On 19 Jan 2008 01:43:32 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:
On 18 Jan 2008 05:15:56 GMT, DoN. Nichols wrote:
On 2008-01-18, Dave Hinz wrote:

On that topic, anyone have a rundown of paint color codes for steel? I
don't know the vendor and last time I looked, I found about 4 different
standards referenced by various sites I found on google. So it's racks
of mystery metal, I'm afraid. For stuff with a spec, I buy to that
spec, of course.

As you've already discovered -- each vendor has its own color
code standards. I could look up the standards for Jorgensen Steel
(because I have one of their older catalogs), but that would be useless
for any other vendor's steel, let alone those from an unknown vendor.

It's a damn same too, I've got a ton or more of nicely marked mystery
metal.

And there is a *lot* of codes to type in, so I won't do it while
I know that it would not do any good.
If you can find out who the original vendor likely was, you want
to get a copy of *their* steel catalog.

TO go with the ton of mystery metal, is a ton of paperwork, some of
which might be a catalog. If they're all from the same vendor (a
reasonable assumption for starters), I'm wondering if spark-testing by
someone who can read sparks would be able to narrow down which vendor's
"red with a brown stripe" this stuff is.

If you keep the lot all together, and find something that you
/really/ want to ID (I.E. the assay costs are far less than going out
and buying the metal new) find a junkyard with one of those nifty
X-ray Spectrometer (IIRC) metal ID guns.

You just put a 12-pack of chilled (or a fifth at room temp) potent
potables in the back seat of the gun owner's car as "payment", place a
small sample in the jaws, and press the button. You might not be able
to ID it to a precise compound if it was true mystery metal, but you
DO have a clue what it most likely is.

The gun gives you the component mix of carbon, manganese, lead, etc.
A hardness tester tells whether it's tool steel or spaghetti. Spark
testing would be another confirmation of carbon content. That, and
the old paperwork and vendor color chart would confirm what you have.

And -- if you get steel from another source, but know what the
steel is, *paint it yourself* to match the catalog you have, so you will
know later what it is.

Seems like a sharpie and actual numbers wouldn't be a bad approach?

Hell NO!!! Die stamps and a ball-peen hammer would be best, as long
as you don't plan to use every mm of it... Or paint marker. And if
it's hardened metal that would ding your die stamps, you can use paint
marker and a vibratory etcher as backup.

Sharpie fades and weathers off way too easily - when I want to mark
a power panel "permanently" I use a LaCo-Markal paint marker like the
junkyards use - the LaCo looks like a regular marker with a valve tip,
the junkyards buy the little squeeze bottle with a big ball-point tip.

Real paint that will hold up outdoors in the sun for 20 years and
still be readable (like the address a roof air conditioner belongs to,
or the unit number in large installs) - and if some bozo paints over
it you can still read the bump in the paint and reapply on top.

-- Bruce --