Mgz34 tin - To paint or not to paint?

[Tommygunn]

I've now turned my attention to my Mgz34 tin and the removal of the Norwegian paint. As you can see I have removed a considerable amount of the N/Green paint revealing that there is very little of the German red oxide and grey remaining, especially on the corners and edges where it is worn completely away.

So, the question is, should I stick with just removing the Norwegian green or strip the whole lot off and zap it with my stock of red oxide and Dunkelgrau? Well worn or restoration?

Tom.

[Pug42]

I normally try and preserve original paint but if something were that far gone I'd restore/repaint.

I would have thought RAL 6006 would be more likely than RAL7021 grey for this?

[42rocker]

At this point I think that the word is paint.
Also what does the inside look like?

Later 42rocker

[Tommygunn]

Yes, I too am always in favour of saving any originality but, as it would appear, the outside seems to be too far gone.

The inside, however, is a different story.

Tom.

[42rocker]

Do you have the brush and optics?
The inside still looks good. So careful work and save the inside is what I would try for.

Later 42rocker

[Tommygunn]

42rocker,
You know I've got the optics! viewtopic.php?f=24&t=12162&start=60#p89389
The brush, however, I do not have and why I have updates set for them on Ebay.

Well, I think that's it then, a strip and paint just like the Lafette.

Does anybody do a stencil for the top of the box that can be printed out? Was it even obligatory for the Germans to paint the name on the lid?

Tom.

[42rocker]

Sorry I missed that on the two small little colored optics.
Good Luck on your upcoming paint job and finding the brush.

Later 42rocker

[Tommygunn]

Before I go ahead with any restoration I thought I would post up some better photos of the tin and whether or not I should go ahead with it.
Opinions?

Tom.

[Pug42]

By the time you have removed the remaining traces of Norwegian green there really wouldn't be much original grey left? If it were mine I would almost certainly strip and repaint the outside to match the inner.

What I do with lettering is I create artwork in Illustrator, either using the correct font, or scanning an original and then 'tracing' over it if no font exists (such as the Trinkwasser stencils), save it as a PDF which I send to my local sign shop and ask them to kiss cut it on low-tack vinyl to make a stencil, i.e they remove the bits I want to spray or stipple through. This is the opposite to what they normally do as stuck on vinyl lettering is common on vehicles and shopfronts.

It's quite cheap, although the stencils are only a one-time use. I use this method for full size vehicles such as the replica StuGs that my group makes, for callsign numbers, crosses, tactical markings etc. As mentioned I have artwork for both sizes (5l and10l) Trinkwasser containers as well as random stuff like Afrika Korps palm symbols.

If you want I can do the MGZ34 or MGZ40 lettering artwork and ping a PDF over to you? PM me with a clear reference...

[Tommygunn]

David,
Thanks for the offer. However, I think I have had a change of mind and I think I'll stick with just removing the Norwegian paint and preserving the original.
I'll see how things go, though.

Thanks again,
Tom.