Thread: CT 70H K1 Build With Plenty of Pics

Originally Posted by ctbale

dang, I wish I had someone in my area that would do powder coating, I did a bit of research, and I was thinking of setting my self up with a little PC setup. Your work is very, very nice!! keep the pictures coming!!

For smaller parts you can get away with a old oven off of craigslist and a powder coating kit is relatively inexpensive. I had considered doing it myself.

Here are my options for color.

For yellow the small chip is from CT70paint. The large chip is from a local guy.

I like the red myself. It looks to be the closest match.

Out of the two Candy Yellow Special options you have, the CT70Paint option is the closest but, appears just a shade off. From what I understand, CYS is the hardest of the candy colors to match.

I like the red too, but I am biased since that's the color I'm going to paint my rebuild.

IMO, the paint kits are a poor match....the only way to get the original look is by doing a real candy job....a good painter can mix and spray a candy job.

This is a major decision, since it's labor & cash intensive and varying shades of nightmarish to redo. You're trying to cover too many variables in a single shot...about as easy as combining trap shooting with juggling, while standing up in a hammock.

Your photos should be an obvious first clue. The same colors appear differently in every shot. Lighting, photography, and digital data transfer, right down to the end user's video screen, all affect what is seen. Your CYS frame appears much more green, at least on my monitor, than what I'm used to seeing firsthand. Since you've photographed your color samples at the same time, at least you have a "control" element, useful for side-by-side comparison. IMO, using photos alone to judge/select color is a dicey proposition. There's no substitute for your own eyes (unless you happen to be color blind) and natural daylight. Ultimately, you have to make the call, based on your firsthand observations.

If you're planning to use a "near-candy", then expect to trade ease of application for a significant difference from original. The results can be pretty good, in terms of color value. They will, unfortunately, always appear comparatively lifeless next to a true candy paint job. "Near-candies" also photograph very differently. They actually tend to appear more vibrant in photographs...go figure(!)

If you intend to spray a true two (base/top), or three (base/mid/top) stage candy color, then final color value will depend upon midcoat application...in a huge way. Anything with yellow and/or green pigment will appear radically different under artificial light, so you'll need to have a a large enough color sample with you, in the same light, to do the match while you're applying the midcoat.

Choose your color sample carefully. There was a lot of color variation between individual bikes, sometimes even on the same bike...right from the production line. You've used the "tan line" area of the CYS frame (a good choice), but the LH flank of the CRR. That's a fade-prone area, unlike a previously-covered spot.

Take it a step at a time. Select the color you want, then get the paint supplier to match it as closely as possible. Candy requires the extra step of matching the midcoat sprayout using a piece matches the result you want as a reference.

If you're an experienced painter, then all apologies for wasting your time with a brutally long post. If not, then what I've outlined probably sounds like major a p.i.t.a. scenario and, for the relatively inexperienced, it can be. My point, however, is not to discourage but to encourage you to take your time & do some homework. Oftentimes, time & research can compensate for lack of experience; the extra investment in those areas is far less painful than a disappointing result. Ask as many questions, as many times as you need to...and do the job once. (Somehow, "measure twice/cut once" seems weak here.) Hopefully, you do your "sweating" now and savor an extra sweet success at the end.

IMHO - Regarding the CYS - Once the entire mini is painted, no one will ever be able to tell the difference in the minor shade differences since it is soooo close. As RacerX stated, that color could even be different on the same bike off the production line. If you wanted to be real cool, paint the different parts with different shades (Wink Wink Nudge Nudge) for a true 100 Point'r

True, I am having a love affair with CRR at the moment. Thus, and for other reasons, I am slightly tainted.......

Stephen

Been contemplating that once you repaint, nothing is original anymore anyway no matter what & I am not trying to fool anyone into thiniking it has never been painted or is an untouched original; just want to recreate the entire bike the best I can factoring in all variables (such as the bike is 40 years old with 6,000 miles in the condition it is in--& I can't NOT paint it--& it is the bike I have been dealt, what parts/color is available now--& most importantly--in my area, & cost is a factor).

Finally able to assemble something. The black is just satin black--not gloss since it may look that way in pics. Hope to finish the wheels tomorrow...

Very well said.A shade off is not a deal breaker in either color.I like candy yellow as there are not as many restored versions on here or offered for sale on ebay.Candy yellow was a one year color chioce vs at least 4 for the red.That would be a nice change of pace color choice to see on here for sure.I do like to keep the same color it originally came with if possible.Just my opinion.

I agree with those last two posts, as long as the color is applied evenly over the entire frameset, very few people would ever notice, let alone question, how close you got to replicating the correct color. Especially with a relatively uncommon (due to low popularity) color like CYS, there's less "CYA" to contemplate. This isn't a mid`60s Corvette show, presided over by jaded judges equipped with forensic kits

To clarify, my comment about choosing your color sample carefully meant exercising some due diligence in finding a well-applied, non-faded, section of OEM paint, before starting the stripping process. That's as close as one can get to the "correct original color". Whether your chosen sample is near the light, or dark, extreme...or somewhere in the middle...if you get reasonably close to replicating it, you're "color correct". It was a long-winded way of saying give it your best shot, then "let it rip". On a second reading, I can see where I may have unintentionally caused some needless anxiety...sorry.