# Why White ??



## Buffalo20 (Jun 10, 2017)

What genius thought that the color white, was the proper color for any part of a machine tool?? I have about 10 pieces of equipment, from about 4 different manufacturers, they all seem to believe that the color white, is acceptable. Every tool is stained, from cutting fluids, way oil or oil weeping out around the rotating shafts or seals. What was wrong with machinery dark gray??

I have owned a GM sourced full size van, because of work, for the last 30 years, they were all white, for the same reason all GM service vans seemed to be white, any other color is at least $500 more. Its relatively easy, with car washes and rain, to keep a white van, looking semi clean, but the concept of white machine tools seems down right strange.

Yes, I could repaint them, but to me functionality is more important than looks, this all started, when the wife looked at the lathe and said it looked like crap, might be easier to keep her out of the shop.


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## wrmiller (Jun 10, 2017)

My last bed/bench mill was all black. Much prefer that color, but I'm not going to starting painting my machines. I do my best to just ignore the color on these things.


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## Bob Korves (Jun 10, 2017)

What the machine looks like is way down the list.  What the finished work looks like and whether it is within tolerance is near the top of the list.  Of course, for a hobby machinist, having fun in the shop is at the top of the list...   

I also prefer gray.  Rustoleum smoke gray says "machine tool" to me...


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## Nogoingback (Jun 10, 2017)

It's just like cars: the manufacturer wants to make the sale.  They paint them like that because they look nice on the showroom floor when they're clean and new.  Gray looks "old fashioned".  (Sorry Bob...)


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## Bob Korves (Jun 10, 2017)

Nogoingback said:


> It's just like cars: the manufacturer wants to make the sale.  They paint them like that because they look nice on the showroom floor when they're clean and new.  Gray looks "old fashioned".  (Sorry Bob...)


Taste is in the eyes of the beholder.  Whatever floats your boat...


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## Wreck™Wreck (Jun 10, 2017)

Ran the first job with a brand new Trak FHM 7 mill today which is mostly offwhite and light blue, we were sorting out the programming and the guy that will use it the most (a very talented and creative machinist) wondered why such machines are often painted white, he also runs a Fadal 4020 VMC which is also painted white and a Haas TM1 that is white. My only conclusion was that it looks good in pictures.


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## T Bredehoft (Jun 10, 2017)

That is one nice looking mill.  Not hidden in a 'splash shield' either.


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## brino (Jun 10, 2017)

Wreck™Wreck said:


> My only conclusion was that it looks good in pictures.



....at least when new and clean!
-brino


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## hermetic (Jun 10, 2017)

All machinery used in any food production plant, even maintenance machinery, used to be painted white in the UK.


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## Rustrp (Jun 10, 2017)

Bob Korves said:


> Taste is in the eyes of the beholder.  Whatever floats your boat...


Speaking of which; The US Navy uses lots of gray, so you're covered on both accounts.


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## darkzero (Jun 10, 2017)

I'm also a fan of gray, Rustoleum Smoke Gray is what I painted my mill stand. The white I don't mind so much but I'm not a fan of PM blue. At least it's just my lathe stand that is the PM blue & not the whole lathe.

Aside from blue, there's red machines, & yellow machines, that I don't understand. I don't mind green on old iron but I'm not a fan of Grizzy green either. I'll take white any day over those colors if I had no other choice.


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## dulltool17 (Jun 10, 2017)

Not a fan of white, but there's a pragmatic reason for its use.   Think how easy it is to find and fix hydraulic or other fluid leaks--the thought process is that making maintenance needs highly visible makes them hard to ignore.

IMO, any bright color would accomplish the same purpose.


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## kd4gij (Jun 10, 2017)

It is a machine tool in a shop.


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## Wreck™Wreck (Jun 10, 2017)

T Bredehoft said:


> That is one nice looking mill.  Not hidden in a 'splash shield' either.


No automatic tool changer either, as I understand it a machine that will do an automatic tool change must be fully guarded, a 50 year old automatic machine  does not require this, I could be wrong however.


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## Holescreek (Jun 10, 2017)

That's nothing. A shop I worked at up 'till 98 built a huge new addition to move all it's CMC machines into...and painted the floors white.  It was real pretty. For a while.


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## darkzero (Jun 11, 2017)

Speaking of colorful machines, why not custom paint accessories too (and even screws)? 

Looking at the color, I now know all the items this person is selling on CL. I guess the person had extra paint & decided to make this one look purdy! Haha, never seen that before!

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/tls/6163975916.html


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## Nogoingback (Jun 11, 2017)

Bob Korves said:


> Taste is in the eyes of the beholder.  Whatever floats your boat...



Bob,  I was just trying to answer the OP's question: that there may be a perception that light colors are more "modern" than the older colors.   I like the older colors as well.  Gray, and on the
vintage lathes, black look good to me.  I wasn't taking a stab at you.


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## BROCKWOOD (Jun 11, 2017)

A friend once asked what color he should paint his racecar engine. He was leaning toward black. I said a bright color makes leaks more visible. He went with yellow. Guess it really depends on your needs. I like old machine colors myself. But black might be best for some.


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## Bob Korves (Jun 11, 2017)

Nogoingback said:


> Bob,  I was just trying to answer the OP's question: that there may be a perception that light colors are more "modern" than the older colors.   I like the older colors as well.  Gray, and on the
> vintage lathes, black look good to me.  I wasn't taking a stab at you.


No stab felt.  My comment was just to say that taste is subjective, it is what it is.  It was just a general comment, nothing directed at you.


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## Bob Korves (Jun 11, 2017)

Nogoingback said:


> Bob,  I was just trying to answer the OP's question: that there may be a perception that light colors are more "modern" than the older colors.   I like the older colors as well.  Gray, and on the
> vintage lathes, black look good to me.  I wasn't taking a stab at you.


Yes, black looks perfect on the really old lathes.


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## RJSakowski (Jun 11, 2017)

Any color is better than rust.


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## RandyWilson (Jun 11, 2017)

darkzero said:


> Speaking of colorful machines, why not custom paint accessories too (and even screws)?
> 
> Looking at the color, I now know all the items this person is selling on CL. I guess the person had extra paint & decided to make this one look purdy! Haha, never seen that before!
> 
> https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/tls/6163975916.html





Imagine his car.



I haven't had the machine equipment long enough to form an opinion.  My preferred color for outdoor equipment, lawn mowers to automobiles, is pine pollen yellow.


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## Buffalo20 (Jun 11, 2017)

RandyWilson said:


> I haven't had the machine equipment long enough to form an opinion.  My preferred color for outdoor equipment, lawn mowers to automobiles, is pine pollen yellow.





mine are pretty much,  pine pollen yellow, regardless what color the manufacturer originally painted them.


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## hermetic (Jun 11, 2017)

You all know about the insides of castings, gearboxes etc, usually painted with red oxide to seal in any remaining moulding sand and porosity. On odd occasions I have come across white pianted ones, and they are MUCH easier on the eyes to work on!


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## RJSakowski (Jun 11, 2017)

darkzero said:


> Speaking of colorful machines, why not custom paint accessories too (and even screws)?
> 
> Looking at the color, I now know all the items this person is selling on CL. I guess the person had extra paint & decided to make this one look purdy! Haha, never seen that before!
> 
> https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/tls/6163975916.html


All purdy lookin' but I use those machined surfaces when mounting work.  Calls the chuck self centering as well.  The seller apparently knows nothing about machining.  He must have got a deal on some blue paint as quite a few of his items have that feature, including painting the working surface of the RT he is offering.


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## BROCKWOOD (Jun 11, 2017)

Yeah, Oak pollen green in the spring for us is the color of everything. My Van Norman is white down in the sump. Sure does help to see inside.


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## core-oil (Jun 11, 2017)

Colour is in the eye of the beholder, I think for machine tools white is a bit naff, after a few years of machining given oil spills andcast iron dust +paint chips, they look dated a lot quicker so saying I do not think that as regards machine tool cleanliness folks nowadays bestow the same level of care upon their machines, Unless some of the big prosperous mass production firms where dedicated  teams of cleaners are always beavering away.
I tend to be of a conserative nature I think a shop with rows of white machinery looks very sterile and cold, not a welcoming colour, I would think pure virginal white could very well lead to a migrane.   In past days some of the big engine building shops over in Scotland used to paint their big machine tools a mustard yellow colour with cast lettering picked out in red, It looked warm and gave the works a nice light reflection without being too harsh.  One of these old shops I had the privelidge of re-visitng some years back had painted all their heavy machine tools a dark blue, I thought it made the shop look dark and lifeless.  Grey is a common colour for machine tools over here which is smart, and seems to keep a good appearance for a long time Also is  a nice light machine tool green very nice & uplifting to the soul, 
  Nowadays in this Fab , Brilliant & Funky age, what is missing is an old Bull of The  Woods type of foreman who kept his shop spotless and cared for the machine tools under his watch, Everyone was instilled with an ethos of shop care, cleanliness and discipline. 

 In my own home shop I tend to leave the colours of the machines " As Original" Unless the paint looks really tatty , then I fill in the dings & dents & repaint them, , Most of my machines are Battleship Grey except my Myford which is a nice machine tool green , My workbench iron work, i painted light blue , I like the place to be smart , Then again where i am concerned Colour is Life,
I forgot my oldest lathe is black, Then again that was its original paint job.


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## Eddyde (Jun 11, 2017)

I have two white machines, a mill and a table saw. 


White Machines Matter.


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## scwhite (Jun 11, 2017)

I painted my Workbench Beryl Green, 
My Grizzly Band saw is a cream white and dark Green , but my favorite colors is Gray & Green


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