Matchin Paint

[Paul S]

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.

[jags]

There right about taking to a paint shop they will mix the exact color.

[Paul S]

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.

[Danneaux]

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.

[mickeg]

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.

[Paul S]

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.

[martinf]

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).

[Danneaux]

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! 

All the best,

Dan.

[Bill C]

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

[rualexander]

I've hand painted a couple of bikes in the past, works well, looks fine.
Well done martinf.

[Danneaux]

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.

[Bill C]

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

[Danneaux]

You're not alone, Martin...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33gojC_e5hU

Best,

Dan.

[Paul S]

Oh, I'd go mad, Martin! 
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.

[Danneaux]

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.