Colour match vintage bike!

[Philip Osler]

hello i'm wondering what the best way to get touch up paint to match the colour of my vintage frame?

any suggestions, thanks in advance Phil

 

[biggs682]

a decent spray shop should be able to mix paint to your spec but not sure many will want to do small amounts

 

[Philip Osler]

yeah especially if I'm not getting it painted by them i guess

 

[Philip Osler]

I've looked for some time trying to find a car colour that matches my frame no look so far though!

 

[Ed no-more-lemons]

This is something I've been avoiding.
The only solution I'm currently doing is keeping the current project indoors and working on functionality/components etc.
Presumably touchups have to be a better option than a laquer over paintwork, decals and all.
I'm thinking about trying to match the colour with the appropriate pigment as this can be done with Hammerite (although not sure how this would last and I may look for an alternative), then I suppose you are stuck with a brush.
Plan B, best colour match from any auto can, with primer and lots of masking. Not nearly as noticeable as rusty patina spots?
None of this is ideal, but does go further than I've ever bothered before. And would hopefully retain the original character of the bike and look halfway decent?

 

[Philip Osler]

yeah thats what I'm hoping to do myself! just not sure of the best way to go about it!

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

Whereas conservators previously aimed to make their work undetectable, the current trend is to improve the overall appearance but using techniques that are obvious on closer inspection.

An example might be a fresco: instead of trying to re-create the original work, they would use cross-hatching in a sympathetic colour and rely on the brain's ability to fill-in missing information.

 

[sidevalve]

One of the problems you may find in matching colours is the top coat is often very slightly affected by any undercoat. I found this when doing a simple restoration, checked even in bright daylight the colours were identical however once applied the new stuff seemed a tad darker, later I discovered the original had been applied over a white base coat. Be carefull.

 

[Philip Osler]

thanks for the tips, maybe a new colour is in order then!

 

[Philip Osler]

this is the colour if anyone has any ideas?

 

[Cycleops]

Matching metallic colours is notoriously dificult. You could try just spraying the rear trangle, which seems to be the most affected then a slight mismatch would not be too noticable. At least a total respray would be easy as you can mask off the decals and headbadge.

 

[asterix]

I just painted mine mauve in time for the jubilee.

(I have found with non-metallics that they can be a British Standard colour in which case it's usually easy to get a match. For touch up jobs there's always a chance Humbrol modellers paints will have the right colour or are cheap enough to buy several and mix 'em till you get an approximation. Rust can be neutralised first with phosphoric acid, a.k.a. Naval Jelly)

 

[Philip Osler]

thanks for the tips guys I purchased some paint that looked perfect, but when sprayed on its alot darker metallic blue, I'll post up some pictures when i'm abit further along. very pleased with the results so far though!

 

[alanf1968]

I took a frame down to a local car accessory shop which they sent off for computer colour matching some touch up, the colour was a good match although difficult to get a good touch in with a brush touch up, it was possible to get a tin for spraying, you could try masking the transfers, cleaning it off a bit and giving it a blow over with fresh colour matched paint

 

[Philip Osler]

yeah that is what I'm going to do now going to have a good go this weekend!