Mil-Spec Paint Color

Q. I am the manufacturing engineer responsible for painting and finishing in my plant. I have a customer who requires painting with MIL-PRF-23377, Type 1, Class N, but with a specific color requirement. The stock colors my paint supplier has found are green, aqua green and yellow, but we need a primer that can be tinted to meet FED-STD-595 color 24424, since Type 1 specifies that it be the natural color of the corrosion-inhibiting compounds used. Is the natural state the above-specified colors or a milky-white color that can be procured and tinted by any paint house? D.Z.

A. I don’t believe a stock material from any paint supplier would be in compliance with the specification. If a military-specification coating was not required, you could go to a paint store with a color sample and have it matched with a paint of your choice, but it may not provide the protection required. That’s why the DOD prepares these specifications and approves the suppliers.

If your present suppliers can’t provide the coating you need, there are a number of others who are qualified to do so. For information on MIL-SPEC paint suppliers, go to PFonline.com/suppliers and click on Painting, then Coatings, military and government specification.