Is original KO paint in can still good?
- Thread starter ClayH
- Start date
OLD CT
Well-Known Member
Probably not a good idea to use 49 year old paint. You can go to Advance auto or Autozone and buy Duplicolor paint and get a very close match. As with all ''candy colors'' the amount of ''coats'' you apply determine the proper shade. This is a example of Ray's hot rod rattle can red paint. Looks perfect to me! What do you think?
Gary
Well-Known Member
I would not hesitate, if it were me, especially if you have the equipment. it’s Lacquer and if still liquid you could reduce or mix it with a quality thinner. I would paint something small to test it first. If you have to pay someone though it’s probably not worth it. That said paint it self for some reason is getting crazy expensive.
Lacquer remains viable as long as it's not allowed to dry out. The question that matters: "is it worth using?". Without the OEM basecoat, it's worthless; even then, a match is going to be fiendishly difficult, probably not possible. Final color depends, heavily, on application. With vintage, faded, lacquer...and it was extremely fade-prone, there's nothing of the original color left to match...using un-faded, original, paint.
I'll go further out on this limb. The Duplicolor paint Ray used is just plain better. It's far more durable than the fragile 1970-era lacquer. And, being a 3-stage, the clear topcoat imparts chip, scratch and chemical resistance that wasn't possible back-in-the-day. That clearcoat can be color-sanded & polished, if desired, without affecting the color. I understand why unopened cans of vintage, OEM, paint are commanding stupid money but, it's just that... stupid, with rare exceptions that aren't worth discussing.
As long as the prep is done right, show-quality results are possible. It's usually (not always) more difficult with rattlecans; the main tradeoff between that & 3-stage catalyzed urethane...cost/difficulty vs ultimate durability. Urethane is more durable than any other paint system. Unfortunately, it's hideously expensive, temperamental to apply properly and highly toxic, while wet.
If your frameset is 100% fade-free...and you have the vintage metallic base coat...and you have enough experience to spray a true candy color - then, you might have a good chance of getting an exact match. If you have to use a different basecoat, you'd be taking a gamble that it will be compatible with the vintage lacquer...assuming that you can source the correct basecoat in another paint system, one that's 40-50 years newer.
I'll go further out on this limb. The Duplicolor paint Ray used is just plain better. It's far more durable than the fragile 1970-era lacquer. And, being a 3-stage, the clear topcoat imparts chip, scratch and chemical resistance that wasn't possible back-in-the-day. That clearcoat can be color-sanded & polished, if desired, without affecting the color. I understand why unopened cans of vintage, OEM, paint are commanding stupid money but, it's just that... stupid, with rare exceptions that aren't worth discussing.
As long as the prep is done right, show-quality results are possible. It's usually (not always) more difficult with rattlecans; the main tradeoff between that & 3-stage catalyzed urethane...cost/difficulty vs ultimate durability. Urethane is more durable than any other paint system. Unfortunately, it's hideously expensive, temperamental to apply properly and highly toxic, while wet.
If your frameset is 100% fade-free...and you have the vintage metallic base coat...and you have enough experience to spray a true candy color - then, you might have a good chance of getting an exact match. If you have to use a different basecoat, you'd be taking a gamble that it will be compatible with the vintage lacquer...assuming that you can source the correct basecoat in another paint system, one that's 40-50 years newer.
airblazer
Active Member
Is Ray’s bike a clone or just a very nicely modded original?
Since the front part of my frame is faded I know that I can't match everything without painting everything. But this bike is a rider with a Lifan engine so I'm not doing a full restoration. The front fork tabs that hold the headlight and been badly tweaked and rusted through the years, and i happen to find another front end on the cheap. I have a new headlight bucket that is very candy red so I figure to attempt a newer look paint on the fork triple tree will brighten up the whole bike.
I opened one of the cans tonight after shaking it for a while and it looks really good. I have a lot of experience with airbrushing and have a spray gun if I decide to give it a whirl. Will need to read up on the proper way to spray candy lacquer. I appreciate everyone's input.
I opened one of the cans tonight after shaking it for a while and it looks really good. I have a lot of experience with airbrushing and have a spray gun if I decide to give it a whirl. Will need to read up on the proper way to spray candy lacquer. I appreciate everyone's input.