Exact paint color

[abunaitoo]

Is there a list someplace, of what the correct color of different reloading tools are painted?????
Like what would be the exact name of the Lyman orange 55 powder measure.
The RCBS press green.
Potters blue.
And the rest of them.

[wc870]

If you have a big enough sample of the colors you want most larger auto body shops have a camera to identify colors, also the paint supply places for automotive paint will usually have an extensive paint chip book you could match up to. Ive never tried to match those specific colors but our local auto parts store sells paint and I have had them match a few oddball projects over the years. hope this helps.

[Taterhead]

The problem with, say, RCBS is that the green has changed a little from one tool to the next.

[country gent]

Most manufacturers arnt all that fussy about exact shades and they do change over time with different suppliers and specs. I read some where that Oliver used 6-8 different shades of green for their tractors over the years. Same with International.

The color match camera is the best bet. Most paint shops have them now. Scan into the computer and it tells you the exact mix for it.A lot of the paint supply houses have the means to do this. Nit as chap as an off the shelf color though.

[BigAlofPa.]

I touched up some scratches on my one 1911. The advance auto store had a match. In the touch up paint area. 274863

[John Wayne]

If the paint has faded, refresh the area to be photographed at the paint store with WD-40.

[W.R.Buchanan]

If you have a big enough sample of the colors you want most larger auto body shops have a camera to identify colors, also the paint supply places for automotive paint will usually have an extensive paint chip book you could match up to. Ive never tried to match those specific colors but our local auto parts store sells paint and I have had them match a few oddball projects over the years. hope this helps.

If you are really serious, this is the way ^^^^.

or you can go to Lowes or Home Depot and pick out a color that pleases you. There is nothing that says a given brand of Reloading press has to be painted the color it came with. Use your imagination.

I have refinished lots of Reloading tools. And I can assure that they all looked good after I got done..

I got all the paint at Lowes or my Local True Value Hardware Store.. Rustoleum good! Sky Blue Hammertone and Emerald Hammertone. Both are very close to the original factory colors. Not exact but certainly passable and a helluva alot better than it looked before.

Randy

[Mal Paso]

Caterpillar has very tight specs on paint but most companies don't. Their touch up paint matches but was $20 a can a few years ago. I've seen several shades of RCBS Green.

[Winger Ed.]

If the paint has faded, refresh the area to be photographed at the paint store with WD-40.

Oh,,, no,,,,, take 'em the real thing.

After working at a auto paint store for 25 years:

I'd have people come in, bring a picture, or page from a magazine to get matched.
It never came out right for them. The picture is always different.
Think of it like wearing sunglasses, match the color, go put it on, and then look at your project.

People that insisted on it, I'd tell 'em, "OK, you look through the books, you pick what ya think is perfect,
I'll make it, and you live with it. When it doesn't match, and it won't....... don't bring it back".

[thorswhisper]

The main obstacles to painting cast equipment are many. The biggest is how much money do you want to spend. Most of the manufacturers really didnt care about the quality or longevity of the paint used, much less the time spent to prep it properly. Matching paint at an automotive store will be EXPENSIVE. The proper procedure for applying paint once all the old paint has been removed (Blasted- Vapor honing highly recommended) is to clean the metal thoroughly, apply an etching primer (at minimum) scuff sand then applly the color paint. After considering all this I resolved to use a hammertone type of paint made by Hammerite. No priming, just one heavy coat and its done. The rustoleum hammertone is close but not nearly as good. Limited colors but a very nice paint at a very minimal cost.

[poppy42]

I called Lyman and asked about possibly obtaining some of their orange paint or even powder coat. I was given the name and phone number of the gentleman that they refer all refinishing to. I called and spoke to him and he told me “ I get all my colors from the spray can Isle at Walmart”! And no I didn’t save his name and phone number so no reason to.

[thorswhisper]

Dillon Blue is proprietary to just Dillon. Its a powder coat that the distributor of that color will not sell you. It is NOT Ford Blue.

[para45lda]

You could try their marketing department and ask for the PMS colors they use for printing and advertising. There are paint calculators to get the specs you want.

[j4570]

I took a Dillon blue die box to Home Depot and had some paint matched. It was for my version of a strong mount in wood. I bought a sample so it was only like $4

[roysha]

Is there a list someplace, of what the correct color of different reloading tools are painted?????
Like what would be the exact name of the Lyman orange 55 powder measure.
The RCBS press green.
Potters blue.
And the rest of them.

For that one, it is PMS 131 according to Lyman. Good luck finding it in affordable quantities. About 10 years ago or so, I was refinishing a Lyman Tru Line Jr. and wanted to paint it with the correct color. When I discovered the price, I just bought a can of Rustoleum Real Orange 2X that came close and called it good.

There is a Rustoleum green that is real close to the old RCBS green, the name escapes me at the moment, it may be Safety Green but I'm not positive and it is a bit glossier then the original. I refinished a Rock Chucker with it and side by side to my with my other old RC, it looks real close. As someone else posted, they also have a Hammered Green that is quite close to the "new" RCBS green.
The others you mention, I haven't a clue.

Except for Lyman, any of the other companies I have contacted would not tell me the exact color.

[thorswhisper]

There is an exact match for Hornady in Rustoleum. I just forget the shade. Cant be more than about two or three.

[GregLaROCHE]

If you paint the entire tool, I don’t see why you need to spend a lot to get a perfect color match. Just be careful the base of the paint is compatible with what you have.

[HP9MM]

I spoke with RCBS about their green color. The person said to use "Antique Green".

[BigEyeBob]

I used Hemi Orange to paint my old Lyman 45 lube sizer, pretty close ..

[farmbif]

the original colors are nice but me, ive gotten used to late model rust,
let us know what paint you end up with
have you tried an auto refinishing supply store, I'm sure they could mix something up if they don't have a duplicolor spray can, but you would probably have to use at least activator/hardner and maybe reducer.