Thread: Paint Codes and Color

There seems to be alot of questions about paint codes and colors for repainting our ct70's and z50's. Some by me. Maybe we could all put our numbers and paint codes that we use on a sticky somewhere on the forum so we could all use the information and insite from others that have painted a few bikes. If this is in the wrong area I hope someone will move it so we all can add to it and maybe a moderator could put it into a chart showing what everyone is using. Some have suggested just buying a paint kit from a dealer, the problem I see with this is if you make a mistake painting or have more the one bike you have to buy another kit. I my case I have painted about 7 bikes now and have plenty of base and clearcoat but needed a blue-green candy. So I will be first to add what I use to match the honda paint.

The base coat I use is DuPont ChromaBase
#LM365K
For Candy Ruby Red I use House of Kolor UK 11.Q01 Apple Red Kandy
For Candy Blue I use House of Kolor UK 04.Q01 Oriental Blue Kandy
For Emerald Green I use House of Kolor UK 09.Q01 Organic Green.

I normally use 3 coats of everything but the clear and normally only use 2 of that. Any good clearcoat will work. Like some have said before you have to be very careful with the candy and get uniform coats or you will end up with light and dark streeks in the finish. Now all I need is a Blue-Green paint number!

Mike

Mike,
If no one comes up w/ a code, I'll help you get it done. I've got the bike and an extra headlight bucket. Not appearing to be faded on ether one.
Steve

The Honda Blue-green candy is a Sem paint here is the info;

Sem #03046 Aqua Blue Candy concentrate. must be mixed with a reducer and sprayed over a stock Sem silver base.

Mike

Playing mix & match with paint systems is risky. Pro shops do this to maximize profits, sometimes turning out really lame paintwork. I've seen some expensive disasters, including decal removal that took the paint down to the primer . At the very least, using a single paint system throughout takes the chemical variables out of the equation. Paint manufacturers invest a lot of resources developing primer-to-topcoat paint systems for a reason. The best quality paints offer excellent resistance to chips & UV fading plus they can be colorsanded & polished at any time after fully cured. That's what you give up with the cheap stuff.

The actual number of coats required for primer, base, mid & topcoats all vary. There is no universal, one-size-fits-all rule. Candy midcoats have the widest range, anywhere from 3-12 coats depending on color, manufacturer, material, temp/humidity and application. Experience is the best guide. The novice should expect that there will be a learning curve.

Originally Posted by racerx

Playing mix & match with paint systems is risky. Pro shops do this to maximize profits, sometimes turning out really lame paintwork. I've seen some expensive disasters, including decal removal that took the paint down to the primer . At the very least, using a single paint system throughout takes the chemical variables out of the equation. Paint manufacturers invest a lot of resources developing primer-to-topcoat paint systems for a reason. The best quality paints offer excellent resistance to chips & UV fading plus they can be colorsanded & polished at any time after fully cured. That's what you give up with the cheap stuff.

The actual number of coats required for primer, base, mid & topcoats all vary. There is no universal, one-size-fits-all rule. Candy midcoats have the widest range, anywhere from 3-12 coats depending on color, manufacturer, material, temp/humidity and application. Experience is the best guide. The novice should expect that there will be a learning curve.

I agree to a point. You can buy the cheaper line of either PPG or Dupont from the primer to the clear and still end up with a paint job that may look good but won't wear or last very long. I would hardly call Sem a cheap brand if that is what you were refering to. They have been in business along time and are well known company.

The actual number of coats required to paint a bike is up to the painter and how good he is. In my post I was referring to a bike that has been blasted to bare metal. I should have cleared that up in my other post. While the number of coats vary with the material I used either House of Kolor or Chroma base it took 3 coats of silver and candy in red ,blue or green to get the depth of color that matched the original 35 year old paint job.

I am by no means an expert at this. I have painted 10-12 vw's and 7 minitrails with a couple of Harleys thrown in. Like Racerx said it takes practice, my first candy I painted 3 times just to get candy uniformly covering the bike. Actually unless your going to use a 2 stage system the only thing that can be color sanded is the clear that is why I buy the best I can afford usually 150-200 a gallon, but that is what protects the paint from the UV and chips.

My intent in all this was to help the guys get a paint that best matched the original and maybe start a sticky so everyone would know what paints work and match the best. It's pretty easy to put 300-400 in material in a paint job and I know I only like doing it once. I'm sure there are alot of guys out there that paint and know ahell of alot more than me I was just trying to get some information flowing.

Mike

Here are a couple pictures of the blue-green candy that I just sprayed. The Sems paint doesn't seem to have the same amount of pigment that the House of Kolor has. To get the amount of depth I wanted it took six coats of candy over the silver base. One pint of Candy will do a ct70 easily. The same goes for the silver base.

Mike

Nice job !
Those shock covers look great.Got your package yesterday,thanks for the bonus but you didn't need to do that.

Great job,
Dennis

lovin the blue-green candy! Do you have any pics of the red candy?!.. i'd love to see it...

I am looking for Deltron paint code (DBC) for Candy Topaz Orange for a 1975 Honda CL360 Scrambler I am restoring. Any help is appreciated.

I wasn't specifically thinking of PPG, SEM or Dupont. I've tried PPG & SEM and didn't like either of them, but I wouldn't call them cheap crap. DuPont, a longtime fave, is largely irrelevant these days. The popular "tricks" are using the primer from one manufacturer, HOK dye, cheap paint vehicle from another manufacturer and yet another, cheaper, clear top coat. The paradox is that the cheaper paints are far less temperamental and comparatively easy to apply. That said, who's going to remember that in a year when that "bargain" paint fades, yellows and shows damage from light contact? The overwhelming majority of clear top coats become brittle and don't allow for color sanding and polishing after a few days. Brittle paint is the last thing you'd want on a bike. Having to respray a bike will cost a lot more than doing it right, with the best material available in the first place. "Buy well, buy once...buy on price, pay for it twice".

A CT70 takes more time & skilled labor than material to refinish and it's an especially odd duck in many respects. 16oz is enough material for the base silver, the quantity of midcoat needed can vary by over 100% between colors. Primer and clear will depend upon the number of coats. It's rare that everything can be primed in a single shot, bodywork normally requires some spot-priming. If you're applying a flow-coat of clear, better allow for an additional 35% to cover that extra coat.