History of machine tool colors.

Milacron · Apr 7, 2007

As I see it.... black, battleship gray, green, blue, light gray, tan, white. With the light gray happening concurently as both green and blue. Of course many exceptions to this within each time frame, as never was everyone painting their machines the same color as everyone else. But that's just my notion of the general color trends over the years. So what's left for the future....translucent ??

Was pondering this trying to figure out why there are so many machine tools in the used market with *blue* porch paint slathered on them from previous large corporation. My theory is most of the corporate painting happened in the early 80's thru early 90's which was about the time "blue" was the latest fad machine color, so they slathered up all machines to "match" so as the antique machines would "blend in" with the newer ones, and create the illusion to folks touring the plant that everything in there was "modern".

That's my theory anyway

kilroyjones · Apr 7, 2007

Your theory on corporate painting is a good one.

Where I work we had a hot-shot highspeed plant engineer who was going to reorganize the shop to increase production.

We had a black and orange Amada on one side of the shop and a blue and white Finn-Power on the other side.

The engineer put all the "blue" machines on the finnpower side and any "black" or "red" machines on the Amada side. Then any machine that didn't fit was giving a slathering of red or blue paint and placed on the appropiate side.

A very precise and efficient way to layout a shop. Not to mention how professional the machines looked, like a two-bit call girl with too much make-up....

Doozer · Apr 7, 2007

I think red is a good color for grinders. It just seems to look good for them. Red does not look good on other machines for some reason.
--Doozer

gwilson · Apr 7, 2007

I really don't see painting machinery white,unless you have your very own industrial Maid Brigade to come along behind everyone,and carefully sanitize each spot before the oil can sink in.

Asquith · Apr 7, 2007

A bit of discussion about a 19th century break from gothic tints took place here:-

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/11/1917.html#000000

macona · Apr 7, 2007

I was doing a service call at one of the freightliner prototype facilities and every piece of equipment in their machine shop was painted the same horrible shade of green. Fortunately for the hurco it was in a different area and didnt get hit when the green-bomb exploded! Not the sick lime green, but a darker mold green.

Maybe it like doctors scrubs so that when blood gets on it it dosnt look red!

I want to see temp color change paint on the heads! That way you know how hot its getting! But a gallon of that paint would cost as much as the machne its gong on.

I really like miller blue color. Good shade of blue. But I can imagine it on a piece of machine shop equipment.

adama · Apr 7, 2007

over here u can now get glow in the dark paints!! imagine a whole shop that glowed when the lights were switched off!! a couple of radiation - keep out signs and i recon u never need to lock the door at night again

personaly i prefer the darker colours, white - light greys show up too many oil stains! but my floor is a light blue colour and its the best thing i have ever done, drop something and it stands out - very easy to find!

Graeme Sharp · Apr 7, 2007

White is a real b-----rd of a colour for a machine. At one time I was resident engineer for RR at an aero engine overhaul shop in New Jersey. At that time, as well as jet engines, they were also overhauling P & W radials. A few of their clients would ask that the crankcase be painted white instead of the usual grey. The idea of this was that any oil leak could be easily spotted. As can be imagined, the overhaul shop hated it, as even the most minor oil weep would be easily seen by the customer, with a resulting warranty claim for rectification.

MitsTech · Apr 7, 2007

I'm a huge fan of the light grey myself. Easy on the eyes, gives good light reflectivity into the work zone, but not so offensive and distracting as white is.

As for the history of colors, I've always wondered that myself. I think, as others have mentioned, it just goes with the "popular" color of the times. Look at all the hideous green appliances and cars that were sold during a certain period. (at least Mustard Yellow never made it to machinery!)

I was recently in an older Amp plant (Amp connectors). Huge, huge shop, and everything except the CNC machines were painted light blue. I have to say, the uniformity did make for an attractive, if not a little monotonous, shop environment.

SND · Apr 7, 2007

Someday I will buy a big old lathe and a mill, mostly for heavy roughing. They will probably be painted Cat Yellow. I don't have any particular liking for yellow. For me its just the only color beside gray that seems fitting for big mean machines.

gwilson · Apr 7, 2007

A dealer told me that people have actually returned Bridgeport milling machines because they didn't go with their color scheme.Why they were so stupid as to order them in the first place is beyond me.How such people make enough money to blythely sacrifice the freight is also beyond me.Probably some stupid paper shoving purchasing agent.I had a purchasing agent,an OLD dude,take out a monkey wrench and ask me if I knew what it was.Seems that most people didn't,but I didn't think his bit of knowledge was something to be so proud of!

Milacron · Apr 7, 2007

A dealer told me that people have actually returned Bridgeport milling machines because they didn't go with their color scheme

If the sage dealer happened to be Dempsey of Richmond, I'd take that with a sack of salt. I've been around numerous machine tool dealers and salesmen, both new and used, for decades and never heard of such a thing happening.

Note saying it never happened, just saying it highly unlikely to have reached "people" proportions...probably just one rare incident many years ago.

gwilson · Apr 7, 2007

No,D.T.,it was the Bridgewood dealer in York,Pa.,Wilkes Mach.Co..Dempsey only sells used stuff.

daryl bane · Apr 7, 2007

I've been told that Baby blue was Howard Hughes favorite color, and all the machine tools in the companies he owned were painted that color. My Tree mill from Hughes Aerospace was indeed that color. Probably just a myth.

lathefan · Apr 7, 2007

...how about hot pink highlights?...

Mud · Apr 7, 2007

Apparently Cincinnati Milacron painted machines custom colors on special order. I have a 10VC-1250 that was painted "gold" for the original owner. The color is a cross between mustard yellow and Cat yellow. It looks good to me, and is a nice change from gray. I think Cat yellow would be a fine color for machine tools!

The machines in my shop that we've painted are painted several different colors but mostly gray and blue. The blue (Ebay blue, before it was called that here on PM) looks good in the shop, and lets us identify machines by color("the gray gear shaper", "the blue gear shaper"). Cream is a good contrasting color for the internals, and shows sediment and dirt in the sumps and collection areas.

John Michael · Apr 7, 2007

I once had a custome who painted the machines in different departments different colors and the machinists had hard hats the color of their department machines. Someone goofing off out of his department was instantly obvious.

Milacron · Apr 8, 2007

No,D.T.,it was the Bridgewood dealer in York,Pa.,Wilkes Mach.Co..Dempsey only sells used stuff.

I knew Dempsey was used now but guessed he might have been a saleman for new in an earlier life and had some tales related to those days. I know of Wilke, have their catalogs, but never dealt with them before.
=================

Irrelevant to the point of this discussion, but can't resist pointing out that Wilke is not so much a "dealer" for Bridgewood but in fact the "creator" of same. The usual deal like Jet or Grizzly where they import from China and Tawain from various manufactures, specify a certian paint color and then slap their "Bridgewood" nameplates on.

Far as I can tell they are the only outlet in the USA for "Bridgewood" machines, so there are no "dealers" for Bridgewood in the usual sense.

j.carlson · Apr 8, 2007

Slather ( and reslather )is often used to convince the loan officer at the bank how wonderful these "fresh" machines are for collateral ! And down the road, the loan officer
often gets to witness how worthless the collateral is during the foreclosure auction !!

Jim C.

mobile_bob · Apr 8, 2007

i know,, i know

rustoleum makes a cool rattle can chrome
if you put down a base coat of their brass color
and then over coat it with a few coats of their
chrome paint,, it comes out like nickel plateing

hahahaa

i'm gonna do it

awe hell,, i am partial to flat black, that has been burnished with steelwool, with antique gold accents

bob g

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