[Ian Spencer]

Hi,

I’m trying to match the color on the front and rear racks and wanted to get some opinions. I have a very nice unrestored 4 speed and the paint on these is more of a yellowish/brown off white. It’s a very close match to the paint on my Mini Cooper (Pepper White). I was thinking they were more of a true pure white. I understand that the paint on my original racks has changed with time due to many reasons, so I don’t assume them to be correct… so my question is: Are they a pure white or was the color more of an off white shade?

[Jeremy Gould]

Mine are faded white. I take it they were a purer white once upon a time.

[Ian Spencer]

That’s what I’m thinking too. I sprayed a set of racks with the off white i had mixed up and they don’t quite look right. If I was trying to match the look of the old, yellowed fluted cables then I would be right on track… but I’m looking for the proper color when they were painted new. My concern is that a straight up, pure white will be too bright though. This may be more detail then most people might want to go with it… but I like to get things right. 😉

[Tom Esslemont]

I have always gone with a brilliant white type colour, mainly due to the lack of choice at the Powder Coaters.. See my olive green safari on Ken’s Flickr pages. In my opinion you can’t beat nice clean bright carriers on an F frame, durable too with the powder coat option- too many chipped edges and touching in from traditional wet paint finishes?

[Ian Spencer]

Tom,

To your point, the power coating is a fantastic option. Unfortunately, I’ve had trouble with it here in my area. The places that do it take too long, or only want to do large jobs. With that said, I’ve stayed away from it and just painted them with automotive paint. The last time I tried to get carriers powder coated they wanted to bundle them in with another job that was being run in a white color that I didn’t like. They want to wait until they have enough work in a certain color before they will run the jobs. My carriers sat for 6 months before I went and took them home. It’s too bad really because I would really like to have them powder coated. I gave up on having it done. Kind of like you said, “… lack of choice…” (ref. color)

I have looked at the pictures of your safari many times on Ken’s pages. Very, very nice machine. Your bike was one of my references used for selection of proper carrier color and the reason why I am leaning towards a pure white over the first mix of off white paint I had made up. Thanks for your opinion. Because of bikes like yours, I was thinking that my match was bad and that I needed to rethink what I was doing.

Once of the things we did when we founded the Sunbeam Alpine Owners Club of America was to create a color reference library. We pulled color samples from painted areas on parts that were hidden from light sources and weather. Taking these samples we spent a lot of time working with a local paint shop who helped us split the hairs and match paint that was very spot on to the factory color. We then painted color samples that could be mailed off to owners who wanted to match paint. This helped to get the correct looking colors out there and create a standard on not only exterior paint, but engine and component colors too.

This works today because you can’t really call out a paint reference code that your local paint shop can mix from. Paint brands, tint, and dyes al change too quickly! By providing members with a painted color square, paint can be matched in any brand, at any shop by use of a spectrometer or by eyeball.

This might be something the Moulton club could find value in?? I have already matched many of the Moulton colors based upon color samples found in areas behind the head badge as I’ve worked on restoring bikes in my collection. I’d be willing to share my work if the club could find value in it.

[Tom Esslemont]

Hi Ian,

Funnily enough this is something we have had a bit of success in, I took ages repainting the forks on that safari to match the original BoA enamel on the main frame.. I have a super match here at a local painters. I think it would be a great idea having a service that supplies colour swatches, there is nothing worse than a poorly matched paint finish, I tend to use the base coat and lacquer route now, I like the way it allows details such as frame numbers and frame joints to show nicely. Powder coat seems to lay too heavily on cycle frames for me.

Is that your website with the lovely detailed photos of rebuild work? Nice site you have. Good to make contact,

Tom

[kenneth buttterfield]

What do I know?…My mini moke is British racing green because I hate the original spruce green!
Agree with Tom that powder coat is not really correct for sixties framesets….I had an excuse when I worked at a factory with it’s own coating plant of course.
For what help it is Ian, this rack is NOS and never fitted or painted, but the old UV may have taken it’s toll?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/worksmoulton/6446084199/sizes/z/in/photostream/

I would like to think that racks were a brilliant white….but
unless the frame is being refinished at the same time it could look a little too much?
While I mention frames has the thorny subject of metalflake-metallic etc ever been solved?

ken

[Ian Spencer]

I got home tonight and got out the 4 speed to look at the racks. I decided to get out some rubbing compound and give them a good going over and was able to really bring the color out quite a lot. It really went from a yellowish off white to a much more basic white.

Not sure what you are referring to Ken, in regards to the metal flake-metallic… bring me up to speed.

[kenneth buttterfield]

Sure thing Ian…The Moulton standard, speed, safari and others were finished in a basic “solid” color,
But the deluxe model and others? certainly some Raleigh versions used pearlescent paint ie with metal flakes suspended within.
I just wondered what size of flake was used?…some wild hot-rod ones would better suit the Kustom chopped bikes in the USA??ken

[Ian Spencer]

Ha! Right… absolutly. The hot rodders really love the big metal flake. No doubt about that! A Moulton, however, needs a much more subtile metal flake finish…. that is, of course, assuming that you aren’t painting it black with orange flames! Not sure I can give an answer on the size of metal flake being used on the paint I’ve had mixed though… it is a very very fine metal flake. Might be able to get an answer for you next time i’m at the paint shop.

[Author]

Posts