has this been tarted up for sale

[Alistair Hosie]

has this been painted for sale or is it in very good original condition?I wonder because the paintwork looks much fresher than the rest of the lathe and the front metal plate with all the lathe information looks well worn and the chucks and bed don't match the cleanliness of the lathe paintwork what do you think.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWA:IT&ih=019

[ptjw7uk]

Paint may have been cleaned but the rest looks abit rusty and unused for some time!!

Peter

[gsp]

I think it's orginal. I say that because most repaint's show paint chips under the top coat. I dont see any in the photo's The colors look original. Maybe a good clean up with sos?

They would have to sandblast the entire part ,or bondo and sand ,to not have the paint chip's showing.

Its hard to say with out seeing in person.

Tim

[Wirecutter]

I'm not that familiar with Colchester stuff, but it doesn't appear that the seller took a grinder to the ways or tried to spray paint them. Of course, if you like it, you should really inspect it.

-Mark

[JCHannum]

If the manual is original to the lathe, it would give a pretty good indication of the use the lathe has seen. The paint job is a little better than the usual rattlecan rebuild, but repaint nonetheless.

[Alistair Hosie]

MY wife and I are suspicious about the good ,too good paintwork and we agree with Jim its a repaint job perhaps a very nice repaint job.The chucks and book are a dead giveaway but more important look at the metal panel with all the instructions on itm,its well scuffed with use people brushing against it. The bed and ways and saddle look like an older more used lathe than the paintwork suggests . Alistair

[Evan]

Some has been repainted and some hasn't.

On the front panel the socket head capscrew has been painted.


Whereas, the stain at upper right and the unpainted screws at lower left indicate original paint. It's also a different color.

[JCHannum]

Those stains are more likely bleed through from the usual stripe of cutting oil and other crud that accumulates on the backsplash from normal operation. This area and the inner surfaces of the ways are just too clean to have seen any use at all.

[Evan]

Jim,

Perhaps. It does seem very unlikely that they would neglect to remove the capscrews on the front but would remove the ones near the chuck.

Alistair, that chuck doesn't necessarily belong to that lathe.

[JCHannum]

They probably painted the covers when they had them off to fill the headstock with sawdust. That would account for the unpainted screws.

All the more reason to inspect in person if at all possible. There is just too much that can be overlooked in a sale like this. The seller might be as honest as the day is long, and trying to put the machine in a useable condition, or a total dirtball, trying to coverup damage and wear.