[Muscles Glasses]

Hey all! It's been a while since I've posted here and it's great to see this forum is still going strong.

I'm looking at restoring a 1910 Maxim wheeled carriage mount with the piano storage box for a spare lock. It was caked in hardened cosmoline to the point where nothing wanted to move easily. I currently have 99% of the cosmoline removed and the entire cradle assembly disassembled. The lower wheeled portion has not yet been disassembled.

The paint is very worn in several places down to the primer and bare metal. I'm also considering replacing the wood spokes on the wheels. I want to make it look as if it is fresh off the factory assembly line.

My questions are:
-Is there a high quality primer and paint I can use that is an exact match for the original factory color and where can I purchase it?
-Does anyone reproduce the wooden spokes? If not are there drawings/ dimensions available? And if that information doesn't exists then what type of wood should I use?
-Are there any tips or reccomendations anyone would make who has done this before? Perhaps there's a trick to disassembling a certain component that I haven't gotten to yet?

I have access to sandblasting, a wood shop, and large walk in paint booth so I'm just about set to go. Thanks in advance!

 

[Kirby]

First thing to consider, do you want it to represent a Russian or Finnish mount. If Russian, the spare lock box needs to go, it is Finnish and has no place on a Russian/Soviet mount.

If for Soviet the paint color varies depending on era, most of the pieces imported in the 90s were painted in a color close to Warsaw Pact Green or the Soviet 4BO shade. Earlier colors are what I describe as having a bit of tan shade in the green. Article on 4BO here - Soviet Colors in the Great Patriotic War — 4BO Green

You can use a sample of the green currently on your mount for a custom mix but without seeing it I do not know if what you have is a Soviet color or Finnish. For the earlier Soviet color you can order a can of moss green from 1944 Militaria for a sample to use for a custom mix of the earlier shade.

Soviet WWII Moss Green Helmet Spray Paint

Soviet WWII Moss Green Helmet Spray Paint

www.1944militaria.com

For a sample to go by for the Soviet 4BO you can order a can of that from here - Amazon.com: Afv Color Russian Green 4Bo 400 mL Spray Can: Toys & Games

 

[IMBLITZVT]

In my experience, no, you can't match the paint as its lead based. Anything you get will have a different look. That said, there are so many different shapes of green used on this tripod, its hard to go wrong. I would just take the best piece of paint you have remain and get it matched. It would be unlike the Russian to strip before repainting, so just slap another coat on for the most accurate look. These are not high dollar items, so its not really worth putting a ton of work in.

I don't know anyone reproing wheels but I have seen several sets for sale on ebay and other sights. Again, this is not a high dollar item, so before you do this... its probably just worth selling it and buying a nicer one. I mean you should be able to get a like new one for like $500 or less and the spare set of wheels and paint are going to be like $200 by the time you are done. Its a bit of a pain but I myself would never repaint a standard Sokolov. PS that piano box is a Finnish addition not correct for a "true" Russian gun as the Russians will tell you. To the Russians its like graffiti on a monument... even if that is in style at the moment.....

They are not hard to take apart. Some pins and other things but fairly straight forward. If you do get spare parts... they may need some fitting as the Russians are not known for the best fit...

These mounts are a lot of work to redo. I have redone one in brass and one just paint (with rare optical mount). I would not suggest doing a common one. I would just sell the one you have now. You should get at least $300 and I am sure you can get a nice one for under $500. Unless you just want to do it for fun... Good luck.

 

[biffj]

In my experience with most military paints is that there is no exact match. Some guys think there is an international paint code for this stuff and maybe there is today. At the time those mounts were made the paint came from different places and I'm sure each batch was unique. The color being a close match is probably wonderful but a near match or a similar color are going to be as authentic and less of a headache. Having looked at hundreds of the sokolov mounts in various batches that came into the US my guess is most of them have been repainted more than once and of those that are the original color I could see a lot of variation between mounts that came in from the same place at the same time. So find something you like that is close and you're likely to be as accurate as the paint that is on there now. Good luck and hope you can get as close as you want......

Frank