Re painting a PM 66

[Louie George]

I am in the process of refurbing a PM 66 that came to me in a very non-PM brown. I have received conflicting information about what I need to do, I heard that I need to strip the paint down to bare metal then repaint and that if the existing paint is ok I can paint over it. What is best way to this repaint, what is the benefit of either approach, and finally what is the best way to strip the paint? Looking forward to the responses. Thanks.

[Martin King]

I am in the process of refurbing a PM 66 that came to me in a very non-PM brown. I have received conflicting information about what I need to do, I heard that I need to strip the paint down to bare metal then repaint and that if the existing paint is ok I can paint over it. What is best way to this repaint, what is the benefit of either approach, and finally what is the best way to strip the paint? Looking forward to the responses. Thanks.

You should really ask this on the owwm.org website. Either stripping
to metal or painting over is viable depending on the condition of
the finish, and what paint system you are using. I recently restored
a powermatic planer and blasted it back to metal, followed by an
epoxy primer, and color matched imron. If the paint is in decent
condition, you can save the stripping, and just sand and topcoat
over it. Sort of depends on how far you want to take it.

[Rick Gifford]

I think you will get the best input if you can post some pics/ or a link to some online pics of your saw.

[Fred Woodward]

Are you completely stripping the saw and repainting everything?
I rebuilt a PM66 not too long ago. I did mine all by hand using a heavy stripper, did a great job, but that takes a lot of time. Much faster is to have it blasted. Sand blasting is fast but soda blasting is probably better (just as fast) though a bit more expensive.
For repainting the cabinet, I would remove all of the badging. Take lots of pictures of the inside of the saw as you disassemble it. Be careful to not drop any of the castings or lay them on the gear tooth edges. The castings are still available if you have to rebuy one but they're not cheap, especially the main casting. Pay particular attention to the arbor and how it is mounted in the bearing arm. Measure the amount of arbor out from the braring arm housinf to the arbor flange. This dimension is critical for setting the saw back up correctly after you replace those arbor bearings. It's built pretty simple inside but you want to make sure all of the spacers and washers, etc go back in their right places.
If you're going to repaint inside and outside of the cabinet I would definitely have it blasted. The soda blasting will leave a smoother finish and also a protective coating that will prevent rust from forming immediately. Sand blasting finish will be rougher and the bare steel will rust very quickly, sometimes right before your eyes.
I primed mine inside and out with Rustoleum primer before the top coats of paint. Hand sanded the primer between coats.
There are many options on paint. I used a Rustoleum enamel with a clearcoat topcoat. If I do it again, I will use an industrial enamel and spray it.
You could also have it powder coated but that is a pretty expensive job.

You can find lots of information and expert help on the OWWM.org site if you need it.

[Matt Ocel]

Keep it Gold!

[Peter Quinn]

Seem to recall some of the guys at OWWM having the original paint formulas for many PM machines depending on vintage.

I think paint sticks to paint well, but not rust. If there's rust it should be removed, and if this creates craters that look poor then a complete strip might be in order. A good skuf sanding and a decent primer should allow paint to stick if the surface is decent.

[Chris Rosenberger]

George,

How old is your saw? Are you wanting to paint it the original color for the year it was built?

[bruce w hill]

I rebuilt my PM66 about 2 years ago. I stripped it down to the bare cabinet & carried it & had it powder coated.It was originally the dark green color.I had it redone in white & like it very well. I know some would frown on that but,it goes with every thing else nicely and doesn't seem so dingy.;)

[Louie George]

It is an 1981, that was originally the first generation of gold that PM used. In truth I'm not a PM purist so I have not decided on a color but would like to go with black and gold in homage to the 1966 Hurst Shelby Mustang or even white and blue in homage to the early Shelby Cobras ( I think there's a prevailing theme here somewhere). But since almost everything else in my shop is Jet I will probably go with the white with a blue racing stripe... but that could change.

[Jim Becker]

Keep it Gold!

"Gold/mustard" is a relatively "new" color for PM. Prior to a certain date, they were green...

If the paint is sound, you can sand smooth, prime and repaint without stripping. But if the previous paint is either in poor condition or poorly applied, stripping bare and starting from scratch will provide a much more "like new" look. Kinda a subjective thing...

[Kirk Poore]

"Gold/mustard" is a relatively "new" color for PM. Prior to a certain date, they were green...

If the paint is sound, you can sand smooth, prime and repaint without stripping. But if the previous paint is either in poor condition or poorly applied, stripping bare and starting from scratch will provide a much more "like new" look. Kinda a subjective thing...

A timeline for Powermatic colors can be found here:
http://wiki.owwm.com/ow.asp?PaintColors%2FPowermatic

The PM66 was introduced in 1966, so it's gone through all the color schemes except the gray. But you can paint it whatever you like...

Kirk
who has a rainbow of old machines to choose from...

[Ron Williams]

Are you sure a Shelby in the shop would be safe?

[Louie George]

Sure, about as safe as me working with a PM 66.