Thread: Painting machines

Some more colour choices.

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It's no coincidence that machines are produced in the colours they are. Go on to an aircraft flight deck and you'll see the same. Indeed go anywhere that people are intended to be focussed for a long time, it's the same. How many factory bright orange car interiors do you come across? Like I said, some people like to paint machines, some people like to use machines. Whatever floats your boat. If I was going to do a machine, especially a Monarch with its curved lines, to "hang on the shelf" and polish all day, I'd do it in candy apple red for sure, otherwise, yep grey it is!

http://www.thecarcarestore.com.au/cc...ars/KBC11S.png

I am surprised you could read the text with the colour of those machines in your eyes.

Why is that if you paint it any other colour than grey it is classed as a machine to hang on the shelf and to polish all day.

A paint job is just that a paint job, the colour you pick is up to the individual.
Just because it's painted a different colour than factory makes no difference to what a person uses it like.

From what I have seen RC does a lot of work on the farm and I am sure this machine will be used.
These machines are sought after and look good painted different colours with there shape, so if RC wants to paint it whatever colour it's not in your shop so you don't have to worry about not being able to see the work because of the paint colour glare.

Dave

Originally Posted by Pete F

If I was going to do a machine, especially a Monarch with its curved lines, to "hang on the shelf" and polish all day, I'd do it in candy apple red for sure, otherwise, yep grey it is!

I agree - well maybe not the candy apple red. Interesting thing is, the Euro-trash modern machines are a sickly light green, including my Austrian Emco lathe.

Anyway I've painted machines a darker green myself and I don't particularly like it. These days I'd go for a light grey.

PDW

Originally Posted by PDW

I agree - well maybe not the candy apple red. Interesting thing is, the Euro-trash modern machines are a sickly light green, including my Austrian Emco lathe.

Anyway I've painted machines a darker green myself and I don't particularly like it. These days I'd go for a light grey.

PDW

Bob tells me that green is RAL 6011, likewise not a big fan of green, even with 5 green machines

Originally Posted by Pete F

Bob tells me that green is RAL 6011, likewise not a big fan of green, even with 5 green machines

Now you are talking, that's real quality Swiss/German precision, Reseda Green (RAL 6011), love it...

I can't imagine anyone with soul painting a Schaublin, Deckel, Aciera, Emco... candy apple red... but for some strange reason I can see a Monarch 10EE in lavender and not think it's weird.... American Iron... yep...

Regards
Ray

Now admit it Ray you'd love to see a candy apple 10, those curves are just begging for it Ok, you couldn't use it for more than 10 minutes without eye strain. That's unlikely to affect some "experts" around though

I agree, the Eurotrash, any shade of green as long as it's 6011. You like it? I'm about to order, groan, a heap of powder in 6011 from the US. Just shoot me.

That angle looking up at the black one reminds me of a steam loco. All that's missing is the engineer's cap!

I did mine a light blue - better than the original bland greyish colour. I left the oiled parts the original colour but painted the (lift out) chip tray I fabricated white just to help show those small parts. (incidentally, most of the larger parts of the machine were brushed with kilrust and a decent quality brush and came out well)
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Josh is right though - white shows the oil stains like crazy. This was the dulux special that the mill came in. One day I might repaint.

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Michael

Originally Posted by Pete F

It's no coincidence that machines are produced in the colours they are. Go on to an aircraft flight deck and you'll see the same. Indeed go anywhere that people are intended to be focussed for a long time, it's the same. How many factory bright orange car interiors do you come across? Like I said, some people like to paint machines, some people like to use machines. Whatever floats your boat. If I was going to do a machine, especially a Monarch with its curved lines, to "hang on the shelf" and polish all day, I'd do it in candy apple red for sure, otherwise, yep grey it is!

http://www.thecarcarestore.com.au/cc...ars/KBC11S.png

As humans we are blessed with sight that ranges from 400nm (violet) through to about 700nm (red) and all you can come up with is grey?

OK if you're Stevie Wonder!

Ok I have done a little research of the impact of colour on visibility. A lot has to do with the physiology of the eye.

Apparently different colours focus in different parts of the eye. Here is a diagram I found.

eyecolour.gif

The summary from William Horton, 1991 (more to do with computer interfaces but you get the idea):

- Your eyes cannot focus clearly on blue, which is why it is such a good background color and such a bad foreground color.
- Nor can your eyes focus well on red, but red has the advantage (if you need it) of "moving forward" in the visual field.
- Yellow and green are just as visible in the periphery as they are as in the center of the visual field.
- Black and white are equally visible throughout the visual field


My question is what would people want to see better on a manual machine tools and what do you not want to see? Forget tradition for a moment a have a clear think about the way you use your machines.

Originally Posted by Brobdingnagian

My question is what would people want to see better on a manual machine tools and what do you not want to see? Forget tradition for a moment a have a clear think about the way you use your machines.

Youv'e lost me here Josh. The bits of a manual machine I look at when using it are the dials and the cutting tool. Those parts are normally bright metal with black graduations. On that basis, it doesn't matter too much what the colour of the machine in general is, provided that it does not distract or dazzle.

Michael

Originally Posted by Brobdingnagian

Ok I have done a little research of the impact of colour on visibility. A lot has to do with the physiology of the eye.

Apparently different colours focus in different parts of the eye. Here is a diagram I found.

eyecolour.gif

The summary from William Horton, 1991 (more to do with computer interfaces but you get the idea):

- Your eyes cannot focus clearly on blue, which is why it is such a good background color and such a bad foreground color.
- Nor can your eyes focus well on red, but red has the advantage (if you need it) of "moving forward" in the visual field.
- Yellow and green are just as visible in the periphery as they are as in the center of the visual field.
- Black and white are equally visible throughout the visual field


My question is what would people want to see better on a manual machine tools and what do you not want to see? Forget tradition for a moment a have a clear think about the way you use your machines.

Snells law dictates that different wavelengths will refract (not diffract) by different amounts. That is why different colours of the visible spectrum will be focused at different distances from a lens.

Also, human eyes are most sensitive at around 555nm which is green. Turns out that it just happens to be the middle of the spectrum our what our sun emits. Oh how we have evolved!

Just some meaningless trivia from me. I should point out (especially after my last post) that when I repainted my machine (which was Chinese machine tool off white) that I painted in GREY. Yep, a boring colour but I didn't have the courage to deviate. If I had my time again I'd choose something a little more "out there"!

Grey, Safe but boring!

Simon

Edit confused diffraction with refraction Doh!

Why limit to one colour? You might like to get a bit artistic and do a Banksy (Banksy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) on the side. It will be worth 100 times more then ).

Coming back to painting tips. If you go the high pressure water cleaner route you can get a sand blasting attachment for a Gerni. I did my surface grinder and having sand in the water jet made getting rust, paint and general crud out of tight places easy. It saved me getting an air compressor and blast cabinet.

For sanding back finishes I use a selection of foam rubber to back up the wet and dry paper. The harder foams e.g. will leave a flat surface, the softer ones will give nice fair curves.

Christian

Hi Josh, Simon,
The thing is we don't look at the colour while machining, we look at the job at hand, the colour is just back ground especially on a mill.

As for not being able to use a machine for more than 10 minutes because of the colour, try telling a boss your having a break for your eye strain after 10 minutes work because of the machine colour, LOL
Never heard anything like it in my life and have worked on all coloured machines over the years, and never heard complaints from anyone else either.

They make the Chinese lathes in all colours including red, same as the mills.

Dave