Im ready to paint the case of the 8r that ive refurbished from the wreck of a tent etc in Scotlands Knoydart earlier this year. QUESTION :- Do I need to use a high temperature paint? I imagine the case gets fairly hot due to the proximity of the burner ?? Thanks, Jack
@Jack Ryan Some would advocate authenticity and a close match to the original Optimus colour. That would be difficult to obtain in a HT paint. With my now-ancient ‘Rustbucket’ Optimus 111 project I went for a colour match and that wasn’t HT paint. However many years on, the paint I used looks as well as it ever did, and the stove’s been used often. The part of the case under the burner gets the worst of it - conducted heat from the burner and priming flames, spilled priming fluid, hot soup maybe (!) - and I doubt any paint finish would remain pristine there, HT or not. If colour authenticity isn’t your thing, go for a HT paint (usually matt or satin at best) or even stove enamelling if that takes your fancy. @Tony Press and others have ‘baked’ whatever paint they’ve used to harden it off quicker. I’ve not got around to allocating a suitable oven or hot-box to do that, but Rustbucket doesn’t seem to be the worse off for it. John
@Jack Ryan Here is my two cents ... We have a paint here in the US that's a really good match for the Optimus 8r. Electrolysis and stoves?? Coleman 500 and Optimus 8r I used high heat engine enamel.... Fuel and heat resistant. We have this on Amazon... Not sure if you can get this here... But it's super close to the original
