OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Victa Lawn Mower Frames Victa Hammertone Paint Drama, Early 80s Model.

Hi MF,

That's pretty much what thought as well.

No point in clear coating this stuff as it's not designed for that and won't bond to the cured finish properly.

Cheers,
BB.

Looks fantastic MF, now i'm happy!

I'm not so happy after seeing the difference with the bit of pristine original paint I masked off where the label went.

I wanted to see a sample of the paint before I applied but with the reputation these cans have and the pics I'd seen this paint, I was convinced it was the one.

There was this hammered paint by Hammerite I never tried out as their gold looked to have tooa much of a green tint to me. I may have been on the right track according to this contrast revealed below.

What's the problem ?

The Ultra is a far better colour than the original, it's much more brighter gold while the original is just dull and boring, much the same as my
Verti-Cutter that is far brighter and better looking than it's original dull green.


If my bullion in the safe was the colour of the original Victa then I'd be checking to see if it was real gold or fools gold, while with the repaint I'd never be asking the question.

Anyway that's my take on it all.

Cheers,
BB.

That colour looks the nuts MF..!!

Dont forget the original paint would have faded/dulled a fair bit over the years, either way, well done..!!!

I'm still bothered as I have been waiting years to find a close match to the original only to find this is more different than I expected.

I take the point from Bonner Bloke that the Ultra Color green is a very attractive shade of green that really pops and this gold certainly does that just as well.
It does fool my eye into thinking it is more or less the original colour without the direct comparison.
It would be such a shame to sand back such a successful hammertone finish just to make it exactly as it was in the late 1970s, should the other paint turn out a better match. I think I'll run with it seeing as it captures essence of the original without being exact and it looks excellent.

I'll move onto other parts of the mower while I think it through.

Well, I've decided to run with this colour as my eyes have adjusted to this more golden hue and I'm just happy to see it with a badly needed new coat of lacquer that will last years.

Now onto painting the dress cowl. I've already found a very good matching colour to the original shade of beige. Only negative is it's gloss. I'd rather it was satin as the original plastic would not have had much shine to it but I'll have to be flexible as finding such a good match to the colour in a rattle can was a blessing in itself.

Any advice on prepping the plastic before paint would be appreciated. You can see it's very patchy with parts of the textured surface worn off and scaly over the years and some bad yellowing from spilt fuel around the filler. The dirt you see is ingrained into the plastic.
Does this need to come off though thorough sanding or can it be painted over after a basic rub down?

I have had to apply body filler to a couple of damaged spots (one is circled).

Hi MF,

It is plastic, so I would just give it a thorough wash with extra strong car wash, then paint once dry. It already has a matt finish, so the paint will stick well (so long as it isn't water based paint haha).

Also, are you sure the colour was beige and not white? 1970s and 80s plastic (think old computers, think old lego, etc) tended to yellow due to the fire retardant and plastic composition changing in UV light.

Hi MF,

I went over my VC cowl with some methelated spirit / isopropol alcohol before I painted it green to get it grease free. Give it a good rough up with a green kitchen scouring pad, I also used a plastic paint primer coat.

I recon that cowl must have been white 30 odd years ago?

Hi there Alan and Sapper,
very helpful ideas from both of you.

I used the relatively pristine underside as my guide and it is very much off white, further confirmed by my removal today of the label off the front for the first time since leaving the factory several decades ago (see pic below). It was like archeology lol.
I was fortunate to come across a can of Plasticote brand paint with a near dead on match compared to other beige like colours I directly compared it to. It'll look incredible once painted up and fitted to the mower!

Hey MF,

Alas, still not a sure thing, as any retro nerd that uses/repairs old plastic from that era will attest. I have ripped many a label off old computers, etc, and the effect is still there. Only looking at old photographs showed what the true colour was. Even computers that were taken out of sealed boxes still had the same issue, only lesser, due to the fire retardant they used in those plastics back then.

That being said, I am certainly not a colour nazi, so by all means, paint it whatever colour you choose. I have seen some doozy fights amongst people over what the 'proper' colour was of something, and it ain't pretty!

Not like that gold paint job you have there mate.

Oh that new knowledge on old plastics and their properties over time has got my mind bending.

I did have a plan B called Rustoleum rustic white which is lighter, satin and goes on plastic with no primer required.

You have both had an influence on my thoughts on this.

MF,

Speaking of paints, I saw a spraycan of 'High Heat' paint the other day in Bunnings, and one of the uses on it was for spraying motors. And after picking up the old Mustang (of which I will add to my old thread when I finish the diagnostics on it. Quite a list so far) I was wondering whether to scrape off most of the rust from Mufflers (the Tornados muffler has also started rusting) and hit them with some of this paint.

Just wondered if this is what you are hitting your muffler with?

Hey Sapper,

I was pondering that last night and while I don't mind the rusted look since that's it's natural state, I wouldn't mind painting it up since I have it apart. Prep may be tricky though. How long would it last and how thoroughly would I need to scrape away the scale?

I did intend to use it so maybe I shouldn't to all out on this or I won't want to. It's really a refurbishment, not a restoration.

Hey MF,

I only thought of it because even power torque mufflers are at least $20 to $30 used, let along full crank mufflers, so for the cost of a $12 can of spray paint, I thought I might get a few more years out of them, it will be worth the effort. You don't have to removed all of the rust, just give it a good wire brushing and then a brief sanding to get rid of any last scale and then hit it. Oil based and lacquers don't breath like water based paint, so the rust is starved of oxygen and water, which it requires to do its thing. Not saying it will last forever, but hey...

I know you can get hold of mufflers off dead mowers, but those will eventually dry up with no more being manufactured.

You make a very valid point on the practical aspect of painting them up with your cost vs benefit aspect!

I should do them all!!

Thanks!!!

Here's the front axle I just painted quickly with some cheap silver rattle can paint. It's called "aluminium". I didn't bother applying primer. I just quickly rubbed it down with medium steel wool and wiped with metho.

I took it off a spare chassis as it's in good condition.
The original is rusty all over and has a loose wobbly axle stub.

PS: just ordered a set of brand new axle bushes -this is becoming a restoration.

I'm thinking of getting a 4 liter can of Hammertone paint and I'm wondering how long it takes for this to harden up properly. I have used it previously brush painting my pool fence but I never really took too much notice as to how long it took to dry. I will spray these bases any thoughts?

When I used Rustoleum hammertone paint, I waited a good 4 days before I tried doing anything with it, and that was during the height of summer.

Bonnar_ Bloke advised to wait weeks before fit out with the UltraColor gold hammertone can I used on the base as it can still be soft underneath when the paint feels hard and fully cured on the surface. He mentioned that the wood grain on the bench impressed on his work after resting on it after he thought it had dried thoroughly. May not apply to other brands.

This is one example where it pays to procrastinate on reassembly of the mower!!