Proper painting of certain items.

[Bill, Idaho]

This question isn't directed only at M51s ( but a recent photo is what got me to wondering).

In many of my MV magazines, and at various shows/events around the PNW, I have noticed on many restorations, when it comes to particularly the lift/tie-down rings (or shackles, or whatever you call them), tow hooks, and other smaller fixtures, they are sometimes painted yellow or even red. They really stick out, as if to simply highlight the rest of the paint scheme.
Maybe I am being uber technincal, but is there any official order to show that those things are to be a different color, maybe for safety sake? I'm not saying I don't like he looks of it (sometimes), but I don't think I ever saw a color photo of a MV still in official use, with yellow or red tow rings, etc.
Alex at Idaho Motor Pool got in a tow truck once with federal safety yellow painted on a bunch of small parts, such as the hooks, rings, shackles, etc. And I know for a fact that rig came right off of a base. At the time I figured it was due to that rig being a tow truck, but as I thought about it, I noticed it appears to be somewhat common.

[HILLBILLY-06]

Somewhat common in which part of the world ??

I never seen a single military vehicle wheeled, tracked or otherwise with highlighted small parts such as you mentioned.
I have lived close to an Army Base and an Artillery range my whole life and have seen many different vehicles all over the place, traveling to and from the ranges, to biv-wack and training areas, and all over the interstate. Not to mention the flat bed and rail car loads going to and from the Tank center in Bynum Alabama and the track vehicle repair center across town off base.
That's not to say I have seen it all, but I sure saw plenty. Every kind of green, several variants of camo patterns and lots of desert tan. Never did see anything with highlighted part though, not around here. So how common is it in your neck of the woods??

[Bill, Idaho]

I think you misunderstood me. Other than the one wrecker Alex got, and "restorations" at shows and such, I have never seen an MV with the different colored pieces, so why are they painted yellow and red when a civilian "restores" them? I've been around the block too, and personally never saw any pieces painted a different color.

As I type this and am looking down at the cover of the August 2014 Military Vehicles magazine with an M715 on the cover....it has red front bumper tow rings. If a guy was to enter such a thing in a show and was judged on authenticity, wouldn't the red tow rings detract from his score?

[HILLBILLY-06]

OH, yeah i got it now, I did misunderstand you all together...LOL

And yes, I believe you are right about being judged in a show for authenticity.

[retiredpara]

Bill, I have seen photos of US based units in garrison with shackles, etc., painted as you describe. I may be imagining this, but as a kid I used to visit Fort Belvoir, then the home of the Engineer School and many EN units, and remember seeing some white or yellow detail on some vehicles.

I know for a fact that immediate post-WWII MP units would paint certain items on the HD WLA motorcycles and jeeps to distinguish them from other units.

I have not personally seen any wheeled vehicles in units overseas with some items painted, but I have seen pictures of 1/4 ton and 2 1/2 ton vehicles with a yellow or red stripe at the forward portion of the hood, or white tow shackles. We used to rehearse and rapidly execute vehicle recovery under fire, perhaps the shackles were painted white so as to immediately distinguish them as a attachment point for cable or chain to reduce the time needed to perform such a recovery under stress.

Either way, it would seem to me that painting such things other than approved patterns/colors was an exception rather than a rule for most units.

[whiterabbit]

Here's the deal as I've experienced it. I was in for 26+ yrs and just retired.
The old gasoline powered stuff would sometimes have their gas caps painted red so you wouldn't accidentally fill it with diesel. This was done by orders from the motor Sgt. (The guy in charge of the motorpool fleet) I remember the old Dodge M880s and M151A2s with red caps and red caps on gasoline only jerry cans.
I ran recovery wreckers for years in units in the US and Germany and I'd have my guys paint their shackles, pins, and small tools red or yellow so they'd quit loosing them in the dirt and mud. It would also help to remind them to take their shackles off the recovered vehicle at the end of the job. If I saw a red or yellow shackle out in the motorpool I'd have the crews do an equipment 100% lay out to see who is missing a shackle! (royal pain to lay out a wrecker!)
Never saw pintle hooks painted unless it was a aircraft tug on a flight line or red or yellow shackles unless one of my guys forgot his rigging.

[Stagg]

Did the same thing to my wrecker crew in Afghanistan a while back. All of our shackles and pins got painted red by us. (although a bunch came to us blue, right from the civi world, so it was a constant job)

Made it harder for other platoons to steal (I mean borrow) our stuff.

[rickf]

Did the same thing to my wrecker crew in Afghanistan a while back. All of our shackles and pins got painted red by us. (although a bunch came to us blue, right from the civi world, so it was a constant job)

Made it harder for other platoons to steal (I mean borrow) our stuff.

Like you never "borrowed" stuff, right? I'll bet half the stuff you guys had had red paint on it that wasn't even dry when it hit the wrecker! And it wasn't civvie blue underneath.