Never, never, EVER wait!!

[fixerman]

When I was rebuilding machines for sale, when it was still worthwhile, I repainted some coppertone with the darker shadow around the edges. At the time there was epoxy paint of the right colors available from the appliance parts distributors. I think you may have a hard time finding the real appliance colors but you may be able to find epoxy paint in spray cans of stock colors that may be close enough.
I had good results just painting the machine with the base color and letting it dry and spraying the shadow color on top. It would take a steady hand to shadow or it wouldn't look good. You could experiment before acutally painting the machine.
If the top is porcelain then it may be a problem but another member recently said he repainted a portelain top machine after acid etching.

 

[david]

RERE: painting

One more thing. Car paint won't adhere to porcelein, that is a different process altogether.

 

[pulsator]

Okay, so, should I or shouldn't I take it to a auto body shop? Can I take the whole machine to a body shop, or do I need to take the outer case only? ALSO, (last question), how much would it cost to have it painted?

 

[david]

Call and find out what one would charge. If you feel its too much, call another. Just tell them what you want. If you would take the front and side panels and top (if non-porcelain) would be best because they would need to rremove them to paint the curvy parts and edges. Thsi just depends on how far you want to take the project. Yes, you can paint with spray cans, but I don't recommend it. Fixerman was probably pretty good with the can, but many just cant get it looking right. It won't be cheap, auto paint isn't cheap, and many are surprised at the cost. Just remember you get what you pay for. Epoxy tends to crack as well. Stik with urathane

 

[bethann]

Just my 2 cents

Take it to someone that knows what their doing if you want a nice finish! For a gallon of Epoxy paint and the catalyst (40.00). It can be color matched to any color. Cost of getting it painted will be more because of the two tone look you want. Get a good picture of an appliance with the paint job like you want and take it to the painter and let him decide how he wants to do it.

 

[patpackrat]

DIY Painting

I have coppertone Maytags, washer and dryer, and only the dryer has the shading on both the top and front panels. Doing the shading isn't that hard, even for an amateur, but I think the problem would be in getting the right shades of paint -- in cans anyway. I painted my (formerly avacado) GE fridge coppertone. Most brands of spray paint have a 'coppertone' brown which some call "leather", but there was no lighter brown that would have worked, so I did it without the shading. (I think the avocado might be even harder to find). As obsessive as I am to detail, it looks fine.

Spray painting takes a decent amount of skill, some practice, and a lot of patience -- especially if you use the cans. The key to any good paint job is always in the preparation, and for painting metal it's even more critical than for any other surface. The tiniest flaw will show up, not to mention any spec of dust or lint. You have to sand out any rust, 'pock marks', etc., with a fine-grit paper so you don't make a worse mess by making scratches in the surface. The sanding will also etch the surface to help the paint adhere. I have a great airless electric sprayer, but since it's such a drag to clean these up afterwards, I've learned to master the spray can. Getting the knack of spray painting isn't that difficult; the hardest thing for most is finding the right spot to do it -- good lighting, the right temperature & humidity, and no bugs or dust in the air.

I don't mean to sound negative about doing the painting yourself, and I can give you some tips if you'd like -- such as letting that gnat just sit there and die till the paint dries! I just wanted to point out that it's one of those no pain, no gain things. I've grown to love doing it -- so much so that there's a hole in the ozone layer right above my home! My son-in-law is an auto body painter and tells me that the painting is the easier part and that the prep work can be a big variable to the cost. So, if you go that route you might want to tackle that part yourself.

As far as the easiest and least expensive option goes, I think that would be finding another cabinet as you suggested.

PAT

 

[patpackrat]

PS

To clarify, the washer has shading on the front panel only, not the top.

PAT