Old MilSpec Paint

[Farmun]

Several years ago, probably in the mid-80's, my dad got a several gallons of MilSpec Olive Drab paint (actual Miltary paint). Back then, he painted most all of his old farm equipment with it, basically just painting over the rust. That stuff still has the paint on it, and doesn't look like much if any has come off.

Fast forward to today.... He gave me his last three gallons of this paint. Said we should use it on the Duece. We opened a can, to see what it was like. First glance, it was black, but after several minutes of stirring the thick goo in the bottom, it turned green. We dabbed some on one of the rear wheels, and after a few minutes, wa-la, olive drab green.

So, what do you guys think? Will this paint work? It's probably 40 years old. If I thin it before spraying the truck, it should be as good as what's on their now, ???

 

[Pinz25086]

Make sure that you mix it very well. Shake it on a paint shaker if you can. Then paint an old shovel head. When it is dry use the shovel to dig a hole. If it stays on the shovel, it might work on the truck. I have used this method to test paint before and it is a good indicator of how tough the finish will be. Good luck! Post pictures of how it turns out.

 

[littlebob]

Make sure that you mix it very well. Shake it on a paint shaker if you can. Then paint an old shovel head. When it is dry use the shovel to dig a hole. If it stays on the shovel, it might work on the truck. I have used this method to test paint before and it is a good indicator of how tough the finish will be. Good luck! Post pictures of how it turns out.

I like this idea of testing it first. It would be a PITA to remove it if its not good paint and wouldn't be worth the money you would pay for new, if you had to remove and do new. What kind of paint is it? Enamal usually takes about a month to fully cure, so keep that in mind with your testing.

 

[rdixiemiller]

I used some 25 year old alkyd enamel to camo a pickup, it was old milsurp paint, worked like a charm and wore like iron. Most of the old enamels will work fine if they were properly sealed up. I would use it to paint the frame, and undercarriage, and get new paint for the topside.

 

[poppop]

Hello RDM, I was just thinking about you today as i had not seen you here in quite a while. Glad you are still around.