Bridgeport Milling Machine Rebuild - Part V, Sanding, Filling, and Painting

Today we finally get to painting, in well ventilated areas of course. We picked up some Rust-oleum from the suburbian hardware store. They don't sell spray paint in Chicago; you have to go to the burbs. We thought this color was appropriate for the milling machine spa treatment. Most of the spray paint listed the same features so we went with something economical. If you wanted to get fancy you could get it powder coated. Over time the paint is going to wear and chip off again. Our painting process will suffice for our needs.

Before painting any parts you should mask any bearing surfaces. These are the surfaces you do not want to get paint on.

Here we used masking tape to cover the top and bottom of the pedestal. An easy way to remove extra tape is with a razor blade, with the part resting upside down.

Another method we found handy was to use a file. Filing the tape against the edge you want to make the cut, will score the tape, allowing it to peel off. I've seen this method used to clean up the edge of grip tape on a skateboard.

Pedestal awaits to be painted.

First paint job. You can notice the surface isn't completely smooth. It's a lot easier to notice this after paint has been applied. Now is a good time to work in the 320 sandpaper. This is better for finishing surfaces that have been painted.

The process now involves sanding and painting, and even applying more Bondo, until the surface is to your likings. Then you finish with a few coats of paint.

Pedestal painted again. There is a noticeable difference in the surface now. I'm liking it.

Taped off pins, holes, and shaft.

First coat of paint is applied.

Mihai is putting the final touches on the knee so it can catch up to the pedestal.

The knee had to be the dirtiest part in the bunch. It was full of a lot of grease and shavings. All clean now, but needs a paint job.

Knee after sanding and Bondo is applied. Sanding is good for surfaces where only small chips of paint are missing. Bondo is good to use when sanding may take to long, or on surfaces that can't be sanded. Be advised that applying too much Bondo may result in the need to sand more.

Column after sanding.

Column back after Bondo.

Column base is still a little bare.

More Bondo.

Video of the day:

Before closing up shop for the day my impatience gets to me. I'm really anxious to see what the column will look like in the new color. Before leaving I paint a small patch of surface that was ready to be painted anyway.

The new color looks great. It's no Bridgeport gray but we feel this color is still appropriate.

There is still more painting to come; and we finally get the turret and ram separated.

...to be continued.