Info needed: correct colours for WWII Aust vehicles

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Lang

Mike

I suspect a 75 year old can of paint, even if perfectly sealed, may have altered its colour like a bottle of vintage wine. Particularly if it contained any organic matter such as linseed oil. Minute ongoing chemical reaction or interaction with the surface of the can or cork seal may also play their part.


Lang

Hi


I'm not a organic chemist by any stretch but I do know that some organic compounds have been found preserved for thousands of years . The Egyptian honey is one I've heard of .

I don't know how a small cork might alter the colour of a can of paint but who knows . Cork is a natural product . The metal container would not allow any light through . I do remember prying the cork out and seeing the musty yellow paint in a treacle like state.

The can , I found it in Plums scrap yard at Wodonga during one the early Corowa events . I was scrounging in a old wooden outbuilding ( I actually climbed in the window ) and stumbled across the can. Funny the things you remember, they had stacks of 40mm Bofors rounds , the projectile , in the yard. A local farmer spotted our vehicles parked out the front of Plums and he rolled up in a Ford Blitz, his farm truck ! Another thing I remember is the huge mass of tangled 19 wireless set cables on the ground. And a 44 gallon drum full of the No. 3 carbon mics for a 11 set . I have drifted away from the topic again