Bialaddin 300

Cracking job, a pleasure to see.

 

Money shot!!!

Preheat and mantle burn in...


Away she goes!


Shut down a few minutes later.


There was a small halo around the mantle so the jet is probably a little enlarged. I've got a few other vaporisers I can try so I'll test those tomorrow, but... there were no stress cracks, no leaks and no loss of pressure.

Result!

 

Colin, you have done another excellent job restoring this tired old girl.

And the posting of the process has been a joy to read.
Thanks

 

@ColinG
Another fantastic job of restoration and the paint job is exquisite, well done. I do like the chestnut colour.
Another lantern from the past restored into the fine lady she's meant to be. If only this lamp called speak .... what stories it could tell.
Cheers
Pete

 

Thanks guys.

It's just possible that I might meet the original owner... maybe, and if I do I can show him that the old girl has been brought back to life again. Obviously if that happens I'll post about it here.

 

Colin,

that looks fab. Fantastic effort. Well done!!

 

That looks great
I think that colour would also be spot on for Vapalux 300?

 

No; the Vapalux 300 was by and large a military spec lamp that came in various grays at least. In the summer of '44 some new colours for the civilian market were introduced, a cream and brown colour.
Some can be seen in the gallery.


According to Ian's book the first very dark, almost brown, maroon was seen on the Vapalux 300 X, that initially had the 300 model tank.

On this picture of an Italian collector the early, brownish colour, is seen on the right.
To differentiate, no model 300 had a 'filligré' ventilator as introduced with the 300X as seen here, but had a vertically slotted one.

 

You seem to have a close match here Colin.
I am interested to see this tank outside with daylight, on an overcast day preferably.

Mike

 

We can never match the "exact" color. Let's face it, we are talking about lanterns as old as 80 years! You just can't possibly match the paint. Close for sure but no cigar.
Remember, you could go ape sh.. doing this!!
Maybe this great hobby needs a "warning lable" lol
Just kidding!

 

It's true and paints are known to change over time. Some car paints are even sold with age based variants depending how old your car is.

When I respray a lantern I always leave the original colour under the base as a reference for the future.

 

Ditto, Colin.

 

Colin, I’m looking at painting my 300X that I’m in the process of restoring. Did you prime it before using that paint, and does it still work without an oven to cure the paint?
Cheers

 

I tried using an undercoat once and I had to strip the resulting mess off afterwards so I don't bother now! Niether Tilley or Willis & Bates used an undercoat - I would have found evidence if they had! So if it were me I'd just using the spray colour you want and give it 2 or 3 coats.

You don't have to use an oven, it just speeds things up and makes the surface very hard. The first time I tried baking the paint on I used the oven in the kitchen... it's a miracle that I'm still married! The smell gets into everything and it lasts a day or more (but it does the job). You could try finding somewhere hot, like on top of a boiler or a wood burning stove, that would help, otherwise just leave each coat to dry naturally.

Hope this helps.

 

Alternatively you could find an old eye-level oven for sale in the local ads and use that. It'd take up less space in a garage or a workshop.

 

@ColinG Wow, your better- half must have the patience of a saint! Mine puts up with a lot but I think she would draw the line if I did something like this!
I think I would be singing in "high C" for a long, long time!

 

Ha ha... she wasn't very happy and went on about it for days! I didn't make that mistake again!

 

Thanks for the advice. That chestnut colour looks great so I may try and find some of that. I think I’ll have to let it dry naturally, but it should be okay if I leave it to dry for a couple of days between each coat.

 

Cracking shine on the chestnut paint job , did you use a clear coat on it colin.
Regards ian

 

Nope, just three coats, dried in the oven between and left for a few hours to fully cure and harden. You don't actually need an oven but it speeds things up a lot.

The thing about spraying is the technique and knowing when the layer is thick enough and then stopping quick! Practice is everything.

 

Do you mind me asking about 'primer coat' ? you seem to have just rattle canned straight to metal, is this special one coat paint?

Martin

 

For me, I only use the top coat colour only x 3. No special paint, just rattle cans. I do not believe Tilley or Willis & Bates used primer as I have found no sign of it on flaking original paintwork.

 

Lol...well you're write about the original paint..very poor but then that was indicative of their use and function. Primer is essential for a long lasting finish IMHO, I can't imagine an auto finishers applying paint without a base coat first.

 

I have yet to find a painted lantern fount that was primed before painting.
Then again most lantern founts are made of brass, so not so very important to use primer.
Even most steel founts (like Kamplite and similar) came painted without primer.

 

I think we will have to agree to disagree on this one. Whether Vapalux used a primer or not is sort of immaterial. I've literally been trawling DIY 'how to' guides for the last 30 minutes, there wasn't one that didn't use a primer on brass and several that emphased how important it was to use primer in order for the paint to adhere property. I'm really not wishing to detract from the obvious efforts demonstrated, just that using a primer will give a longer lasting result. It is of course your choice.

 

Well, let's face it... They put a primer on there for some purpose.. lol

 

I suspect the old lead-based paints may have adhered to metal differently than modern paints.

Tony

 

The last few lamps I have restored were all stripped back to brass and I did us a primer, mostly to fill small undulations, I then used Rustoleum gloss. However looking at their technical data sheet I can’t see mention of the need for a primer. So I think it depends on circumstance and preference.

https://www.rustoleum.com/~/media/DigitalEncyclopedia/Documents/RustoleumUSA/TDS/English/CBG/Universal/UNI-04_Universal_Gloss_Flat_and_Matte_Enamel_Sprays_TDS.ashx

 

I know this is an old thread but I have just been up in my loft and found my next project, it was good to read all the posts here for inspiration.




By the way I have painted a couple of lamps in the last few. weeks and used Halfords enamel primer coat, then the green enamel top coat, and on the other plasticote gold then laquer