Thread: Working on the PK paint

Hi Rob,

I know you don't like green, but I'm not convinced Wadkin got it right with that Grey colour, it's like the UK Navy, let's paint everything Battleship grey.

Maybe Wadkin like the Navy painted things grey because the pigment was cheep to buy.

Cheers Nigel

They don't make 'em like that anymore, made in the Midlands so its built to withstand a WWII bomb blast!.

Originally Posted by Camelot

I'm not convinced Wadkin got it right with that Grey colour, it's like the UK Navy

Whats wrong with the British Navy?

Maybe the pigment or paint was cheap to buy Nigel. I reckon Navy ships would have been a better grade of paint though . The original Wadkin paint seems a bit soft to me for a ship. They could have thinned it down I suppose to make it go further. But I don't see why they would be so cheap on the paint when they had gone to such an effort to build great stuff.
I don't mind green machines if that was the machines original colour . I'd just rather have original colour on My machines. And I like the Grey. I prefer the earlier gray actually on the older Wadkin stuff. But this grey will do if I ever get all the green off.

Originally Posted by EagerBeaver71

Whats wrong with the British Navy?

Well let me guess on the grey colour, the UK for most of the year is covered by grey clouds, so for camouflage maybe the Navy felt lets paint our ships grey, but that does not excuse Wadkin or maybe they had a deal with the Navy

Originally Posted by auscab

Maybe the pigment or paint was cheap to buy Nigel. I reckon Navy ships would have been a better grade of paint though . The original Wadkin paint seems a bit soft to me for a ship. They could have thinned it down I suppose to make it go further. But I don't see why they would be so cheap on the paint when they had gone to such an effort to build great stuff.
I don't mind green machines if that was the machines original colour . I'd just rather have original colour on My machines. And I like the Grey. I prefer the earlier gray actually on the older Wadkin stuff. But this grey will do if I ever get all the green off.

Just pulling your leg, Grey is the new Green

Be daring ... I hope Bruce doesn't mind me posting this here but he's Pink Wadkin PK really made the curves of this old machine pop. Was refreshing to see something different. What other colours have have you seen them in? From some historical Googling:

Grey
Green
Cream (possibly not original?)
Gold (possibly not original?)

Pink Wadkin PK 01.jpgPink Wadkin PK 02.jpg

Dunno if can find a photo but my old PK was painted red by my mate Mark in Canberra.
Here it is mit moi on it.👀
H.

Originally Posted by clear out

Dunno if can find a photo but my old PK was painted red by my mate Mark in Canberra.
Here it is mit moi on it.
H.

Red and Gold, sure could make some expensive furniture with that colour combination

Originally Posted by Charlie_6ft

Be daring ... I hope Bruce doesn't mind me posting this here but he's Pink Wadkin PK

Bloody Pink! That had people talking when he did it . Ha Ha. And it s still being talked about. I wonder if the new owner has kept it that way. Id be off to by 20 lt of paint stripper pretty fast.

There's plenty of Green ones.
Here's a couple of others.


image_107417.jpg image_112714.jpg

Personally I love the look of original old dark machines in old barn like workshops.
Nice colour on this one. Which was repainted to the colour in pic on right.

21804-B.jpg 21804-A.jpg 21804-E.jpg

Originally Posted by Charlie_6ft

Be daring ...

Pink Wadkin PK 01.jpgPink Wadkin PK 02.jpg

Oh my god!, thats shocking!

Hey Rob, how are you stripping the machine?, are you using that deadly stuff you use on wood?.

Originally Posted by EagerBeaver71

Hey Rob, how are you stripping the machine?, are you using that deadly stuff you use on wood?.

I'm using Gel stripper to dissolve the green paint and scraping it off before it reacts on the grey underneath. Its a little hard to judge it perfectly so some of the grey gets removed as well . Ive tried a few other ways and it seems the best.
Its not to deadly if you don't get it on your skin. It'll sting or burn if you do.
There is another type of stripper which is a thin solution from Wertheim I think. That is much worse on the skin. If you get a hole in your glove and say a finger soaks in it for 5 minutes it'll de skin your finger of many or all layers.

Originally Posted by auscab

I'm using Gel stripper to dissolve the green paint and scraping it off before it reacts on the grey underneath.

One of the courses at art school we learned how to repair and remove old varnish from paintings without disturbing the paint. We used to practice the timing on what they call 'pot boiler' paintings, which were basically inexpensive paintings where the varnish had turned very brown and some had Craquelure which made it even harder to remove. I don't remember the formula exactly for the solution but alot of fine art restorers have their own secret formula and timings handed down from master to apprentice.

I dare say furniture restorers like yourself have similar knowledge which is passed down.