So I just posted a really late response to taumac's awesome thread on the history of his Wall of Craftsman (which was a truly inspiring thread BTW; thanks that taumac). See it here:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6830999#post6830999
To continue, I last mentioned I was starting to refinish my chests one by one. I originally wanted to keep their existing patina and character but after getting all ****-retentive on the engine and front end restoration to the 1985 BMW M535i, the mis-matched paint and finishes of all the boxes finally got to me.
The first one was the #65035 (8/1972) 5 Drawer/Lower Compartment (I call it Box #3 on the left). It was really a mess when I bought it and only managed to get it clean enough to work with since I was buying tools for the car restoration and needed the chest badly. This is what it looked like when I brought it to the hangar (this is after I cleaned it up somewhat):
(I don't have a good photo of it finished; I'll post it when I get back up there a take a better one)
Note that this wasn't supposed to a full and complete **** top to bottom restoration; this was just supposed to be a quick clean-up and light repaint to bring it back to serviceable usefulness. Really just breathing new life into it and extending their lifespan as long as I need them.
Recently I finished the #65212 Middle Intermediate 3 Drawer (my Box #4).
And finished:
I kept the previous original owner's stenciled name on the lid to honor the box's past:
With its' new sacrificial/protective wood top (3 coats of Helmsman Spar Urethane ought to do it):
Refilled, new liners and glides all lubed; put back into action:
As to the colors, lots of folks here and in other thread have posted what they used. I bought a lot (an awful lot) of greys and reds trying to find just the right tone and match. When I did Box #3, I used:
Case: Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 2X Ultra Cover Gloss Dark Gray
Drawers: Rust-Oleum Gloss Protective Enamel #7762 "Sunrise Red"
The red was pretty close but still didn't have the right amount of orange in it. The gray was good for tone, but couldn't match the finish (the original is a slight metallic powder coated color so simple spray paint isn't going to do it).
When I did the Intermediate I had better existing finishes to try and match (inside at the back of the drawers and under the lid and at the back of the box). I switched up to these:
Case: Dupli-Color Perfect Match Automotive BNS0604 Precision Gray (W40), it's a Nissan Altima color
Drawers: Krylon Farm & Implement "Massey Ferguson Red" High Gloss Enamel
The red has the right amount of orange in the base and is an almost dead match to whatever Sears used.
The Gray is good for matching the tone but it has more metallic flake than I would have liked; it still looks pretty good when done though. You have to put a clear enamel coat over the Precision Gray per the instructions; after a few coats with buffing in between you're good to go.
I am in the middle of doing this to the other chests starting with the CM #65272 Middle Intermediate 2 Drawer. I will actually re-paint the Husky Intermediate (#92-603) in the matching color scheme so it all looks homogeneous; a bit sacrilegious maybe but it contrasts too much for my tastes.
