The AM Forum

Hi Guys,
I am at the point of painting my NC-183 (non D).  Being partly color blind always makes it tough for me to match colors.  To my eyes it looks sort of battle ship grey or maybe green??  Plus it has never had a re paint and is faded quite a bit.  Does anyone know of a match or close enough match from a ready mixed spray or can?  What have you used?  Thanks,
73,
Chris

I just had some mixed up to match the cabinet color for my Globe Scout: looks dead-on.

I wonder if the NC-183 as the same color as the NC-125?

Phil

National colors varied a bit with each production run, there were also tan NC-183's.

Remove the lid, clean the unoxidized inside and take to a store looking for a match.

Carl

http://k9sth.com/uploads/Boat_Anchor_Paints.pdf

Glen does professional restoration and has shared the paint codes for several radios.  You should be able to get the correct color at any quality paint shop.

Great idea Carl.  Thanks

And thanks kb4qaa for the boat anchor paints pdf.  Great info...but is the nc-183 the same color as the nc-200 or nc-2-40d??  they look different to my eyes.

Chris.

Hmm, well I didn't even look at the list this time.  I would probably say 'no'.  I have a 173 and it is a very light gray.

I agree that taking the lid or part of the case into the store for direct measurement will give you the most accurate match.

Good luck, Bill

OK, thats what I will do then.
Thank you Bill.
Chris.

K9STH uses water based house paints, not my idea of professional.

Hi Chris..Phil KC4VWU and I discussed a similar in content posting a few days ago when Phil inquired about a Bud cabinet..I believe he found a PPG paint store in his neck of the woods that allows for computor matching and filling of spray cans with the paint selected..in our area up here it's NAPA auto that does the very same thing..Sherwin Williams here DID at one time that as well but for whatever reason no longer does here but in Massachusets to the south of us they still do..Carl's comment about taking off the swing up top cover is darn good advice but the bottom line for real success is to find that paint/auto store in ur area that does supply a computor matched spray paint preferably in an oil/petroleum based product instead of settling on a latex based paint as Glenn K9STH has reccomended..latex no matter who or what never will give you the tuff durability that oil enamel will provide..
            So far as ur question of whether the NC240-D is similar to the NC183..not really but darn close..Phil ur question of whether the NC-125 is the same..oh no way Jose..very much darker on the 125 and even more so leaning towards a greenish-gray-blue sort of hue IMHO
             By the way Chris I've never fully stripped a cabinet b/4 re-paint but sanding with med grit going to fine and truly spending a little extra time on that pays off in dividends in the final product..Rustoleum pro primer #7582 gray is the best overall IMHO..the bottom line is prep prep and prep..treat it like ur doing a classic Rolls..NAPA charges $22 a can..hi-gloss durable acrylic enamel..2 cans at best and ur golden Chris..gud luk and post the pics when completed!           73 de DAVE

PS: just remembered too a posting by Jim W5JO in the "Restorations" section here..maybe a possible Dupli-Color paint available that's close enough to National gray?????..check it out

My 183 looks to be a metallic silver gray to me, more silver than gray. A coat of common "aluminum" rattle can paint with one or 2 light coats of clearcoat over top of it should be very close.

The 2-40D is more of a "wrinkle" type finish and definately a different color than the 183. (I also have one)

And the 183-D is totally another color (I also have one) much closer to a "charcoal gray"


just my $.02 worth...................

OH, and just FWIW, here where I work, we often have to paint architectural metals to match existing building facades. We use Sherwin-Williams industrial coatings division for our materials. (They have a 1 gallon minimum and expect to pay $100-150 for it) But they can match any color and gloss and even allow for weather fade.
All they need is a very small sample, sometimes they can do it from as little as a few scrapings!

If you need something really odd, this might be a viable alternative.

I go up into Canada 2-3 times a year for various reasons and often get paint mixed as a side trip exercise. They dont have all the Fort Fumble crap to contend with and a gallon can be as low as $20.  I supply my own cans and havent had any border problems  :o ;D

Carl

I have an original NC-183 (not D), never repainted , it is light gray, the same color as shown in KB4QAA's picture of his NC-173.
The NC-183D is darker gray. 

Thanks for the info!  Yes, mine looks (to my bad eye sight) like KB4QAA's as well...light gray, yet once again why am I seeing a greenish tint in there ??? so I will just take the top off and head down to NAPA or SW or something.  I will post a  pic when I am finished.

thanks all.
Chris

I have a very late production 183 and it has the dark gray that was used by the 183d model. I was told the last 50 or so off the line used the newer dark gray color paint.
RC