[PROJECT] Bridgeport Rebuild

[Vinny]

Machine Builders of New England, LLC 33 Hull St. Shelton, CT 06484

http://www.machinebuildne.com/

[Old Minger]

Gents,

While I wait for the one shot lube parts to arrive I'm now thinking a head to the black paint and finish I need for the... Um,well the black bits on the Bridgeport.

I've looked and asked around at various paint suppliers and Googled the what's it out of it but have not yet found a satisfactory answer.

My original Bridgeport black parts appeared to have a matte black finish that was directly applied to the metal. This was mainly on Aluminum parts but also some mild steel as well. It it quite tough and appears to have a textured finish to it. The nearest example I could give you that you may all be able to access is the finish found on Noga magnetic bases for their indicator holders, it might be on other makes as well but I've only ever seen a Noga so that's all I can confirm.

I can't believe the paint is anything special but it's also not straight out of a spray bomb either as I've tried 3 different popular makes now and it's not even close to the original finish.

Any thoughts on what to use or other places to look and ask would be grateful appreciated.

I could post a picture if that helps?

Cheers
John

[EdK]

John,

Pictures are always helpful.

Ed

[Old Minger]

PHere are a couple of pictures. They are taken in direct sunlight to show the texture but it gives the finish a sheen it doesn't really have, it's definitely flat/matte black in appearance.
   

[Dr Stan]

Industrial grey from Rustoleum Industrial paint (or similar brand) typically works well for just about any machine tool painting.

[Old Minger]

I'm trying to restore the mill to how it originally was. This would have been Bridgeport grey for everything accept a few parts that were painted black, namely the felt wiper covers, x axis powerfeed motor and electronics inclosure and a few other parts. So it's the black paint and finish that has me stumped.

[Vinny]

Check with these guys, they're really helpful and know Bridgeports inside and out. http://www.machinebuildne.com/ I've bought from them many times.

[Old Minger]

Thanks Vinny, I'll give them a try and report back.
Cheers
John

[Pete O]

I slight hijack if I may, I want to strip and paint my mill whilst I have some time off over January. The enamel I used on my lathe did not stand up at all to cutting fluids so I won't be using that again. Rustoleum has been recommended here but when I look at their website, there are a thousand different products under the brand name. Wondering what particular product I should be looking at? If I can get anything like as good a finish as John's mill I will be very happy, especially if it stays that way after exposure to coolants.

[awemawson]

Bridgeport Grey changed considerably over the years. When I repainted my 1969 machine I went to considerable trouble to get the correct colour, contacting Braithwaites here in the UK who are run by ex Bridgeport staff. They put me in touch with the people who supplied Bridgeport here in the UK who looked up the specs for that year and mixed it for me. What I ended up with, to my surprise, has a distinct purple hue, but comparing it to similar serial number machines in dealers over the years (this was 20 years ago!) it IS right.