OD paint

I recently bought a 1973 M35A2, it runs great but needs some moderate body work. I can do most of the sheet metal work my self but I do not know how or what to paint the truck with. Can anyone point me in the right direction for buying OD paint? I have noticed that there are many shades of OD paint. I belieive the different shades of color were related to either the theater of war a vehicle was assigned or maybe the time period. Can anyone clear that for me as well? Thank you from your newest member!

Well I like RAPCO Paint in Texas. Its supposed to be some of that fancy hi-tech stuff, at $25.00 per gallon or $6.00 for spray cans. they have a web site that explains the different shades of OD,plus other colors.
my favorite OD is the late ww2 semi gloss #23070 I also like the 383 green, SARC replacement #34094.

Im sure there are other places that sell paint just as good, this place is sorta close to me.<img src="emoticons/icon_smile_approve.gif" alt="Approve">

I forgot to mention who ever you buy it from will charge $23.00 per gal. for Has-Mat fee for the first gallon if shipped. I think?<img src="emoticons/icon_smile_dork.gif" alt="Dork">

Originally posted by Loose Deuce

Well I like RAPCO Paint in Texas. Its supposed to be some of that fancy hi-tech stuff, at $25.00 per gallon or $6.00 for spray cans.

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I'll have to disagree. From what I've learned, Alkyd enamel paint is some of the cheapest stuff out there. I'm told that it is basically an oil base paint. Some of the old timer painters swear by it, but when it comes to automotive paints there are better coating available. Acrylic Enamel is supposed to be better, and Urethane is pretty much the best out there. I got a spray can of 34094 green in Acrylic Enamel mixed up for me at a local automotive paint shop in town and I was very impressed with it. The color is great, and the coating seems more durable than the Alkyd matte colors I've used before. However, superior paint comes at a cost. I priced gallon amounts of industrial grade Alkyd Enamel, Acrylic Enamel, and Acrylic(?) urethane, and the prices were as follows: about $30 for the first, and $130.00 and $181.00 respectively for the last two. Ouch. If it makes you feel better, I was reading through one of the military documents talking about the paint types used before the CARC paint, and they all seemed to use the Alkyd enamel, which is more than likely what they used on your Deuce originally.

CARC is a pretty durable urethane. They have it in single part and 2 part configurations. I use gillespie for it's inexpensive cost and it's easy to work with. CARC is referred to as a carcinogen and application requires respiration. If I ever do a frame off on a vehicle that uses CARC, I'll spring for it but my stuff is motorpool class and as such gets Gillespie!

not only wear the respirator on application, but on removal- DON'T torch the CARC paint or breathe the dust- you'll look like: <img src="emoticons/icon_smile_dead.gif" alt="Dead">

as far as paint colore, never go off of a shade that you see on the internet cause your computer screen is very poor at duplicating its real look. Heck, even paint can caps are bad at that. The only way to know is to test it. Aervoe is right up the road and I planned on getting some paint from them, I already did my truck in light green but it was WAY lighter than what they showed on the sample on the screen. Anyhow, They sent me some free samples of all the colors I considered and I was very glad I did that. The forest green won out in my book (and, incidentally, is a correct solid color for vietnam era trucks), you just have to see what it will look like on the truck.

In Germany in 1972 our vehicles were painted what looked like that late ww2 OD semi gloss,or that Korean era stuff with out all the brownish tint.

Any of you guys know what color OD that was? everything I saw back then looked like that. I wasnt interested in what kind of paint they were using, but we did add a small amount of black just for fun. My jeep looked more black than OD and the CO didnt seem to mind. hee,hee<img src="emoticons/icon_smile_approve.gif" alt="Approve">

Will that Gillespie paint fade out easy?

When we wanted a quick "Spruce up" piantjob on our deuce, we used Gillespie as well, bought a 12 pack of a CARC-substitute in rattle cans. It's not as durable as real CARC, but it's a close enough color match and keeps rust in check, what more can you ask for?

LD - Our deuce was parked outside all summer, and though wind and rain have caused all the areas we missed with the paint to rust a bit, it hasn't chipped or faded that I can see