Our paints were originally matched to 'VIRGIN' pieces that Carl & Lou Shaw were kind enough to help me with. We opened sealed boxes of Lionel cars, engines etc. stored in the upper floors of Madison Hardware. These units were color matched as to original color gloss, The colors were then sprayed onto a heavy gloss paper and stored in manila envelopes for future reference. Until recently, we always canned ( 1/2 pint ) cans, a gallon at a time. We have just reduced this to 1 qt. at a time, since not as much restoration is being done. We "REMATCH" once a year our paint batches to the original , just for color accuracy. Paint over 3 years old has a tendency to produce a 'sand' finish due to the pigments used in yellows & reds. That is why we only make a qt. at a time. If anybody has a problem, we always try to correct. We have had trains painted 30 years ago that the "EXPERTS" claimed were 'virgin original' Lionel items. We do our best. Harry
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