I WOULD LIKE TO PAINT THIS CAN IN SOUTHERN RAILROAD COLORS AND NEED TO KNOW WHAT COLOR TO USE THE CAN DATES TO THE 1940'S I WOULD ALO LIKE TO KNOW WHERE I CAN BUY A DECAL WITH THE SOUTHERN LOGO ABOUT 6INCNES IN DIAMETER THANK YOU

-- GARY RITTER (ritterhillbilly@aol.com), December 28, 2003

Answers

Most kerosene, gasoline, etc. cans were used in their unpainted tin or galvanized patina. Often, they were stamped "SO Ry" or "SOU RY" or "SR" or some variation thereof. Sometimes various shops painted their items yellow to denote hazard, while most collectible items show up on the market painted black. There are no hard and fast rules or paint schemes, though the most faithful restoration would probably not include paint at all, and certainly no decal.

-- Matt Bumgarner (stealthnfo@aol.com), December 28, 2003.