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Post-War Superior - Green Paint?

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SirMike1983

Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
I'm working on a post-war Superior, probably from 1948 or 49. It has a two-stage green paint that's apparently different from the later, Opal Green. Does anyone know what the name of this other green would be? Any suggestions on a matching touch-up paint? It's a medium green with a little less blue in it and a little less metallic look than Opal Green.

This bike is the same green. I have the exact same model and color as this one. Mine is in roughly the same condition, maybe a touch rougher than the one below, but same color.

Photo from eBay:

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Bump - I am straining to recall what I used on Opal Green, and I believe it was Testors Aluminum as a basecoat, then translucent "Candy Green" or "Emerald Candy Green" as the top layer. But I'm not convinced it will work as well here because this seems like a little different green that was a short-lived thing in the late 1940s. Some areas of the bike look to have the aluminum base coat, then a layer of green over the top, though the green is something a little different that I have not had to match before.
 
Schwinn's Opal colors went thru some product changes over the years, maybe three, and the early Opalescent colors were nothing like the mid 50's and later Opals. The early lightweight colors from what I have seen are not the same type of paint as the aluminum base and candy color coat versions. It was more of an early type of metallic paint with a heavier colorant and minute metallic particles. Unfortunately Schwinn did not paint the Steer tubes during the earlier years so getting an original color sample to have color matched is impossible. Here's some pictures from when I was color matching the Opals and Radiant paint used on the middleweights. This shade of green or paint is nothing like the earlier colors. What I would do is start searching for color matches that Dupli-Color makes in their Perfect Matched lacquer spray paint or get a paint scan off a good chain guard.

Green 57 and 61 Forks 004 (Medium).jpg


Green 57 and 61 Forks 005 (Medium).jpg
 
Yeah, it's different from that. The green top coat is more opaque, and perhaps a bit less blue in it. I may try the scan and match method.
 
I did a short search and really can't tell from pictures of can caps what would be close. Came across this color but it's a real metallic looking paint .


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Nice j-bass. The green isn't bad, but probably too metallic. I'm going to try getting a couple more pictures this weekend. There is a little paint and primer on the steerer tube, so I'll get a picture of that, and then a couple of the project. It's totally taken apart now. I did the oxalic acid bath on the fork, fenders, and chain guard. I was going to do the frame too, but might going instead just manually cleaning. It's not a heavily metallic paint. It just has a hint of metallic in it. It reminds me of paris green paint that used to be on the walls in a couple rooms of my parents' house.
 
I had luck manually mixing paint with an eye dropper until I got something that worked. I patched up the frame and fork earlier today. The mix was Testor's Flat Beret Green as a base, add-in Testors Teal, add-in Testor's Aluminum. Start with the green, then eyedropper the other two incrementally until it matches. I'll have to adjust the mix as I go. The tint on the fenders and chainguard is a little more worn than the frame and fork. But with some patience, it will get there.
 
On a separate subject, John Deere Ultraguard in a ziplock bag softened up the grips nicely. They were the typically petrified oval types initially. I put them in a ziplock bag with some Ultraguard for a few days, and it softened them up nicely. On the minus side, one of the grips has a few cracks in it. We'll see if I can re-use them. They're kind of marginal, at least one of them is.
 
Yeah, this is the small bottles of paint. A little bottle of each will be enough. If one had to spray it, it could be thinned and put through an airbrush or maybe a Preval unit. But I'm not into that category with this one.
 
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