Post by Jess on Nov 10, 2018 12:43:13 GMT -5
People often ask for Re5 Paint codes. There are several problems:
1. The numbers that I could give you are internal Suzuki numbers that don’t mean anything.
2. The paints that were used in 1975 are no longer made today.
3. Due to the way they were applied, and the properties of the material, color consistency is almost non existent. This is especially true for the Firemist red (orange).
About 10 years ago, I had samples sent to PPG (a Large paint manufacturer) here in the states for them to scan. They sent me some Mix codes. However, those are no longer available as paint technology is changing, so again… those are useless.
In 1975 the paint process was as follows:
All the materials were acrylic enamel.
Primer
Silver base coat, Metal flake mixed in
Translucent top coat, sometimes called “candy color”
Blue was the same, except they used a black base coat instead of a silver.
This process produced huge inconsistencies as parts were painted in Batches. If the paint operator had a heavy or light trigger finger on the gun. So it was very common on orange bikes that side covers don’t match headlamp buckets which don’t match the tank… It is the same on the blue bikes but much less noticeable, but if one really looks…
It is very noticeable when you have a group of multiple bikes as each one is a slightly different hue as the top coat gets darker the thicker it is applied.
It is also very difficult here in the US to find anyone who will even mix acrylic enamel paints as everything has gone to two stage, Base coat clear coat, paint.
So… The bottom line is, there is not much I can do to help. Sorry.
My suggestion is that if you have some original paint on a part, most good paint sellers can laser scan the paint and come up with an equivalent two stage paint. I have seen some very good results on bikes done this way, except that they are what is commonly called “over restored”. Most folks don’t realize how bad production paint and chrome were in the 1970’s compared with what we have today.
If you are dead set on being as original as possible first find if there is someone who can mix acrylic enamel. If you find someone that will do that for you I am certain that if you have any original paint left on a part they will be able to do a scan and match. If not, I will send you a piece that they will be able to match from.
I hope that helps. I wish their were an easy answer.
1. The numbers that I could give you are internal Suzuki numbers that don’t mean anything.
2. The paints that were used in 1975 are no longer made today.
3. Due to the way they were applied, and the properties of the material, color consistency is almost non existent. This is especially true for the Firemist red (orange).
About 10 years ago, I had samples sent to PPG (a Large paint manufacturer) here in the states for them to scan. They sent me some Mix codes. However, those are no longer available as paint technology is changing, so again… those are useless.
In 1975 the paint process was as follows:
All the materials were acrylic enamel.
Primer
Silver base coat, Metal flake mixed in
Translucent top coat, sometimes called “candy color”
Blue was the same, except they used a black base coat instead of a silver.
This process produced huge inconsistencies as parts were painted in Batches. If the paint operator had a heavy or light trigger finger on the gun. So it was very common on orange bikes that side covers don’t match headlamp buckets which don’t match the tank… It is the same on the blue bikes but much less noticeable, but if one really looks…
It is very noticeable when you have a group of multiple bikes as each one is a slightly different hue as the top coat gets darker the thicker it is applied.
It is also very difficult here in the US to find anyone who will even mix acrylic enamel paints as everything has gone to two stage, Base coat clear coat, paint.
So… The bottom line is, there is not much I can do to help. Sorry.
My suggestion is that if you have some original paint on a part, most good paint sellers can laser scan the paint and come up with an equivalent two stage paint. I have seen some very good results on bikes done this way, except that they are what is commonly called “over restored”. Most folks don’t realize how bad production paint and chrome were in the 1970’s compared with what we have today.
If you are dead set on being as original as possible first find if there is someone who can mix acrylic enamel. If you find someone that will do that for you I am certain that if you have any original paint left on a part they will be able to do a scan and match. If not, I will send you a piece that they will be able to match from.
I hope that helps. I wish their were an easy answer.
