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Resurrecting Campus Green Paint thread

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it is easy to see that there is no metal flake in the factory finish.
There never was metal flake i n the paint ,the metallic finish is due to the aluminium primer showing through the paint itself. Campus green will darken over time with exposure to the sunlight and you can no longer see the undercoat thru the finish.
 
There never was metal flake i n the paint ,the metallic finish is due to the aluminium primer showing through the paint itself. Campus green will darken over time with exposure to the sunlight and you can no longer see the undercoat thru the finish.
Perhaps I wasn't clear in my post. Now, granted, the top of a spray can doesn't always match the paint inside, but in this case, I think it does, or at least did before the paint inside dried up. You can clearly see that the can is labeled Campus Green Flek, while all the catalogs listed the color as just Campus Green when it was a color option. The last photo is of the can lid next to my dusty 1972 Campus Green Paramount. The difference is striking in the contrast between the bike, which has a multi-layer, 'flamboyant' finish, and the spray can top, which has metal flake. Also, the paint can top is noticeably darker than the factory finish on the bike. Both the bike and the paint can have spent the vast majority of the last 50 years in the dark, as attested to by the lack of fading in the red printed on the label. I imagine that there has been some color change due to oxidation, but I think these are as close to what you would have seen back in 1972 as you're going to find.

What I was trying to say was that it appears Schwinn marketed a metal flake version of Campus Green in their spray cans and touchup to give a similar effect as the flamboyant finish applied at the factory. The metal flake version is called Campus Green Flek, while the factory color was called Campus Green. I wonder if this also carried through to the other flamboyant colors Sky Blue, Flamboyant Red, and Sierra Brown. Oh, and I'll point out that the can is labeled "ORIGINAL FACTORY COLOR" when it is obviously not so at all.
CampusGreenFlekCan.jpg
CampusGreenFlekCanTop.jpg
CampusGreekAndFlek.jpg
 
sbarner is correct.
That is the typical nature of most all TOUCH-UP Automotive 8oz to 12oz spray cans & TOUCH-UP small bottle with tiny brush built into the screw on cap, or the TOUCH-UP "pens" that are like an EL-MARKO Magic Marker from 1967......for those of you that aren't baby-boomers, think in terms of a really big fat Sharpie permanent marker.

The TOUCH-UP paints are formulated to deliver consistantly accurate PAINT COLOR MATCHING, yet because of their nature-method of application are distinctly different in formulation in most cases, although the PAINT COLOR MATCHING is typically dead-on accurate to the Original Equipment Manufacturer's Paint Color, IF & WHEN THE SPRAY CAN or Bottle or Pen HAS BEEN MIXED PROPERLY......MEANING THE CAN HAS BEEN SHAKEN SUFFICIENTLY TO YIELD A WELL MIXED PAINT CHEMICALS & PROPELLANTS...........Obviously, there are instances when age and after partial useage that it becomes sometimes nearly impossible to get consistant color due to evaporated solvents and inability to mix the contents as needed.
Anyone that has experience painting stuff with rattle-cans knows from experience that it is best to have multiple well shaken cans on hand because if you continue to paint with a rattle-can that is nearly empty, you can get the can to begin spitting and dripping rather than the normal consistant spray. This is why you want to Change Spray rattle cans BEFORE the paint gets too near the end of the can. YOU DON'T WISH TO TRY TO GET EVERY DROP, BECAUSE THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GOOD TO THE LAST DROP OF PAINT, WHEN IT COMES To Rattle-Can SPRAY PAINTING, You Will Simply Potentially Ruin An Otherwise Great Spray Paint Attempt WHEN THE Near Empty Can Spits & Drips.......
Most people think they can shake it enough and get everything out of the can and save a few bucks by not having to buy a second can of the rattle-can Spray paint, but nine times out of ten, it messes up or at least makes what would have been a near perfect spray paint job, look worse than average.

If you can get the Color Match close enough, and if you are skilled enough to blend the TOUCH-UP painted portion with the factory painted portion seemlessly, nobody can really tell the difference. As you know, paint on old automobiles, bicycles, or anything normally exposed to Sunlight for long periods of time will color change slightly after a long period of time. Certain areas that are less exposed and more exposed to sunlight will color change (fade) differently such that the roof , hood, trunklid of an automobile might be significantly different than the color on the lower doors and near the rocker panels after ten to fifteen years, even though the automobile still appears to the human eye to be the same uniform color overall. The naturally faded portions are mostly seemless in gradual transition. If one attempts to TOUCH UP an automobile panel or for example when an automotive body shop repairs a fender or replaces a bumper or body panel or door, and they are simply just repainting & matching that replaced/repaired body panel or bumper to the rest of the vehicle. A good body shop will take into account and match the nearest body panels precisely so that the car appears to be one factory color and not unmatching red, blue, silver, or whatever, even though the unmatching color is the exact showroom color when the car came off the assembly line.
About forty years ago my wife had a silver 280ZX that someone ran into her when the car was two years old, and she always would describe the visible mismatch of the body shop's silver on the repair as when a hairstylist messes up a color job, and she'd always say professionals shouldn't screw up like that, it is noticeably bad, like they are colorblind.... She probably told everyone to stay away from that particular body shop.
 
I bought a campus green 1969 middleweight frame with fork and chain guard at a swap meet the other day. The bike was originally a Panther (stencil on chain guard) but I didn’t have all the accessories to rebuild a Panther so I took the easy way out and put together a Typhoon. Had an old Typhoon chain guard decal put Panther still showed through. Got part of Panther off chemically, then sanded on it some. Didn’t get rid of all the Panther but did sand off some paint. Got out some Testorsvmodel paints and started mixing. For an “original” the chain guard matches the frame and fork pretty well. Pictures tomorrow when the sun is out.
 
Here’s the picture of the chain guard for which I mixed some Testors model paints to come up with some green to cover some bare metal and the original Panther screen print. It’s good as a 10/10. 10 feet at 10 mph but up close there are brush marks
1494554
 
Yesterday I decided to go to the local auto paint jobber and see what they had to offer. I took The fork with me and came up with this Match. I stepped outside and sprayed the part of the fork that was not painted and here’s what it looks like.
1494560

I think once a solid base of silver is laid down then top coated with this, it will be damn close.

This is DuPont paint. The guy at the paint shop only DuPont paints will work
1494561

Spectramaster Color Atlas. Code: SMS269
 
2020 Mini Cooper color called BRITISH RACING GREEN IV (also available on some 2019 models, was a new color in lineup in 2019)

To my eyes, this is one of the closest available colors today. Do Not Confuse this NEW for 2019 color with the earlier Mini Cooper color which is much darker. The earlier darker color is British Racing Green II which was seen on Mini Cooper models before 2019.

You are likely to see this new 2019 and 2020 Mini Cooper color called British Racing Green IV appear in Touch UP paints at the Advances/AutoZones/Pep Boys/Oreilleys/Car Quests/NAPA within the next few years if not already available now.

Go by a Mini Dealership and look at the 2020 Mini Cooper in British Racing Green IV. If you like the color and think it looks close enough, get the Factory Paint Code, and then you can visit an auto parts or auto paint supply store and get a small enough amount mixed in aerosol spray as one might for large touch up work........this should be enough to paint a bicycle frame in your backyard in rattle can fashion. You can do the same with just about any ancient Automotive factory paint code or paint chip chart. There are hundreds of metallic green shades that will be close if not near perfect from various American and Imported cars from about 1947 to the present day. Metallic green colors on automobiles were most popular during the 1947 to 1973 era, and relatively few green shades were seen after 1973 as green largely fell out of favor. Metallic green was at it's peak of popularity during the fifties, probably during the 1949 - 1961 era. Look at ancient Pontiac, Cadillac, from the forties and early fifties and color charts from nearly all GM brands, FORD/LINCOLN/MERCURY, Chrysler/Plymouth, Nash-Rambler, AMC, VOLKSWAGEN, PACKARD, KAISER-FRASER, and whatever make you wish to view the color chips of. If you find a color chip on some ancient chart that you like, it might be best to have your favorite local paint place "scan" that actual paint chip with their computer. PAINT Chip charts can be viewed in many locations online and one can purchase old paint chip charts for maybe $1 or $2 from various sellers on the bay, or from folks on various automotive forums.
On the green after 1973, you may be forgetting Chysler Dark Baby Poop Green Metallic and Light Baby Poop Green Metallic.
Chrysler must've had a warehouse full of 55 gallon drums of those colors left over still. I have seen hundreds of Chrysler Newports, Dodge Monacos, even Satellites, Coronets, Darts and Valiants/Dusters painted those colors with Dark Baby Poop Green Metallic being their favorite I am guessing.
Not that it is a match for Campus Green, but at least one American automaker didn't give up on Green paint or Houndstooth interiors until they ran their stock of raw materials out.
Most of those cars today are only at car shows so I do not fault anyone for not remembering them, I am just throwing them in the mix.
Rob
 
Years ago, I had a Schwinn Heavy Duti frame that was beat up and yellow. I painted it Rustoleum black. That was the best decision I could have made.

This campus green odyssey has been nightmarish. I ordered a half pint of campus green, and @1motime , you are probably right, one half pint may not do it. I will probably spray a piece of cardboard or something with silver, then campus green over it and save it so that I can get it color matched anytime in the future. Maybe right after it comes in. We'll see.

Sky Blue on the Schwinn American was so easy too. It is not too late to go Sky Blue.
A little late for this post I am sure, but when doing a color match spray test it is best to use the substrate you will be painting (metal) with your Primer, Silver Base, top color and clear to get the best match.

Do not use cardboard, it is way more absorbent of most light frequencies than metal or plastic.

Anyone who doesn't believe this should try painting drywall with and without drywall specific primer/sealer. Paint absorbs into drywall differently than it does joint coumpounds.

Warning; the following story will take a few minutes but it is entertaining and will be worth it when you are finished.

I when I finished drywall in my construction/remodeling business up to about 2008 I would bid my drywall jobs with myself applying the Primer Sealer. I would get customers that wanted to cut corners that would want to do their own priming and paint.

I told them if they insisted and wanted me to do the job, they would have to sign a no fault agreement covering visible seams and texture/color differences between drywall board and seam coumpond. Otherwise they had to have a reputable painter prime and paint the work or they had no guarantee on the paint or surface match.

One couple signed the agreement, then when I was finished they painted the room with some cheap standard primer for repaints and Wal-Mart paint. Not a problem with the paint, but that is what they used.

The room looked so bad it almost made me vomit on my Wheaties when I went to look at the results following their work. The seams looked like stripes of a different shade than the bare drywall.

I asked about primer and at first they swore they used the primer I recommended. I said fine, let me see the can of primer you have left over.

At first they resisted, but after I picked up my notebook and both jobsite and digital cameras to leave they brought out the cans of primer and paint they used. When I asked who to them that primer would work, they said "the guy that mixed our paint at Wal-mart".

When I told them they violated our signed release they got nasty and refused to finish payment on other work I was done with a few days before that was bid on a separate contract.

I love arguing with idiots, but these people were beyond reasoning. I went to the courthouse and filed a Mechanics Lien on the home and property. When they received their copy, they called a lawyer and sued me for (yes they did!) Breach of Contract for the drywall work. I countersued for the lien, lost time and wages for preparing the case and court appearances.

In court their attorney argued that the paint technician at Wal-mart was an expert witness. Even the judge had to hide the chuckle he got from that one!

When asked for my qualifications as a contractor, my apprenticeship or journeyman status and years of experience, I simply said here are my qualifications. I do repair and remodeling for ******* who owns the local Classic Car and Corvette dealership, and said "You know how picky those guys are, and he has called me back for other jobs. Since he and most of the judges here are Masons I knew the judge knew him.

I produced all our signed documents, photos of the work before and after painting including one of the couple feeling the seams for smoothness, as well as of their paint materials and a transcript of the basics of our discussion of the problem.

When the judge admitted the paperwork as evidence, he nodded inconspicuously my way and asked if the plaintiff was finished. They answered yes.

I prepared to start my case, but the judge said he was already prepared to rule so I didn't argue.

He admonished their attorney for even bringing this frivolous case before him, and ruled in my favor as well as my lien and countersuit for lost time and wages.
They ended up paying me about $2500 more than if they would've left me alone.

Oh, and the judge called me back to chambers and invited me to join the Freemasons, which I respectfully declined. It still made a friend of him that day.

The moral of this story?
Substrate material does make a difference.
 
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A little late for this post I am sure, but when doing a color match spray test it is best to use the substrate you will be painting (metal) with your Primer, Silver Base, top color and clear to get the best match.

Do not use cardboard, it is way more absorbent of most light frequencies than metal or plastic.

Anyone who doesn't believe this should try painting drywall with and without drywall specific primer/sealer. Paint absorbs into drywall differently than it does joint coumpounds.

Warning; the following story will take a few minutes but it is entertaining and will be worth it when you are finished.

I when I finished drywall in my construction/remodeling business up to about 2008 I would bid my drywall jobs with myself applying the Primer Sealer. I would get customers that wanted to cut corners that would want to do their own priming and paint.

I told them if they insisted and wanted me to do the job, they would have to sign a no fault agreement covering visible seams and texture/color differences between drywall board and seam coumpond. Otherwise they had to have a reputable painter prime and paint the work or they had no guarantee on the paint or surface match.

One couple signed the agreement, then when I was finished they painted the room with some cheap standard primer for repaints and Wal-Mart paint. Not a problem with the paint, but that is what they used.

The room looked so bad it almost made me vomit on my Wheaties when I went to look at the results following their work. The seams looked like stripes of a different shade than the bare drywall.

I asked about primer and at first they swore they used the primer I recommended. I said fine, let me see the can of primer you have left over.

At first they resisted, but after I picked up my notebook and both jobsite and digital cameras to leave they brought out the cans of primer and paint they used. When I asked who to them that primer would work, they said "the guy that mixed our paint at Wal-mart".

When I told them they violated our signed release they got nasty and refused to finish payment on other work I was done with a few days before that was bid on a separate contract.

I love arguing with idiots, but these people were beyond reasoning. I went to the courthouse and filed a Mechanics Lien on the home and property. When they received their copy, they called a lawyer and sued me for (yes they did!) Breach of Contract for the drywall work. I countersued for the lien, lost time and wages for preparing the case and court appearances.

In court their attorney argued that the paint technician at Wal-mart was an expert witness. Even the judge had to hide the chuckle he got from that one!

When asked for my qualifications as a contractor, my apprenticeship or journeyman status and years of experience, I simply said here are my qualifications. I do repair and remodeling for ******* who owns the local Classic Car and Corvette dealership, and said "You know how picky those guys are, and he has called me back for other jobs. Since he and most of the judges here are Masons I knew the judge knew him.

I produced all our signed documents, photos of the work before and after painting including one of the couple feeling the seams for smoothness, as well as of their paint materials and a transcript of the basics of our discussion of the problem.

When the judge admitted the paperwork as evidence, he nodded inconspicuously my way and asked if the plaintiff was finished. They answered yes.

I prepared to start my case, but the judge said he was already prepared to rule so I didn't argue.

He admonished their attorney for even bringing this frivolous case before him, and ruled in my favor as well as my lien and countersuit for lost time and wages.
They ended up paying me about $2500 more than if they would've left me alone.

Oh, and the judge called me back to chambers and invited me to join the Freemasons, which I respectfully declined. It still made a friend of him that day.

The moral of this story?
Substrate material does make a difference.


Excellent job at hijacking a thread. 🥱
 
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