question about paint

[Befbever]

I was talking to a Dutch Futura owner at Spa. His Fut was still in pieces waiting for parts but he was saying a painter had taken an optical sample of his colour (Flame Red) and had matched the paint EXACTLY using this sample instrument. He told me the guy resprayed the lower side of his fuel tank, up until the Aprilia sticker and you could not see any difference whatsoever. Any comments from J. Borella?

[bikpaintr]

Well my first comment would be that the average owner I've come in contact with doesn't have much of an eye for color. Just because this guy is happy with the repair doesn't mean it's a great match. I've seen some awful blends that the owner thought were great & I've seen repainted parts on bikes that were several shades off & the owner couldn't tell the difference. The original Flame Red is a candy color using 3 stages. Metallic tinted base, translucent intermediate & clearcoat. I have no idea how the painter went about the repair, whether he used the original process or mixed up something that would work only as a blend. The trick with any blended repair is to lightly spread the new color out into the old so that even if it is off a bit it doesn't stand out because the transition is so gradual. As far as matching a 3 stage paint exactly with the machine all I can say is I doubt it. The idea is to get a formula thats close & then tint it to match. It's hard to believe the painter wouldn't spray out the formula before hand & adjust it as required. Even if he did hit the jackpot & found an "exact" match the painter would have to use his own judgement on how many coats of the intermediate coat to apply & how heavy each coat should be to get the right shade of red. Again this would involve spraying out samples & comparing them to the original. I will also say that you usually find variations from piece to piece on the same bike from the factory so anyone that thinks they are just going to buy an exact mix & spray it on with perfect results on every Flame Red bike is dreaming. If properly applied it will match the piece they used as a sample but might not match your piece. In the end the only thing that really matters is that this particular customer is happy with the results.

John B.

[Befbever]

Very elaborate and helpful, John, thanks!
I must add that this customer is in his fifties and seemed to know what he was talking about. I uttered the red flame couldn't be matched exactly and he told me that story subsequently.

Thanks!

[rblue02]

The red ones always look blurry in my mirrors,
so it doesn't matter if the paint is perfect.

[Befbever]

Sorry to hear about your blurry mirrors.

[ib12]

Can't see any of the colours in my mirrors, they're too far away.