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To paint the machined flats in my Heavy 10L stand or just Fluid Film them?

Jim Simmons

Plastic
Joined
Dec 22, 2016
I'm doing the complete restoration on my 1948 10L. I've finished painting the table, and now I'm looking at the two "feet" for the lathe bed and wondering why one would paint them as they are just going to get bolted to another machined surface. Couldn't one paint the rest of the castings (Front and rear feet, bed), let them dry, then spray the bare metal with fluid film and bolt it together? I'm just hesitant to bolt two painted surfaces together before the aklyd enamel isn't 100% cured. Paint can says cured in 28 days. won't there be plenty of lubricant hanging out around these surfaces to prevent corrosion?

Parts I still need: Steady rest, taper attachment, large dial upgrade, four jaw chuck, collet rack, collet set, drawbar. It's my first lathe, so I'm starting from scratch. I used to say, "If only I had a lathe, I'd make that..." Now I look at my new lathe in pieces and say "If only I had a lathe, I'd make that..."

Hope to be making chips by summer.
 
No paint on those machined surfaces; the precision fit is hugely affected. Light coat of oil duriing assembly mean you can get it apart the next time. Good luck
 
Machined surfaces, even if they are not a working surface, are never the less heavily used and paint simply will not hold up. There was a reason why they were never painted in the factory. Don't reinvent the wheel.
 
Fluid film is just oily stuff right?
Then it should be fine. you want stuff that gets squeezed out of the joint, light oils are best at that.

My 1942 lathe has been stood in less than perfect conditions for significant periods and these surfaces are still perfect. No fancy sprays for most of that time.
 








 
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