Thorn Cycles Forum
Community => Thorn General => Topic started by: Paul S on April 18, 2017, 06:00:35 pm
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Thomas picked up some minor scratches to his frame in India, a couple of which removed the Tonka Yellow Paint.
I asked Thorn if there was a number code for matching the paint colour.
I received this response:
“HI, We don’t know of anywhere online etc., we would just recommend a local automotive paint suppliers, or an automotive body shop with a mixing scheme. I know one customer who took the bike into his local boots and found a nail polish that matched (not as daft as it sounds) Hope this helps”
I appreciate the frames are manufactured in the far east & so is the paint presumably.
I just found the response a bit disappointing in return for a £3.6 K investment.
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There right about taking to a paint shop they will mix the exact color.
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There right about taking to a paint shop they will mix the exact color.
That begs the question that presumably Thorn Do not know the mix.
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That begs the question that presumably Thorn Do not know the mix.
Possibly not, but even under the best of circumstances it is very difficult to achieve "original" results witha touchup.
For one thing, the original "paint" is powdercoat that has been fused to cover the undercoat over steel. Liquid paint behaves differently, and can thin in the middle as the edges of the chip form a meniscus. Often, a chip will take out the undercoat as well, so one is left trying to touchup bare steel unless the undercoat is replaced first.
Some years ago, I wet-painted my tandem with Glasurit (liquid) paint, same brand then used by Mercedes. It came out great but over time, the inevitable nicks have formed from rock-strikes and such. It is surely difficult to get the spot-touchups to match the original even though I am using the same paint. The spots are either darker or form little lumps above the surface if the paint gets too thick. I've taken to sanding, masking, repriming and spot-spraying the areas in need and then cutting and leveling the paint with various grades of rubbing compound After to get a good match.
Thorn includes a small bottle of touchup paint with their new frames (or did when I got my Sherpa in 2011 and the Nomad in 2012). It tends to be a bit on the runny side and so pretty transparent. For my matte black frames, I've had better luck spraying a bit of matte black spray paint into a lid and then using a small 0000 brush to dot any chips after the carrier/solvent in the paint has evaporated a bit. The result looks nice and matches for color as well as tone.
If your frame is Tonka Yellow, then you may be in luck buying paint mixed to match the Tonka toys. There is an active collector's community devoted to restoring these childhood toys and so a demand has arisen for matching paint. Google "tonka yellow spray paint" (no quotes). One such source is here: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/tonka-paint-original-color-yellow-173481094 I don't know how closely Thorn's Tonka Yellow matches the "real" thing, but it might get you close with minimum hassle. I've got a few of these childhood relics up in my attic I've been thinking of restoring to give to needy children. The fresh paint would make them much more appealing.
Best,
Dan.
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I bought my Nomad as a frame and fork, not a complete bike. Thus, I had the little plastic covers on the V brake posts that were the correct yellow. I put one of them in my pocket and managed to match tghe color pretty close to some yellow fingernail polish in a store. Nice thing about fingernail polish is that there is a brush in the lid and it is very convenient to use it. Thus, if I see a spot that needs touch up, it takes almost no time at all to take the bottle off the shelf and complete my touchup job.
I used to have a Surly, when I asked them about touchup paint, they suggested model paint or fingernail polish. They commented that model paints come in thousands of colors.
In the attached photo, you can see the little plastic spacer between my frame and fender that I used the fingernail polish on. Not a perfect match, but close enough for all my needs.
After I wrote the above and tried to post this, I got a warning that someone else (Dan) wrote a comment. My frame in April 2013 did not include a bottle of touchup paint, I think that is no longer provided.
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That begs the question that presumably Thorn Do not know the mix.
Possibly not, but even under the best of circumstances it is very difficult to achieve "original" results witha touchup.
For one thing, the original "paint" is powdercoat that has been fused to cover the undercoat over steel. Liquid paint behaves differently, and can thin in the middle as the edges of the chip form a meniscus. Often, a chip will take out the undercoat as well, so one is left trying to touchup bare steel unless the undercoat is replaced first.
Some years ago, I wet-painted my tandem with Glasurit (liquid) paint, same brand then used by Mercedes. It came out great but over time, the inevitable nicks have formed from rock-strikes and such. It is surely difficult to get the spot-touchups to match the original even though I am using the same paint. The spots are either darker or form little lumps above the surface if the paint gets too thick. I've taken to sanding, masking, repriming and spot-spraying the areas in need and then cutting and leveling the paint with various grades of rubbing compound After to get a good match.
Thorn includes a small bottle of touchup paint with their new frames (or did when I got my Sherpa in 2011 and the Nomad in 2012). It tends to be a bit on the runny side and so pretty transparent. For my matte black frames, I've had better luck spraying a bit of matte black spray paint into a lid and then using a small 0000 brush to dot any chips after the carrier/solvent in the paint has evaporated a bit. The result looks nice and matches for color as well as tone.
If your frame is Tonka Yellow, then you may be in luck buying paint mixed to match the Tonka toys. There is an active collector's community devoted to restoring these childhood toys and so a demand has arisen for matching paint. Google "tonka yellow spray paint" (no quotes). One such source is here: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/tonka-paint-original-color-yellow-173481094 I don't know how closely Thorn's Tonka Yellow matches the "real" thing, but it might get you close with minimum hassle. I've got a few of these childhood relics up in my attic I've been thinking of restoring to give to needy children. The fresh paint would make them much more appealing.
Best,
Dan.
I did Not ask Thorn for perfection.
"Possibly not". for 3.6k they should know the mix!
Best,
Paul.
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This will make the aesthetes shudder, but I just repaint any scratches from time to time with paint for metal surfaces and a small paintbrush.
When the bike starts to look really tatty I sand any rusty spots down to bare metal, apply a primer coat to the patches, then give the whole frame a light sanding and one or two complete coats of top coat paint. All applied with paintbrush rather than spray.
I have 3 colours:
- gloss black
- bright gloss red
- bright gloss blue
So all the family bikes end up with one of those colours, even if they were another colour to start with.
My newest bikes (the Thorns) are black, red and red (but each red is different and not the same red as my paint).
My 2009 Brompton is matt black, and starting to look a bit grotty with the gloss black patches. Soon be time for a complete repaint on that bike.
The bike below is now used as a visitor bike. It started out green and deep blue in 1990 and has at least 3 full repaints since, the most recent in November 2014. It will need touching-up next winter as there is a long rub-mark on the fork (not very visible at the resolution of the photo).
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/9YSb3aSmEcSlZGHvMQ5qBx4Mt7E_0GyQbpIxly7KpcCJKahK32VthAp4OVkv5G9k-rYVoXvlVb9iCkwuC1YCvXOALwSVPJaveqOgJboWa0I1Tc37YTrn_xk9lNvKmH0vie8vNCoMUcX5tZnEbu1mdnoqmDekpjcQWvLLwf944I59vnZGSpkWIQaqUf2KM-6_B9JFPrsWrDUZDU5Gs-Zh5ebLuLCPrs0JuJqGYUKXs_9LoNeIm-HYTWNdHtZMY_FXPPVFRLzzpxtch6j66ELmRj3dlJotdpkoCsx8wZcjRdYp0yp1BV4buCpOsFQtINHTH89kGhi-wRdO4I3JpIXAM8UWzOX5kaME1IQMfLrkLI3U_gLNbLHkHu9QD-t3zodCeVd0yoJLi_7m_YrFtMOMUWt_rW11K51W8qStokKjdnn02Y68mxwCCrd8pmybhWovR0wPWN40eOK-VnxeF7kkBePrtj4_7MLb4e7HGjqI4wSbkxbyZgVVypBcQsr33BhV3X-i7EMzz3YMjJQOb7xLansUofnsoH89CbVukGQR1Bb3Pi2Ll0kUDFtsuVOaQ7OjuggbCUdoG978plkS77fXW0Uw7_1kle0nbU8ZoM6JAyqZXA_UcDc-=w800-h600-no)
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This will make the aesthetes shudder...So all the family bikes end up with one of those colours, even if they were another colour to start with.
Oh, I'd go mad, Martin! ;D
All the best,
Dan.
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Martinf ...hand painted ::) shudder isn't a strong enough term to cover it
dunno why you don't just bite the bullet and get a compressor and spray gun
beats wasting days hand painting a bike just so it looks poo in the end, you can pick up a litre of cellulose on the bay cheap as chips,
so far i have had
pearl british racing green on the xTc fillet braze,
pearl firecracker blue on Mr Sayles frame (more on that to come)
also picked up a lovely pearl gunmetal grey that i might redo the xtc classic, it'is stripped ready for paint removal, so colour may change from grey (thinking of trying masking and having a 2 colour paint job this time, learning as i go)
the celly paint won't last forever but around £20 and i can have any colour i want, sometime i might try 2k paint but am in no hurry
btw if i paid £3600 on a bike and it wasn't stainless or ti i'd get a check up from the neck up
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I've hand painted a couple of bikes in the past, works well, looks fine.
Well done martinf.
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On the other hand...
I do have one older bike I bought very used and brought back from the dead to make a nice "gap-filler" in my fleet -- a 2007 MTB with a Thorn Sherpa fork. It has numerous scratches and I have resolved to only touch them up rather than repaint whole in this one case. There is something liberating about not having to avoid scratches and such.
I did find a dead-on match in touchup paint. Here in the US, there is a nationwide auto parts store chain called NAPA (National Automotive Parts Association). They will custom-mix paint to match any car color code. I found my exact match in some recent Nissan paint. Cost for 4oz was only USD$6.
Best,
Dan.
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rual
i wasn't knocking martin's bike or painting, i know you can get really good results by hand but it is much harder than with a spraygun, flatting back and polishing a bit of sprayed tube is easier than trying to sand out brush strokes and polishing
if your doing it a few times to different bikes it makes sense to get equipped to do it as well as you can, or at least i think it's worth the outlay
the compressor comes in really handy for other tools and it now takes minutes to blow all the dust and crap off the garage floor/worktops
Dan
i have the Marin as a user bike, i haven't touched the chips or rust spots, one day i'll strip it down use some rust killer on the worst bits then spray it with clear satin lacquer should protect it without making to much difference to the way it looks, beaters have a use
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You're not alone, Martin...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33gojC_e5hU
Best,
Dan.
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Oh, I'd go mad, Martin! ;D
All the best,
Dan.
Why get mad, it’s silly is it not?
If it were a ten-year-old frame which had been exposed for 9 years 11 months to blazing tropical sun, well fare play Thorn.
I appreciate that any kind of criticism of Thon on here is not appreciated because they fund the forum.
But like it or not.
To be effectively told; ‘Dear Customer, Your Problem, we don’t want to know, in respect of a frame under 6 months old.
I just found, in totally non-politically correct ‘UK’ speak, ‘A Bit Shabby’.
MOST UNLIKE Thorn for sure, but a bit shabby never the less.
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Why get mad, it’s silly is it not?
No. Not get mad, but go mad...I meant I have a penchant for matching things, so it would probably bug me. No worries if it is not mine. On my one rehabbed bike, though I managed to get a match, I know the touch ups will show. I'll have to adjust. ;)
Best,
Dan.
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I have some sympathy Paul. I asked for some BR green but got a similar response. I didn't take it as rude just was surprised that a range of basic colours was not available. Incidentally I didn't get any touch up with the green RST frame but did with the much easier to match black RT.
It's not so easy getting the bike near the paint counter in Halfords or the nail varnish in Boots. I understand that paint colours have a code that would be helpful to know even if fading is likely after some time.
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just get a color chart from local paint shop. ;)
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Digging a little more on the Tonka Toy restoration forums, I see Plasti-Kote #376 Brite Yellow ...
(color shown here) http://www.art-paints.com/Paints/Spray/Plasti-Kote/Anti-Rust-Enamel/Brite-Yellow/Brite-Yellow.html
..and....
Rust-oleum #7747 Sunburst Yellow
(color shown here) https://www.google.com/shopping/product/17091993065586776687?lsf=seller:8740,store:17030424266850706624&prds=oid:966070839503150127&q=Rust-oleum+%237747+Sunburst+Yellow&hl=en&ei=r3_3WPP8DIGOjwOtj6SYCg&lsft=cm_mmc%3DShopping-_-LIAs-_-D24-_-100134084&lsft=gclid:CKCln8josNMCFUKUfgodwlAK7g
...are regarded as close to near-identical matches for Tonka Yellow. Of course, samples and monitors vary so I can't say for sure, but they look pretty close...especially the Plasti-Kote Brite Yellow.
Best,
Dan.
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Digging a little more on the Tonka Toy restoration forums, I see Plasti-Kote #376 Brite Yellow ...
(color shown here) http://www.art-paints.com/Paints/Spray/Plasti-Kote/Anti-Rust-Enamel/Brite-Yellow/Brite-Yellow.html
..and....
Rust-oleum #7747 Sunburst Yellow
(color shown here) https://www.google.com/shopping/product/17091993065586776687?lsf=seller:8740,store:17030424266850706624&prds=oid:966070839503150127&q=Rust-oleum+%237747+Sunburst+Yellow&hl=en&ei=r3_3WPP8DIGOjwOtj6SYCg&lsft=cm_mmc%3DShopping-_-LIAs-_-D24-_-100134084&lsft=gclid:CKCln8josNMCFUKUfgodwlAK7g
...are regarded as close to near-identical matches for Tonka Yellow. Of course, samples and monitors vary so I can't say for sure, but they look pretty close...especially the Plasti-Kote Brite Yellow.
Best,
Dan.
Thanks Dan,
Link 2 would appear to be USA, relevant only because the UK version of google tells me to go away............ how ever hard I try.
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just get a color chart from local paint shop. ;)
Which is basically what THORN said! ;)
Would you accept that Anto? in return for 3.6K sterling in respect of 6 months into a guarantee?
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Paul,
A quick check made by setting my VPN to a UK location shows the following places are *supposed* to carry Plasti-Kote spray paints. Might be worth a check:
Leekes
Decco
Taskers
ScrewFix
ToolBank Wholesale
HobbyCraft
B&M
HomeHardware
Stax
The Range Home, LEisure, and Garden
Leyland SDM
Wickes
Mica
ToolShop
Bromborough Paints
Cromwell
...and Amazon online.
Hope this helps.
Best,
Dan.
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Paul,
A quick check made by setting my VPN to a UK location shows the following places are *supposed* to carry Plasti-Kote spray paints. Might be worth a check:
Leekes
Decco
Taskers
ScrewFix
ToolBank Wholesale
HobbyCraft
B&M
HomeHardware
Stax
The Range Home, LEisure, and Garden
Leyland SDM
Wickes
Mica
ToolShop
Bromborough Paints
Cromwell
...and Amazon online.
Hope this helps.
Best,
Dan.
Individual Virtual private Networks :o Is this relevant?
The list you suggest would appear to include an offering of many alternatives other than the OEM Supplier. ::)
Would you have settled for zero if Thorn had said to you its your problem man, talk to the courier about forks damaged in transit?
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Seeing that Thorn bikes don't come in an extensive range of colours it would not be difficult for them to stock as supply of touch up paint given the costs of frames or bikes.
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Thanks again Dan no strings attached.
Clicking on your apparent USA personal Virtual Private Network generated link & its USA specific settings, appears to have messed about big style with my ability to type in UK English across the entire world.
You will probably not like it, you may get mad but thank you for your assistance in causing more issues.
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just get a color chart from local paint shop. ;)
Which is basically what THORN said! ;)
Would you accept that Anto? in return for 3.6K sterling in respect of 6 months into a guarantee?
the touch up paint with the thorn bike is useless Paul,when i had the sherpa and red audax i just went to the paint shop and got small tin mixed it worked great, but yeah your right thorn should have there frames color coded save a fella a lot of hassle. no big deal all they have to do is ask the guys that paint them for the code ;D
anyway paul hope u get sorted expensive bike needs looking afer.
anto.
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I have some sympathy Paul. I asked for some BR green but got a similar response. I didn't take it as rude just was surprised that a range of basic colours was not available. Incidentally I didn't get any touch up with the green RST frame but did with the much easier to match black RT.
It's not so easy getting the bike near the paint counter in Halfords or the nail varnish in Boots. I understand that paint colours have a code that would be helpful to know even if fading is likely after some time.
The Halfords Dark Green Scratch Repair Pen is a pretty good match to the Thorn BRG.
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/paints-body-repair/scratch-repair-paint-restorers/halfords-chip-scratch-repair-pen-dark-green
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Hi, I'm really sorry but we simply don't have the formula for the paint. We use powder to paint them initially the powder is from Y.S. in Taiwan and the code is YS-PC-20152 Powder Coating Yellow http://www.y-s-paint.com.tw/index.aspx?lang=US (http://www.y-s-paint.com.tw/index.aspx?lang=US) the shade differs with every batch as the formula has had to change over the years due to environmental issues, as has the curing process, hence the only way to get a proper match is to use spectrometer like most paint suppliers will have.
We have in the past as people have mentioned tried to include some paint, but it didn't travel well and goes off within about 3 months, there are now also restrictions with posting/shipping liquid paint around the UK/World so we haven't found a solution i'm afraid. We aren't on our own with this either I don't know of many bike brands that offer a workable solution for touching up the paint. We will continue to look for solutions.
Dave Whittle
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just get a color chart from local paint shop. ;)
Which is basically what THORN said! ;)
Would you accept that Anto? in return for 3.6K sterling in respect of 6 months into a guarantee?
the touch up paint with the thorn bike is useless Paul,when i had the sherpa and red audax i just went to the paint shop and got small tin mixed it worked great, but yeah your right thorn should have there frames color coded save a fella a lot of hassle. no big deal all they have to do is ask the guys that paint them for the code ;D
anyway paul hope u get sorted expensive bike needs looking afer.
anto.
As a matter of fact! I have a number of paint colours for Thorn bikes. In little glass bottles. I have had some for a number of years. All are still in 'workable' order.
Attitude to complain is not good for the Forum. Please refrain.
If you cant say something nice, say nothing at all?
John :)
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Hah that's good coming from you ;D ;D ;
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Hah that's good coming from you ;D ;D ;
;D ;D ;D
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The Halfords Dark Green Scratch Repair Pen is a pretty good match to the Thorn BRG.
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/paints-body-repair/scratch-repair-paint-restorers/halfords-chip-scratch-repair-pen-dark-green
Thanks for that Rual. I didn't think Boots would have a British Racing Car Green in their nail polishes and I didn't fancy asking an assistant. I was wondering if the old British (Morris) Mini BRC green would be a match and maybe found at Halfords??? I seem to remember it was close.
Janet
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Just checked out the Halfords BRG Rual, it looks pretty close. It needed an undercoat to take to the scratches. Thanks for the tip. Maybe we should start a forum list?
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Hi, I'm really sorry but we simply don't have the formula for the paint. We use powder to paint them initially the powder is from Y.S. in Taiwan and the code is YS-PC-20152 Powder Coating Yellow http://www.y-s-paint.com.tw/index.aspx?lang=US (http://www.y-s-paint.com.tw/index.aspx?lang=US) the shade differs with every batch as the formula has had to change over the years due to environmental issues, as has the curing process, hence the only way to get a proper match is to use spectrometer like most paint suppliers will have.
We have in the past as people have mentioned tried to include some paint, but it didn't travel well and goes off within about 3 months, there are now also restrictions with posting/shipping liquid paint around the UK/World so we haven't found a solution i'm afraid. We aren't on our own with this either I don't know of many bike brands that offer a workable solution for touching up the paint. We will continue to look for solutions.
Dave Whittle
Thanks for that Dave!!
I will look at the links when home from work, Dubai today the air tomorrow.
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Hi, I'm really sorry but we simply don't have the formula for the paint. We use powder to paint them initially the powder is from Y.S. in Taiwan and the code is YS-PC-20152 Powder Coating Yellow http://www.y-s-paint.com.tw/index.aspx?lang=US (http://www.y-s-paint.com.tw/index.aspx?lang=US) the shade differs with every batch as the formula has had to change over the years due to environmental issues, as has the curing process, hence the only way to get a proper match is to use spectrometer like most paint suppliers will have.
We have in the past as people have mentioned tried to include some paint, but it didn't travel well and goes off within about 3 months, there are now also restrictions with posting/shipping liquid paint around the UK/World so we haven't found a solution i'm afraid. We aren't on our own with this either I don't know of many bike brands that offer a workable solution for touching up the paint. We will continue to look for solutions.
Dave Whittle
Thanks for that Dave!!
I will look at the links when home from work, Dubai today the air tomorrow.
Well, that was not worth the suspense , $110.00 for a 2015 catalogue from Twain.
Shock horror its called Yellow. :o
"Perfection is an attitude"
Now who said that ::)