Question on colours

[dr. trinkmann]

What colour are the internal attachment parts (e.g. lights switch, turn switch, radio, antenna, seat frames...) painted when they come from factory?
When i got the A2, all and really all is painted in 4 colour MERDC but unfortunatelly the colours are not correct.
Now, finally, i'm doing a bit restoration of the hull and mechanical parts and i'm wondering:

Should i paint the MERDC scheme (i want to have this again) all over the vehicle including the attached parts again?
or
Should i leave the attached parts with their original colour from factory and what colour is this? (olive drab??)


Thanks for instructing me

[svramselaar]

hi

if you go to the german sites

http://www.panzerbaer.de/colours/index.htm

https://gurth.home.xs4all.nl/afv/nl/merdc.html

https://sites.google.com/site/merdccamo/home/merdcpic

https://sites.google.com/site/merdccamo ... -templates

https://www.militaerlacke.de/fahrzeugla ... -army/?p=1

george

[dr. trinkmann]

Thank you George, but that was not the question.
MERDC colours are known.
What i asked for is: when you get a Nos light- or turn switch for example: what colour is it painted by factory?

[m75]

I'm pretty sure that this would depend on the time frame of manufacture of the individual parts. Every 3-handle light switch I saw come out of a box was OD with white lettering. BO drive lights were painted OD (metal) or OD plastic. Instruments (gauges) were OD.

Finish would vary as well, with semi-gloss through dead-flat finishes seen.

Now, when a vehicle was painted in a camo pattern, minor parts would be masked over, like data plates, the light switch and ignition switch, placards, turn signal switch, gauges, etc, while everything else would be covered by the new paint.

So, I guess it depends on whether you want original semi-gloss OD, or a later camouflage scheme as your finished product.

Hope this slanted point of view helps!

[SturmTyger380]

I have yet to find out if MERDC was applied at the factory. I seriously doubt it. In that case it was up to the receiving unit to paint the patterns on.

Because of that and the careful or no so careful motor pool guys you get all kind of variations and qualities. And I am sure during the life of the M151 if the headlight switch was replaced, what ever color it was in the box is what was kept.

I ran into an old Army guy at a show recently and we were discussing how he painted MERDC back in the day. He said for the black figures we were told to just paint Sea Gull shapes. So that explains why the black figures don't look like the manual.

[muttguru]

Sturm,

pattern painting was not done at the factory. During the 4-color era the vehicles were issued with a basic green-all-over. USMC vehicles were issued using the matt USMC green shade. It was up to using units to decide the colors used (and when) based on the intended overseas destination plus the time-of-year for zones where the pattern varied according to terrain (Winter/Summer).

When the 4-pattern was introduced, accessories such as turn switches would then be issued at factory in the base green to correspond with the color of the receiving vehicles. Accessories were not pattern-painted except for big items such as the antenna mounting brackets. Gas cans were not routinely pattern-painted, neither were the tools (axe and spade etc).

So what that means is....if you own an A2 that is in 4-color, if you then fitted a replacement NOS turn-signal switch, you could end up with a semi-gloss OD switch or a matt green switch...........it would be up to you to decide whether you wanted to change the color of the switch if it did not already match the green of the vehicle body. The Mil however would usually install whatever switch etc was available from stores, that is, until stock with the current color became available. I doubt if the mechanics worried about the shade of green enough to spend time repainting such items.

I have seen a small batch of 3-color NATO A2s, but not close up enough to determine the color of any accessories.
I've also seen light switches and turn-signal switches in various shades and colors used on desert-cammo-painted M151s but by the time the HMMWV was introduced and later was deployed to the various Middle East wars, such items were already being issued from stock in Tan 686.

Short version of this story? It's YOUR decision

ken