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Paint matching for apple II and Apple II plus (only)

VERAULT

VERAULT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
8,606
Location
Connecticut, USA
I picked up a nice working apple II plus last weekend. Keyboard needs some work as keys arent all showing up but thats to be expected. The only downside of the machines is according to the seller, a few drops of paint thinner were dripped onto the front of the unit. The original Apple II and II plus were painted, unlike the IIe, IIc, and IIgs which were just molded plastic.

I don't care about recreating the speckled surface as the spots are only about the size of a quarter but I was wondering if anyone has any success matching the paint up to something sold in an aerosol paint can.

Pleasw let me know, if anyone you painted an Apple II in the past. Thanks
 
I purchased an Apple II many years ago with a scratched cover and case and re-painted it to my satisfaction using Testor Model spray paint on the case and cover. Nameplate and RFI areas were masked off and I think the results were pretty good. The original paint was slightly darker but good for an off the shelf paint match. This was when Hobby stores still existed and I was able to take the case to the store and physically match colors. Most Hobby stores that catered to Railroad scale model hobyists are long gone but you can buy the paint online. The paint I used was Model Master custom spray enamel "#1933 Camouflage Gray FS 36622". You might buy one can and try it out first on the back of the Apple cover. For best results, you need to repaint the whole case. Better results can be had using an Air Brush and compressor with custom mixed paints; but that is a lot of work.

>> Charles

Paint1.jpg
Paint2.jpg
 
As to the "grey" name, you would have to ask the company but my guess is back in the day modellers would try to paint model boats/planes etc as accurately as possible so there were many shades of grey for the market to choose from. They ran out of names? The paint is actually a light tan color or it was when I bought this 12 years ago. I kept a few cans for touch-up on my Apple II+ machines. If you try this, paint a small section on the back of the lid first to see what you think.

>>> Charles
 
I double checked the paint by spraying a little on some paper and setting it against another Apple II+ machine

I have that was not painted, and it's a close match. The original paint has a slightly more yellowish tint

than the new paint but still very close. Several light coats would be best to prevent shiny spots on the

surface. After fully dried, you might try light waxing as the original had some shine on the "textured" parts

of the paint but overall looks almost flat and light coats will preserve the original paint texture. Hope it

works for you.

>Charles

Paint3.jpg
 
Im pretty hopeful. You did an amazing job on yours. I am not looking for a factory original paint job. Just want ro hide some damagw in a way that doeant draw notice.
 
VERAULT said:
I bought 2 cans from this distributor. They look as shady as you can get.. I mean really shady.
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More shady then the 8701 chips we bought from aliexpress? :)

I'll likely give this a shot too since i have the same issue with a II+ of my own.. I did repaint a IIe before that needed it (someone had repainted it already once and paint remover only made it worse), but just used a home depot beige color on it. It didn't match original really, but I just did the entire case and it looks fine if you don't compare it to another one. But for the II+ I was holding out hoping I could find something closer.

Was there shipping at that place? what did the total price come out to for two?
 
It had all these weird disclaimers about forcing you to buy extra shipping insurance or they arent accountable for lost or damged good.( paid via paypal.. Let them try something.) Domestic cheapo shipping was $2.99.
And as far as the aliexpress chips.. 2 out of 5 were bad but they did refund me the difference so i cant complain.
 
VERAULT said:
It had all these weird disclaimers about forcing you to buy extra shipping insurance or they arent accountable for lost or damged good.( paid via paypal.. Let them try something.) Domestic cheapo shipping was $2.99.
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Oh, that's not bad then since I think i saw the paint on amazon for about $12.99 or something, so this is around the same for 2.
 
ngtwolf said:
Oh, that's not bad then since I think i saw the paint on amazon for about $12.99 or something, so this is around the same for 2.
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Thats what I thought also. Ill post if they ever submit tracking info or a glimmer of anything moving along.
 
So I received the initial order confirmation email when I ordered it on the 28th of February. Nothing since. I sent them an inquiry email, they haven't replied yet. Dunno, its not looking too good.
 
Got a reply back from KingCobra this afternoon about the paint I ordered. They say the paint was on back order and they are filling the order from supplier to their warehouse. They don't have an ETA. I told them not listing an item on back-order on their website is an easy way to make an upset customer. I guess we shall see.
 
VERAULT said:
Got a reply back from KingCobra this afternoon about the paint I ordered. They say the paint was on back order and they are filling the order from supplier to their warehouse. They don't have an ETA. I told them not listing an item on back-order on their website is an easy way to make an upset customer. I guess we shall see.
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Okay, so I would cancel the order. I got a bottle of the paint and honestly, it's the same color as paint I've already tried. I'm attaching an image, but you can basically get the same color by picking up Rust-oleum Gloss Almond from home depot. It's fine, but it doesn't match the original. I used it for a IIe since it was the closest I could find. The home depot version is about $4.50 though, and much larger. My gloss almond was almost empty, so it didn't spray very well, but I had sprayed this new can over the gloss almond paint I had already did and couldn't tell any difference. I'll also attach a picture of something painted with the gloss almond vs the original ii+. It's hard to tell, but the ii+ original color is noticeably darker so if you paint it, you'd likely have to paint the whole thing. If you paint the whole thing, it'll be fine, but it won't totally match the accessories/monitor.

IMG_20200310_195506.jpgIMG_20200310_193911.jpg
 
ngtwolf said:
... you can basically get the same color by picking up Rust-oleum Gloss Almond from home depot. It's fine, but it doesn't match the original. I used it for a IIe since it was the closest I could find.View attachment 59671View attachment 59672
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Im going to play the devils advocate and give them more time. Why? Because I dont want something close, I want something spot-on. I am trying to fix a small area. not a whole repaint. We will see what happens but thanks for the Gloss Almond reference.. Its a good backup. Send a photo when the PC is back together.
 
VERAULT said:
Im going to play the devils advocate and give them more time. Why? Because I dont want something close, I want something spot-on. I am trying to fix a small area. not a whole repaint. We will see what happens but thanks for the Gloss Almond reference.. Its a good backup. Send a photo when the PC is back together.
Click to expand...

That was my point, it's not spot on, Both the rust-oleum and the Model Master paint are the exact same color which isn't the same color as the Apple II+. If you look at my pictures, the one picture shows both paint samples by their respective paint, which you can't tell the difference. The second picture just shows that color on the lid, sitting on top of a original painted II+ case. I'm not going to use the Model Master paint because it's the same color I already tried with the other paint, and it didn't match the original color of the case. Just like you, I don't want to repaint the entire computer which is why I abandoned using that color. (Plus, i'm probably going to give that II+ to a friend anyway in exchange for his Franklin Ace 1000 since I had one of those growing up and not a II+)

Maybe it wasn't clear from my post, but all I was saying is that this color doesn't match a II+, it's the same color as the $4.50 equivalent home depot paint.
 
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Ok, my fault. I didnt read you properly. Well that is disappointing. I might just have to repaint the whole thing unfortunately.
 
Jerry Manock (designer of the Apple II case) says that Pantone 453 is the color they decided on for the original Apple II case. However, some people (people not associated in any way with the production of the computer) claim it's not the same color.

The thing is, how many people are comparing the injection molded version with the painted version? Pantone 453 can look slightly different depending on how it's used. If they decided on a specific color to paint a case, but used that exact same color to mix in for injection molding, it's going to look different. That's why Pantone has different variations of the same color depending on how it's going to be used. 453U, for example, is for painting on plastics. PQ-453U is different shade of 453 to be mixed in with resin for injection molding.

All the colors are approximate. Not to mention that paint and colors change over time, especially 40 years. I'm inclined to believe Jerry remembers the correct color, and it's just that all the machines these days look different because it's been 30-40 years.
 
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