In addition to the effort being put into the paint job, money is also a factor.  I suppose for a fee, you could take the parts you want painted down to a body shop after they've been sanded and maybe bondoed (or have the shop take care of that as well).  If you really want to go all out, you could take apart the entire machine, clean it to where you could eat off of all the parts, have some of those parts prepared and re-chromed or nickel-plated, put it all together except for the outer shell, unless you have an older machine where the outer frame holds all the parts, and take it down to be painted and detailed (I've seen this done with a Royal 10 in a magazine once).  You'd have yourself a pretty slicked-out museum piece you really wouldn't want to touch for fear of ruining it.  Myself, I've rattled about ten jillion o' them cans over some of these critters.  None of them perfect specimens, but certainly a bit better than they looked when I started

typngon12a wrote:

  Thanks for the replies.  I too admire the look of the older machines and agree they have a more professional look.  This painting project was something I have considered but never done.  Now that I see what is involved I need to reconsider

Something you can factor in your reconsideration:  Get a typewriter (they're out there, believe me) not as old as what this Underwood is.  Try for, say, a late 1940s Remington KMC or a 1960's Royal MC Princess, or anything in between.  I suggest these typewriters because you can pull the shells off of them and paint them separately.  A typewriter like, say any Underwood (not Olivetti-Underwood) or older Royal, the outer part of the typewriter serves as the main frame, and is covered over by panels on either side.  But, anyway, find a typewriter you can detach the shell, and try your spray-painting technique.  You can either use a spraygun or a "rattlycan."  Or, if you really are truly doubtful about your "finesse," get something to practice on that won't be a big deal, like, an old bucket, a brick, or a board of some kind.  As you practice your paint strokes, you'll get better and you can graduate to so-so typewriters (I'm not denigrating any machines, except for most Remington electrics, but I've even painted a few of them, and they came out pretty decent looking, even if they only worked for a few more months.  I do wish I had my '68 Remington L-25, though.  It was a nice Remington electric that did work great.)