OD paint

[RichJohnson]

Ok, Im sure this has been kicked around a bit but here goes.
I think Rapco paint leaves alot to be desired.
I painted my M37 with the 24087 Semi gloss a couple years ago and within one year, every horizontal surface had faded to flat while verticle surfaces were still glossy.

Well, back in oct 2007 my m37 was in an accident and when it emerged from the body shop in June 08 it was super shiny. The body shop had added a hardner to the rapco paint.
My truck is now, one and a half years later, back to flat horizonal surfaces and glossy vertical ones.
Is it just the sun down here in Southern CA or what? I think that Rapco paint just sucks.
Is there any better choice? I know Arevoe is out there but I tried them and the color seems way off to me.

[Zane]

Dont know what to tell you other than everyone seems to love the gillespi paint from rapco, I use to use aervo but it sucks for sure as it fades really bad, green turns grey and brown turns pink ( I found this out on my m1009 blazer I use to drive). I switched to the gillespi paint myself , however none of my jeeps sits outside so I dont know how the sun will effect it. Hardner added to flat paint will make it darker . Probably might be better off to take some rapco paint to the local napa or whoever mixes automotive paint there and have them match it in high quality automotive paint, this is pretty expensive around here , it seems like they qoated like 60.00 a quart to do it awhile back.

[BullRun]

I tried a gallon of Gillispie Paint once and found it to be amazingly bad.

Before all of the military vehicle magazines and the internet I did not even know of another military vehicle owner but I did know of a local paint company that had it's own military paint division. It was a separate wing of the main building and all it sold was military paint for any application the government could invent. Multiple color chip charts for military branches serving anywhere in the world. If you needed to paint your battleship these were the go-to guys.

I may be wrong but I do not believe that Gillispie Paint is made to a Military Standard or MS specification. I think it is only to the Federal Standard for Color. That is why you get the uneven paint characteristics. The base is what ever they come up with then they add the pigment formula and thats it. And I am not even sure about the Federal Standard for Color either as color samples I have seen have been very uneven in accuracy.

I once tried to talk to Gillespie about the trouble I had with their paint and was given the run around. Rapco though has always been terrific.

For true military paint it has to be to the prevailing or current MS for vehicular paint or whatever category the military vehicle is classified under and also the Federal Standard for Color or what would of been the standard of the time. Of course the colors from earlier eras are a little harder to pin down, but it can be done, without sacrificing quality or accuracy.

There are many real military paint companies out there which can provide the correct color and performance characteristics for a military vehicle.

Professional automotive refinishing suppliers can usually get the paint if the military paint company will not sell directly to an individual.

And my go-to guys... they are now the military paint division of Sherwin-Williams.

Just my experience, maybe someone else has had good results.

[wesk]

Most paint chemical formulas included in the 60's and older military specs are no longer produced mainly because many of their components are no longer legal to use. Any legitimate paint company today will only supply you paint chemicals that are currently legal to use. Many of the military spec compounds of the 70's and up are also illegal to sell on the civvy paint market due to their chemical compounds. They are just plain hazardous to your health.

As for fading on vehicles stored outdoors well that comes with the territory on 1940 thru 1970 military equipment. The flats chalk real fast. The semi-gloss lasts a little longer. When the military wanted a vehicle paint to stay shiney they used a full gloss paint as on MP and SP and AP vehicles and ranking staff vehicles. When we were told to spruce up our vehicles for an inspection in the 60 and 70's we oiled the dulled semi-gloss paint for an inspection.

Today for restoration and show the modern paint compounds work best and last longest and the color can be made to match very closely to 24087 or 2430.

[BullRun]

I agree. Just to clarify. I am talking about normal automotive paints made to a military standard for quality and color not function. Anything beyond that is unnecessary in a civilian owned vehicle and likely illegal due to it's toxicity in application. That kind of functional authenticity is not needed to have the correct appearance when finished.


I just think that there are a lot better alternatives like the local auto paint supplier than Gillespie Paint.

[whydahdvr]

Hey all, here's my 2 cents, for all that's worth. Even modern vehicle paint jobs fade in the sun. I've seen modern civilian cars just a few years old that have faded sections or sun-damaged sections that are directly exposed. That's one of the hazards of prolonged exposure to sunlight.

On our military vehicles, when they get TI'd they often get a new paint job. While inspections today are a bit different than in Wes's day, they are still focused on appearance as well as functionality. If we have vehicles that are going to be in parades or public functions they get repainted, new canvas/tarps, and basically spruced up. When I was on OCS it was the same thing. We had weekly "parties" where we would sit down with bottles of STA-NU or some other blacking material and repaint all our black buttons and snaps on our TA-50 and other gear to keep the underlying brass from showing through. We would spray our helmets/kevlars and our entrenching tools too. It always seemed ridiculous but that was the requirement.

So, if your vehicle fades in the sun and you don't mind a field-grade appearance, you'll fit right in. But if you are doing a parade-style thing then, as Wes wrote, either paint it in glossy paint, store it indoors, or repaint it every few years.

I'll leave my jeep alone and let it fade out over time. Maybe I'll repaint it all again if there is rust I need to take care of.

Just my thoughts.

[53a1]

Too late for me. I used the lusterless Gillispie on mine so I'll let you know how it holds up.

My father in law said they were always painting them. Before inspection they would shine them up with diesel.

I Have to say, the greese that got on the tie rods looks real nice when you rub it in.

[oldgreentrucks]

Got married in a 3/4 ton Command Car that I had wiped down with WD40. Never looked better than that night.
Jim