# Raleigh Bronze Green..looking For Matching Paint In A Can.



## Dale Alan (Mar 5, 2016)

I just picked up a mid 1960s Superbe and I need to paint the chainguard .I was wondering if anyone has experience with matching the paint with something that comes in a spray can . Would like to know of a specific maker and what they call their color . I always have a rough time matching paint,any help would be appreciated.


----------



## rhenning (Mar 5, 2016)

I do not think there is such a color unless you would find a can of Raleigh paint from the 1960s.  Roger


----------



## bulldog1935 (Mar 5, 2016)

not a simple or inexpensive answer, but some model shops have the ability to blend paint (or you can do it yourself).  
Would likely require an airbrush to apply.


----------



## Duchess (Mar 5, 2016)

Auto paint supply place to get it matched and put into spray cans. Not going to be cheap.


----------



## SirMike1983 (Mar 5, 2016)

Bronze green is difficult to match. Raleigh actually used several formulations of the paint, but apparently did not change the catalog/part number for them. Bronze green paints from the late 1960s tend to be more "brown" than 1970s era paints. I have a 1968 Sprite and a 1974 Sports, both 'bronze green', but the colors are quite different. I touched them up by mixing my own paints until I got a good match.

Raleigh indeed made small, glass bottle of touch-up paint for the bikes, but I wouldn't try looking for it. Chances are good the paint is beyond saving, and it might not even match your particular tone of bronze green anyway.

My suggestion is to custom mix your own oil-based paint. You can get he metallic component using a metallic gold or bronze element in the paint. If you want to go low cost, try mixing various tones of Testors Model paints. They're cheap, come in numerous colors, and mix well. Nail polish can be an option too, but they don't always mix well and sometimes dry very fast (acetone based especially). Car touch-up paints are too expensive for this, I think. I use the model paints and mix as needed.

If you don't want to mix, try going to an auto paint shop and see if they'll match. This will cost you more money though.


----------



## Dale Alan (Mar 5, 2016)

Thanks everyone.I was hoping for a magic spray can,knew that was a longshot . The bike is a rider,far from a show piece so I don't want to go nuts on painting a chainguard .

Mike,are you saying to mix and then brush ,or spray ? I had thought of taking a fender to Lowes and buying a quart of custom mixed paint.


----------



## SirMike1983 (Mar 5, 2016)

Dale Alan said:


> Thanks everyone.I was hoping for a magic spray can,knew that was a longshot . The bike is a rider,far from a show piece so I don't want to go nuts on painting a chainguard .
> 
> Mike,are you saying to mix and then brush ,or spray ? I had thought of taking a fender to Lowes and buying a quart of custom mixed paint.




It depends on how big an area you need to cover. I've found that small dings are fixed well with a brush and a slightly thinned version of the mixed paint. With the paint a bit thinned, it seeks its own level in the ding and then buffs pretty level.

If you're covering a larger area, it gets harder. For fairly small areas, you could use a modeller's airbrush rig with mixed model paints. For truly big areas, the options then are to have an auto shop mix a can up for spraying, or you could mix larger amounts of oil paint and then put through an airbrush or one of those propellant kits from Home Depot. The disposable propellant kits are sort of so-so, but they can work OK if you follow the directions closely.

Is just replacing the chainguard an option? Sometimes they turn up on Ebay.

Check down a ways in this post: 
http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/04/hercules-and-raleigh-bicycle-projects.html

I did that chain guard with paint mixed by a paint shop in a small can, then thinned the paint and put it through one of those disposable Preval sprayers. It's not factory quality, but it's reasonably good.


----------



## Dale Alan (Mar 5, 2016)

I have a spray gun but have never used it . The guard has a couple wrinkles that need to be addressed.That along with the paint matching issues I am now leaning towards finding a replacement guard .


----------



## Duchess (Mar 5, 2016)

I used Prevals with Dupont Chromabase and that came out great, but the nozzles are no good for clear coat.


----------



## SirMike1983 (Mar 5, 2016)

Duchess said:


> I used Prevals with Dupont Chromabase and that came out great, but the nozzles are no good for clear coat.




Yeah, they're really not bad if you're careful and follow the directions. They do tend to clog up easily and they don't like thicker paints. I haven't tried a clear with it. If you're doing a rider project and just need a one-off paint job for a part, it might well be an option.


----------



## Duchess (Mar 6, 2016)

Yeah, I followed the Preval directions to the letter, thinned as instructed by the auto body supply, and heated the units before time. Minor handling scratches/imperfections from pinstriping on the base were easily fixed with a small paint brush and a careful wet sand. The clear orange peeled badly and the sprayer would spit, as well. If I thinned the clear more than instructed, I might have been able to get them to work, but at that point (post wet-sanding the VERY HARD clear off without ruining my pinstriping and decals) I was too aggravated and I went to a body shop and had them shoot the clear. Were it not for the need to do so much work between the base and clear and leaving the head tube bare metal, I'd have gone powder for cheaper (if anyone cares, the paint/bare metal transition and the polished alloy itself is protected by 3M clear plastic they use to protect the paint on cars, usually using the Clear Bra trade name). In the case of repainting something original, I'd have a shop do the whole deal (minimum on buying paint, which would be enough for three bikes at least, is not cheap). If only small touch up was required, I'd do the mixing Model Masters paint like someone suggested. That's probably way more than you need, but hopefully it's of help to someone.


----------

