Faux Transit Chest Questions

The Maltby in my previous post is coming along nicely. Seems accurate enough with irons, but aging peepers required me to put some optics on it before I started the process of finding an accurate load. Along with that side of the project, I’m planning on building a transit chest...well...because. I figure it will be a nice little winter shop project for some snowy days that aren’t occupied with any of the other dozen projects going on.

Lumber has been acquired. The dovetail jig has been located and dusted off. I am however, searching and scratching my head a bit on the paint for the exterior, and the stain for the interior. Has anyone stateside sourced out the appropriate colors from easily obtainable sources? I’m not interested in finding the exact milk based formula or anything...latex or oil would suffice for me just fine. Same for the interior stain. It’s difficult with internet pics to go get a decent color match, and unfortunately I don’t have a chest to drag into the local big box store to have them scan it.

I appreciate any help anyone may have, and I will certainly keep all posted on the progress. Tis the season for sawdust!

Milk based paint...?

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Originally Posted by Micheal Doyne

Milk based paint...?

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Yes. Someplace on here I read that that was the original formula way back when. Unless of course I missed something in the translation...like “bonnet” or “chips”... Entirely possible right there!

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Originally Posted by Entropy

Yes. Someplace on here I read that that was the original formula way back when. Unless of course I missed something in the translation...like “bonnet” or “chips”... Entirely possible right there!

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Update:

Dug a bit more here. Not sure how I initially missed it. The color has been described as “Deep Bronze Green”. The reference to “organic milk paint” was indeed from another forum.

The search continues...

Upon further-further investigation...”Deep Bronze Green” seems to be quite close to “British Racing Green” or “Land Rover Green”... ��

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Originally Posted by Entropy

milk based formula

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I don't think references to milk/cups of tea etc are supposed to be taken literally in relation to paint.

I would suggest "Very Dark Drab" (Olive) which is a dark khaki colour.

You should be able to get any colour you want in the US just from the RAL. number or equivalent number.

Appreciate the insight. I did find several close matches at a stateside paint center called Sherwin Williams. I learned that each color has a specific ID that can be searched and duplicated. 35 years of marriage has paid off!:bow::bow::bow:

with the chests I make, externally I use NATO Green IRR paint. the same paint used on military vehicles in the 1980's. for me "Brunswick green" is more of 1950's colour as most British military vehicles in the 50's were painted in that gloss green,
Internally I use diluted Red Oxide primer (what used to be called "Red lead") its a good match for the original Bren gun boxes I have, and it would have been widely available during the war
Having worked with a few arms storemen they were never too concerned about the correct shade of green they were more than happy to use whatever was available

Casein paint is made from milk proteins and has been around for hundreds of years, possibly as early as the 1100s. It is a water based paint that requires no solvents, dries hard and is relatively moisture proof. Seems very reasonable that it could well have been used on transit chests. Casein paints are wifely available as are DIY recipes.

Casein, (milk protein), like other proteins, changes its characteristics when treated with heat, or oxidizers. The process id NOT reversible (Think of boiling an egg (albumin protein) and then trying to "un-boil" it.

Casein glues held an amazing amount of wooden products together for several centuries, before being steadily displaced by less "unpleasant" adhesives like PVA's and Epoxies.

Can't say I have ever encountered Casein-based paints, but, a "binder is a binder".

There are also Keratin-based adhesives which are made, as the name suggests, from Keratin, the basic protein in hair, horns and hooves of various critters. Hence, old "retired" working horses, etc. were sent to the "Glue Factory / Knackers Yard".

Evil smelling stuff, but it works.

As for pigments; some of them can be downright nasty: Red Lead, White Lead and many Arsenic-bases shades of green, used for centuries in buildings.

Thanks for the updates all.

So if I understand, it appears that the thinned red oxide is almost applied like a heavy wiping stain? It appears from the pic on this site that there is a fair amount of wood grain visible underneath the red oxide...

Yes indeed on the paints. Arsenic was used in many Edwardian Era wall papers as a dye...with tragic results. It makes you wonder what will be looked at 100-200 years from now huh? Years back, I helped clean out the home of a passed, aged relative. In the attic were stacks of old Popular Science magazines from the late 40s and early 50s. Looking thru them, a picture and it’s caption still remains with me today. It was a picture of a B-29. Next to it was a truck labeled “WATER” along with an enlisted man who was hosing off the aircraft. The caption read “After the aircraft is flown through the atomic cloud, it is rinsed to decontaminate and is once again safe to fly.”