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| Most Green Experts Agree: "So pretty!" |
A few weeks ago I received a functional Lexikon 80 purchased through ebay. The fact that it worked is a testament to sound engineering and design. It was covered in the all-too-familiar sludge patina of old nicotine, dried lube and fine dust. Over the years, the dull, gray body shell had been cleaned aggressively. The color was none too attractive to begin with and was only made worse for wear by embedded dirt and fine scratches.
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| The machine as shown on ebay. You'll have to imagine the sticky nicotine and oil film. The end of the carriage draw band came undone during shipping. |
Obviously, this machine needed a makeover. I looked at the rattle-can paint available at several local auto supply stores and was unimpressed. Ultimately, I picked a color available at a local hardware store. It is vaguely reminiscent of an Olivetti color. We think it looks nice enough to live indoors. As for the shade of green, we asked the experts to weigh in on our redecorated machine.
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| Little Godzilla approves of the keyboard feel. "Light and snappy!", he says. |
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| Shogun Godzilla and the Attacking Martian find this shade to be appealing. |
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| The infamous Google+ introduction. I took this with an early iPhone in my garage under fluorescent lighting. The extreme does make an impression. |
We could compare the Lexikon with another green typewriter. How about Keylime, our Duotone Royal?
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| I just spent a week running off an iPad and iPhone. Forgive the typos, etc. |
Other Lexikon 80 posts from the Typosphere:
http://idreamlo-tech.blogspot.com/2012/07/holy-grail-reveal-olivetti-lexikon-80.html
http://writingball.blogspot.com/2011/11/olivetti-team-installment-1.html
http://writingball.blogspot.com/2010/08/olivetti-lexikon-80.html
And two Graphika machines:
http://writingball.blogspot.com/2010/12/olivetti-graphika.html
http://writingball.blogspot.com/2013/03/going-public-part-4.html
http://www.retrotechgeneva.com/2012/05/big-reveal-olivetti-graphika.html
Nice color! Was it difficult to remove the mask for painting?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteNo. The carriage assembly comes off with two screws. There are four screws that hold the primary mask, two that hold the back carriage cover and two that hold the paper table. If you look closely, the original color is still visible behind the keys. Every key would need to come off as the slots are closed on the bottom. It is cleaned and waxed and not noticeable.
Whoo, that looks great! Actually, it looks a lot like my Graphika now:
ReplyDeletehttp://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/graphika.jpg
And yes, we have the same typeface.
Thanks! I was going for something that looked like an Olivetti product and thought this was part way between stock sage and the Graphika green. The paint is an ivy green for outdoor furniture. Claire, our resident artist, thought it was "too mustardy" but agrees that the machine looks good. I reminded her that I only had colors on the shelf to work with.
DeleteThanks, ACE Hardware!
Well, I congratulate for your wise decision to stick within the range of colors of Olivettis in the wild. Great job! It does look like Richard's Graphika.
ReplyDeleteDid you find the serial number at the immediate right of the right ribbon spool base?
Ah, I could not let the Guy Kawasaki of the Olivetti faithful be disappointed. Bright red would not have looked right. Stripped and polished might have been interesting and the aluminum body is conducive to the Silver Surfer treatment.
DeleteI found the serial number on the rectangular patch where the right ribbon assembly connects. Odd that it does not fit the general scheme.
For anyone who might be curious, the color is Gloss Ivy Leaf by Krylon.
Schramm '62 shows Lexicon 80 starting at up to 2010700 as 1948 and going on from there in the 2 million range and it stops in 1956 at 2571864. Nothing for Lexicon 80 in the 80K range that I can see.
ReplyDeleteOlivetti numbers are in many cases a mystery still...
Thanks for checking. I wonder if the manufacturing plants outside Italy had unique serial numbers?
DeleteThat's what I thought.
DeleteI have to say, I really like the colour, and I think you've done a great job with it. Well done!
ReplyDeleteTurned out very nicely! So green! I'm gonna have to strip down one of my machines and give it a face-lift, as soon as I figure out how to strip the paint-job. A Dremmel may be a little too aggressive.
ReplyDeleteMy preparation entailed washing in hot, soapy water to remove the scum, sanding with 200 grit paper, wiping it down with mineral spirits and setting it in the sun to dry. I'd say the best way to totally remove paint is with a solvent chemical stripper followed with a detail power sander.
DeleteBe careful with dust control and wash your hands after sanding. There is a strong chance that paint from the typewriter era had lead in various forms.