# Era Correct Paint Tones - Oh the Agony



## partsguy (May 29, 2015)

It's been awhile since I have repainted a bicycle but I have one, now possibly two, that will need to be re-painted. One is blue and one is gold. Many bikes from the late 50s-late 60s had a metallic-like finish to the paint and these are no exception. I tried to repaint a bike on my first restoration, several years ago, and the results were horrible. My attempt in a metallic turquoise turned out as a metalflake Army green. That poor bike. I was so burned out after having to strip it again that I eventually sold it to a fellow CABE member.

One bike is my '64 Silver King, which is to be done by next summer. The other bike is a one-year-only Huffy Silver Jet; a 1963 model, the only year Huffman painted the bikes in the eye-catching gold, black, and crème tri-tone scheme.

I want both of these bikes to look perfect and I want to get the paint right the first time.

For those who have restored middleweights or muscle bikes, how have you achieved that period, showroom finish? What prep techniques, priming, or polishing do I need to do? What stages of paint do I need to know?


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## rideahiggins (May 29, 2015)

While looking for bike paint I found that most automotive paints have a larger metal flake than what bikes do. So when they mix the paint I have them leave the large metal flake component out. This does change the color slightly sometimes.


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