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Restoring 1939 Snappy box: Paint suggestion?

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Brad54

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I've got a 1939 Snap-on "Red Cap" top and bottom box combo that I'm going to be restoring.

It's in rough shape... as the hinges failed in the past, the previous owner whipped out the brazing equipment and had at it. As a result, I'll be replacing one of the heat-warped doors on the roll-away, and will be getting new piano hinges from McMaster-Carr.

I'll have it soda blasted down to bare metal, do the welding repairs, fab the door, fix and replace the slides with some donors I picked up a few years ago, and then repaint it.

Anyone have suggestions for the paint? I won't be priming/sanding the paint, just painting it like they originally did.

Should I order the paint from Snap-on, have it color-matched at a paint shop, or is Hard-Hat Rustoleum spray can red good enough? I've had great success with that paint on a lot of projects in the past.

Anyone know if Snap-on has changed the shade of red over the years? That would be the big question as far as getting the paint from Snap-on.

-Brad
 
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Skyline

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You can get the Snap-on Red directly from them in a spray can or tiny touch up bottles. I don't think you can get quarts anymore. You can also get this color mixed from a paint shop, and there is no question that you will get better results using a professional spray gun.

I needed to paint the door of a large S-O locker, and had paint mixed by a local body shop supply store. I picked their best enamel, and it was not cheap...as I also had to buy activator and reducer. All told, if I recall, it was over $150 for just a quart. I did have some small problem finding a PPG store that had one of the tints used in the Snap-on Red recipe. There's an orange tint in the paint that is not too comon, so only a store stocking the full PPG system is likely to have it. The overall result is very good...good color match and very similar finish. If you look really close, it is apparant that the new paint has a bit more build than the original, (probably more durable too,) but that was unavoidable.
 
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chrislehr

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pics pics pics...


also, someone else did Sunshine Red Rusoleum with GREAT success. Search for sunshine snap on.
 
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Ramblur

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Hey Brad,just finishing the 1965 SO box I got at the Crane Cams auction.
Had the paint store color match the bottom sides of the drawers and used
their shopline series. $50/qt for the red but I'd have bought a gallon if I knew
we were gonna go through 3 qts. All told I'm quessing closer to $400 in
materials. Went to put the casters back on and they really looked like ****
against the refurbed box so they got redone too. Happy that its over and
ready for another 44 years.:bounce: Good luck with yours.
CraneCamsstuff4-09076.jpg


CraneCamsstuff4-09080.jpg


CraneCamsstuff4-09068.jpg
 
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tatra

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read up on soda blasting and paint problems.......can't remember where i saw the info but seems it isn't all that great for paint.............
 
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Brad54

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tatra said:
read up on soda blasting and paint problems.......can't remember where i saw the info but seems it isn't all that great for paint.............
Click to expand...

It has to be properly neutralized. Most guys don't do that, they just wipe it down with Metal Prep and start shooting.

-Brad
 
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kidatari

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Ramblur said:
Hey Brad,just finishing the 1965 SO box I got at the Crane Cams auction.
Had the paint store color match the bottom sides of the drawers and used
their shopline series. $50/qt for the red but I'd have bought a gallon if I knew
we were gonna go through 3 qts. All told I'm quessing closer to $400 in
materials. Went to put the casters back on and they really looked like ****
against the refurbed box so they got redone too. Happy that its over and
ready for another 44 years.:bounce: Good luck with yours.
Click to expand...

Holy ****. That has to be the awesomest box I've ever seen. I must find one of those.

:drool:
 
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kidatari

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I found a pic of the box in it's original condition from the Crane Cams auction

2855640_2MM0R4GR4.jpg


I hate you. :p
 
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chrislehr

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Yea, thats a fantastic job. I am waiting for cooler weather to complete my first Snap On restore. I can only hope it's HALF what some people here can do.
 
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Packard V8

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it was over $150 for just a quart.
Click to expand...
Guess I'll have to go back to the cheap seats. Wish I could justify that level of restoration, but when I see the distress sales going on just now, a like-new one is going for about the cost of labor, blasting, paint, casters and locks/keys on a well-used box.

Your box, your labor, your money. Some restore cars and tool boxes to better than OEM. Some prefer the patina and the ghosts which stay around a well-used survivor.

FWIW, I don't have $150 in any of the four Snap-on boxes I've found. In fact, of the nineteen tool boxes currently in use, only the giant Shark Stainless, which was a birthday present, cost more than $150. That's just me and mine. Your results may vary.

thnx, jack vines
 
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Skyline

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Jack;

The paint itself was about $85. But the activator was another $35 or so and the reducer was another $30. This was totally easy to justify cost wise. I got this huge S-O set up for almost nothing. It was all in outstanding shape, except the locker door looked like it met up with a water pistol filled with brake fluid. So to invest a few hundred to paint the door of a toolbox that lists for over $13K was kind of a no-brainer.
 
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Lookin4'67Galaxieconv

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Ramblur, you're going to have to post a thread on that. I'm very interested to see many pics...before, during, and after! :)


Packard V8 said:
Guess I'll have to go back to the cheap seats. Wish I could justify that level of restoration, but when I see the distress sales going on just now, a like-new one is going for about the cost of labor, blasting, paint, casters and locks/keys on a well-used box.

thnx, jack vines
Click to expand...

Jack, don't give up so easy. I restored this box with only around $40 in spray paint

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38758
 
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Brad54

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chad s

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Brad54 said:
You say "Muddy" I say "Encourage."
Good info, and glad to see it all.

I'll have to go shoot a pic of my box this weekend and post it up. I have a magazine deadline to restore it, so I need to start rolling on it.

-Brad
Click to expand...
Its going to be featured in a magazine?

I have a near mint small box from the era I could loan to get a paint match off of. The color has veried over the years, but most have faded over the years, making them show a more orange like color. my area 9/32 torque wrench box is not faded.
 
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