Luftwaffe Boxes

[mikeshilton]

Does anyone know of an RAL number for the paint used on equipment(i.e aircraft repair tool kit, projector etc) boxes, its a dark blue/grey. I have some original boxes with slight damage that I want to repair and repaint where necessary.

[Norbert Schuchbauer]

You are aware that RAL codes are post war? Is this a WWII box? If yes you are looking for a RLM colore code I asume.

I'm not aware that a special code of paint was required to paint these boxes. They may have different colors depending on the manufacturer or the mechanic who may have put his personal tough on it.

Regards,

Norbert

[mikeshilton]

Thanks Norbert, yes I'm aware that RAL are postwar, I was wondering if there was an equivalent paint available in the RAL range. All the boxes I have are painted the same colour.

[Norbert Schuchbauer]

If you give me a sample I can cross reference it for you. Maybe a hint as to what color it most likely resembles.

Here a some of them:
RLM 63: RAL 7033
RLM 66: RAL 7021
RLM 74: L0.05.24 (Sikkens company)
RLM 75: SN.02.47 (Sikkens company)


Regards,

Norbert

[mikeshilton]

This box has a hole in the right hand side where the veneer has lifted and the underlying wood has been damaged. I would like to repair it,I don't want to repaint the whole box, hope the photo is of use, Mike.

[Norbert Schuchbauer]

Looks like RLM 02 which would be RAL 7003 Moosgrau. You may have to fine tune it to match the color exactly since it is a little weathered. Another option is RAL 7002 Olivgrau.

You can have the color matched perfectly by having it matched with a color match program at any good paint store. One such machine is a Sikkens-Tönautomat that runs a software like matchpoint 3.1.

Good luck with your project,

Norbert

[David Brown]

Mike:

Repairing your project may affect the value of the item. After taking this into account, I agree with Norbert regarding a "good" paint store. Typically, a decent color spectrometer should get you fairly close to your standard; however, be prepared to "fine tune" the color that is issued by the paint store. The "human eye" is still the best manner of distinguishing color differences ( at least this was the case when I used to do color matching back in the early 90's). Good luck