Military Vehicles, March 1997,: Re: do my numbers match????

Re: do my numbers match????

Lida L. Bensinger (mitymite@juno.com)
Mon, 10 Mar 1997 17:05:46 EST

< I see pictures of restored Bantams and GPs with very blue
registration numbers. Is this another color other than blue drab? I
don't think anyone actually knows exactly what shade blue-drab was
originally and of course different batches had different tints. Look at
it this way, they never put blue drab anywhere on a vehicle that wasn't
constantly exposed to the weather and sulnlight so none of what you see
today on unrestored vehicles is quite what it looked like when it was put
on. I didn't say it was almost white though, I said it fades to almost
>white. the process of uncovering a registration # (sanding and chemicals
>etc) no doubt fades it even more. The shade of blue that is used on
>the vehicles you refer to maybe close to the actual shade when new, but
>through examination of photographs and surviving #s I have formed the
opinion
>that the original blue drab was very, very flat. or to put it another
way,
>very drab. I think the paint that is used today is probably too shiny to

>match the original shade but the actual tint is probably very nearly
correct. We
>should try an experiment; paint an old piece of sheet metal OD, then
paint a
>trial number on it in blue drab, then leave it sitting outside for one
year.
>One year outside here in Nebraska should reasonably approximate 50 yrs
>in a lot of the rest of the country. Then we will spray it with carb and

>choke cleaner and rub it with a rag. I bet we will have something very
>closely approximating the shade you are seeing.
>P.S. I have never seen an MA period. Restored or otherwise. I hope I
>get to someday.
>

Good paint suppliers have flattening agents available. This is just Sika
(sand) in a talcum powder fineness and laquar thinner to make it liquid.
Mix with paint and spray the numbers on. That is how do all my vehicles
- MB/GPW/M151/MM - all use modern paint for lettering and flatten it then
air brush it on.

Daryl
D & L Bensinger mitymite@juno.com
2442 Main St.
Narvon, PA 17555
Phone/FAX (610) 286-9545