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Hi, does anybody know how to make the silver band around the front of classic calculators look silver again? Is that a special paint? Any advice? Thanks

Juan; All my calc fixin' stuff is in boxes right now and i can't remember the brand name but there was a kind of pen available in the states that would "write" in silver. It was black and silver colored. I used it on a classic's trim and it looked good, just not as shinny.

There will probably be people who will say, IN CAPS LOCK, that it's not kosher to replace paint or labels with non original stuff. Me, i think if a calculator works well after the "pretty" is gone then it was well made. Wasn't it? Dings, scratches, and a funky r/s key on a 41 that has survived 30 years of bulldozer dust are badges of honor.

In my experience, the paint of those pens is easily rubbed of. I ended up with some modeling paint that gave a durable result. I bet I could have made it slightly more shiny by polishing, but it is ok as it is now.

That little silver pen others have mentioned works well for the very thin lines to the sides and the bottom edge. These edges are also fairly well protected and I have not had a problem with it rubbing off. These pens are ball-point with a liquid silver paint. Find them at art shops like Michael's in the US.

The top line is another matter. First, it is thicker than the other lines. second, being next to the switch it gets a lot of wear. That silver pen won't cut it.

I use a chrome spray paint and a clear acrylic top coat. Carefully mask off the line - spend as long as needed to get the masking perfect. Then I put the whole calculator in a small plastic bag that has a half inch wide slit cut for the trim to show through. I mask around the slit to protect the calculator from overspray. Then I give it a few coats of the chrome paint, let dry, then a few coats of clear acrylic.

After it has dried and the masking removed, there is typically a lip of paint where the masking edge was. This can be removed by running your fingernail across the edge.

This won't duplicate the chrome plate look. Despite the name of the paint, it's really a silver paint and so it has a matte texture, not the mirror finish of chrome. Still, it looks good IMHO.

Whether or not to do this is up for debate of course. I wouldn't do this on any highly collectible item. But I will often touch-up a run-of-the-mill Classic.

Sealed in bag, ready for painting:

HP-55 with restored chrome. Slightly underexposed to bring out the texture of the top line:

And the complete before-and-after restore:

Wow Dan! Great work. That before and after picture is amazing. I have about 7 calculators I'm sending you for restoration ;)
Dave

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I use a chrome spray paint and a clear acrylic top coat

Hi Dan, could you tell me the brand of those 2 sprys you use. I don't want to experment with other than yours.

Thank you very much and congrats for that job!!!

Quote:


Hi Dan, could you tell me the brand of those 2 sprys you use. I don't want to experment with other than yours.

Thank you very much and congrats for that job!!!


I used Krylon for both the chrome paint and the clear.

Another idea, but haven't tried it myself: There are adhesive chrome strips, usually used for cars. Maybe one could cut it down to the size of a classic's stripe.

There is another possibility with metal polishing paint by Gunze Sangyo (H-211 chrome silver, approx. 5$ for 10ml). It is an acrylic based paint that can be applied by brush, or better, by airbrush and be polished after drying. Though I did not use it yet on my 35 and 45 with the typical damage near the off/on switch, I made good experiences in railway modelling with such paint.

Andreas

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There is another possibility with metal polishing paint by Gunze Sangyo (H-211 chrome silver, approx. 5$ for 10ml). It is an acrylic based paint that can be applied by brush, or better, by airbrush and be polished after drying. Though I did not use it yet on my 35 and 45 with the typical damage near the off/on switch, I made good experiences in railway modelling with such paint.

Andreas


When I was a young squirt I made a lot of plastic scale models. Back then we didn't have, that I recall, these metalizer paints. You got me thinking about digging around the scale modeler sites. There are quite a few paints that are intended to be buffed out to create a metal-like finish.

Gunze Sangyo may be hard to find but Testors makes a similar product and there are others.

Here's a good site with photos of scale aircraft using these paints.

http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/nmfcb_2.htm

I may have to dust off my old Badger airbrush.

I have had rather nice success with Aluminum leaf. You will plop down about $20-$25USD on both the 'Size' (the varnish you use to prep the surface for the leaf to adhear to) and aluminum leaf.
There are a number of quick videos on how to leaf; it is rather easy, just practice on a couple of times on sacrificial objects.

Spray two very light runs of clear coat afterward about an hour to two apart.

But it looks damned pretty when you are done. (This is also VERY good for voyager badges.)

Thank you for this idea. I'm familiar with gold and silver leaf, but didn't realize they make aluminum leaf and wasn't even thinking this route as a solution. I'm sure all of this can be picked up at a crafting store.
Dave