# Using NOS paint - any good?



## shawn57187 (Jan 30, 2016)

I recently bought some NOS Schwinn primer. I also bought a few cans of paint too.  

Will this paint be any good? Has anyone tried NOS paint before?


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## catfish (Jan 30, 2016)

No. Use new paint.


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## morton (Jan 30, 2016)

shawn57187 said:


> I recently bought some NOS Schwinn primer. I also bought a few cans of paint too.
> 
> Will this paint be any good? Has anyone tried NOS paint before?




Tried it once a while back and had issues with it not drying.....stayed tacky.  When you consider that 80% of a good paint job is the grunt work you do before applying paint, taking the chance is not worth it.   I had to strip and go thru the whole prep process again.

A lot depends upon the type of paint and how old.


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## fordmike65 (Jan 30, 2016)

Rustjunkie has had good luck. I'm sure he'll chime in with some pics.


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## rustystone2112 (Jan 30, 2016)

i used the chestnut  color schwinn paint  worked perfect  dried fast


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## the tinker (Jan 30, 2016)

I have seen an un-opened 5 gallon metal can of army surplus  paint from 1953 used to repaint a Korean War army jeep being restored with excellent results. When I saw the paint in the shop being stirred in the original army green metal bucket  with the the federal stock numbers on it from 1953 I must say I was shocked.  The paint was fine.                                                                     

The problem with buying new old stock paint is there is no way in knowing how it was stored.  How would one know if it ever was frozen from careless storage?  The same goes for storage in hot areas. I would experiment with it before taking the final plunge....just saying.....


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## momo608 (Jan 30, 2016)

This is painted with that NOS lime on ebay. I bought it with the intention of doing touch ups but ended up doing the whole bike. What was surprising was how little was needed to adequately cover the entire bike frame. The half pint was enough to do this and all the experimenting I was doing with an airbrush before I decided that that was a dead end. I still have a little left over. I used it over left over Petes silver base coat. I let it dry a few weeks, hand buffed it out and slapped the decals on. Personally I would not have bothered with the Schwinn primer because it's nothing special, but I usually have plenty Sherwin Williams Kem Kromic on hand. Any primer that can be thinned with xylene is what you need. 

Oh yeah, run it through two strainers doubled up, there was some crud in there.


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## momo608 (Jan 30, 2016)

Do not throw money away on expensive spray guns to paint your bikes. This was a throw away in a set of two guns I bought for spraying primers and sealers on other projects. Great little gun that I use for all my bike projects, from the primers all the way through the final clear coat. 


http://www.amazon.com/Grip-HVLP-Air-Touch-Gun/dp/B000GFIB8W


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## Squiggle Dog (Jan 30, 2016)

Tim Brandt or someone had some NOS cans of Schwinn paint from the 1930s. He (or whomever it was) was restoring some 1930s Schwinns at the time and decided to use the paint for the heck of it. It was hardened in the can, but he mixed it up with thinner and it actually liquefied and sprayed like new paint. Now he can say he restored the bikes using original paint. Pretty cool story.


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## SirMike1983 (Feb 1, 2016)

the tinker said:


> I have seen an un-opened 5 gallon metal can of army surplus  paint from 1953 used to repaint a Korean War army jeep being restored with excellent results. When I saw the paint in the shop being stirred in the original army green metal bucket  with the the federal stock numbers on it from 1953 I must say I was shocked.  The paint was fine.
> 
> The problem with buying new old stock paint is there is no way in knowing how it was stored.  How would one know if it ever was frozen from careless storage?  The same goes for storage in hot areas. I would experiment with it before taking the final plunge....just saying.....





I think this is exactly right. Many of the older, oil-based enamel paints can last a long time if stored correctly. I've even had luck with a couple cans of newer, alkyd enamels that were sitting for some years.

Some enamels can even be reconstituted if hardened, with mixing (I tend to think these were higher quality). Some cannot be saved because of improper storage.


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## Jeff54 (Feb 1, 2016)

I used Schwinn spray paint in the 60's and it was just as crappy as any other spray can. Albeit I clearly recall the dealer saying it was just as good as the pints for spray gun. remember,  because the spray chipped to easy. .  The only good part is the colors. And as far as primer goes, it's crap too. there's better red-lead paints now days  that'll match the primer coat but you need to be sure whatever finish coat you use is compatible with the primer. . To bad we can't get color matches with good ol'Lacquer. Lacquer red-lead an finish coat and you're good to go.


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