

So did any of you use a primer or an under coat? Im not interested in using proper filler on anything and rubbing down, Am just going to bare metal everything with my angle grinder and protect and tape up all machine surfaces then brush coat for a nice clean finish hopefully

Wrong time of year really due to temperature but if I can get the bare lathe in my garage that's centrally heated it's not as bad so should be ok

I've removed gearbox, saddle and apron and lead and feed screws, motor and change wheels etc but am leaving the head stock on the ways

Thanks
Marc

 

[MattF]

I normally use an enamel, and add a dash of linseed oil and gum turpentine, which makes a notable difference to how smoothly it applies and dries when brushed on. It's something you'd need to test with a small sample of paint first though, to make sure they work well together.