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PC XT Metal Case Colour

KellyT

New Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2018
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4
Apologies if this has been asked before. I have done a search and can't see the answer though.

I am bringing an XT back to life and the steel case is scratched pretty badly. I read that the case colour was Pantone 413, which it certainly isn't. I think that is the colour of the fascia panel, but not the main body.

Can anyone hep please?
 
unless my memory is screwy, Pantone 42 is what you're looking for. My memory may be screwy though. There was a post on some painting forum a few years back. Maybe you could find it.

The question I always had was how do they create the texture? It almost looks like it was done with a spray gun who's nozzle wasn't adjusted right, and the thing would "spit".

My Northstar Dimension also needs a paint job desperately. Can anyone help with that? It's not the same color as a peecee, similar, but different.
 
...I read that the case colour was Pantone 413, which it certainly isn't. I think that is the colour of the fascia panel, but not the main body.

Can anyone hep please?
I dunno, when I google Pantone 413, the color shown looks pretty close to the case color of my 5160. Definitely not the fascia color.

Greg
 
I'm a photographer and I can tell you monitors are rarely color correct. What looks like a perfect match on one persons monitor will look wrong on another.

That's true. So he needs a paint sample to know for sure. I do believe my display is close enough to know that Pantone 413 in not the fascia color.
 
The question I always had was how do they create the texture? It almost looks like it was done with a spray gun who's nozzle wasn't adjusted right, and the thing would "spit".

I dare say if your just looking to do a touch up to repair a scratch for example you could probably dab it with a small sponge to recreate the texture somewhat. Wouldn't be perfect but it would probably help it blend in better then having a flat spot.

A full case respray however would be quite the challenge.


I do believe my display is close enough to know that Pantone 413 in not the fascia color.

I agree it's definitely not the front fascia which is much more of a beige/cream colour. Pantone 413 is a grey and even looking here at work on 3 different LCD's which I never bothered to colour match it still looks a very close match to the case.
 
I checked Pantone 413 digital colour patches from a few sites on my colour calibrated monitor and the colour varies depending on whose colour patch I checked.

It should be neutral grey, equal parts Red, Green and Blue. Some patches it is and some it isn't.

The best way to be sure is to take the case lid into a paint store and have if colour matched.
 
There's an item I've used on other restoration projects on steel cases. Evapo-Rust is a rust remover that is not an acid, or phosphating agent. It's a chelating agent. A chelate is an organic compound with a metal ion in the center. This stuff literally pulls the iron out of rust without lifting the paint, and without etching the original metal. In situations where the case only has some surface rust, you might not need to strip the whole thing. Soak it in Evapo-Rust then after rinsing and drying, apply a top coat. The advantage of this is, if you don't strip completely, the original texture is preserved. I used this on a metal case with a wrinkle finish and it worked great. Non-toxic too.

With deep scratches, you might approach it as automotive body work. Get some filler, or spot putty, fill, sand, paint. Automotive paint suppliers can color match, and put the mix into rattle cans for you.
 
With Evapo-Rust, does it need to be soaked or can you rub some on the affected area and let it sit? The reason I'm asking is that it's not very cheap at roughly $30 Australian for the 1 litre and $80 for the 5 litres. I'd rather not go ahead and buy say the 1 litre only to use most of it up on one job.

It seems a lot of these organic rust removers aren't cheap compared to the acid/phosphoric based removers. There is a local company here which produces a soak and a gel based solution which is priced roughly the same. The gel is particularly interesting to me as even though you only get 500 grams for $30, I can imagine it would come in really handy if your only targeting one spot since you'd be able concentrate a small amount on just the one area so you wouldn't be going through it so quickly. But of course I can't imagine it helping much with larger areas.

I think I may pick up some of the gel on the weekend as I have a 5170 chassis that needs a touch up on the side. It has a rather large scratch which over the years has been attacked by rust so I think it will do the job perfectly.
 
I used normal rust-converter, I just kept it moist using a sponge soaked in it that I'd slide around occasionally. The spots were easily covered up by 1-2 sprays of a can.
I used $9 Medium Grey from SuperCheap Auto, it's the wrong shade (quite a bit off) but unless it's sitting next to another PC XT nobody notices. I managed to maintain the factory texture, although I'd love to know how to recreate it.

I was doing a super quick job, on a case that was otherwise junk, and it came out alright. I'd be keen to do it again with the proper paint code and some way to recreate the texture - it's my spare.
 
With Evapo-Rust, does it need to be soaked or can you rub some on the affected area and let it sit? The reason I'm asking is that it's not very cheap at roughly $30 Australian for the 1 litre and $80 for the 5 litres. I'd rather not go ahead and buy say the 1 litre only to use most of it up on one job.

It seems a lot of these organic rust removers aren't cheap compared to the acid/phosphoric based removers. There is a local company here which produces a soak and a gel based solution which is priced roughly the same. The gel is particularly interesting to me as even though you only get 500 grams for $30, I can imagine it would come in really handy if your only targeting one spot since you'd be able concentrate a small amount on just the one area so you wouldn't be going through it so quickly. But of course I can't imagine it helping much with larger areas.

I think I may pick up some of the gel on the weekend as I have a 5170 chassis that needs a touch up on the side. It has a rather large scratch which over the years has been attacked by rust so I think it will do the job perfectly.

Evapo-Rust comes in a gel too, I believe. You don't have to dunk the entire thing at once. You can put it in a pan with just enough to submerge one face of the case, then take it out and rinse between sides. Evapo-Rust is multiple use. You use it until it's worn out. The acid based ones are single use, I believe.
 
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