Good paint and paint suppliers?

[Gareth]

Hi
First post so hope its in the right spot.

Seeking recommendations for good motorcycle paint suppliers in the UK. Hope you can help.

I’m doing a part restoration on a late 1970s CB200. I’m at a stage to get the tank and side panels painted back to their original colour after a long process of love and care. I am very happy with the person lined up to do this paint job. His work, advise and support has been second to none.

The colour I’m after is the: G-38M-S: Muscat Green Metallic.

Reading the posts, I’ve found so far, most seem to recommend RS: https://www.rsbikepaint.com/en-gb/shop-paints.php?colourscheme=3747&9181=on

However, to say that the chap the parts are with does not talk very highly of RS, is a massive understatement. And so, I am on the hunt for another (or a few) alternative suggestions for good motorcycle paint suppliers that do this colour and do them well. I have no parts with the original colour so can’t colour sample/match.

Any thoughts and/or recommendations?

(Add your preferred paint supplier, why you like them /their paint and what colour/s you got from them.)

Thanks

[Nurse Julie]

RS Paints are the premier supplier of classic bike paints in the UK. I don't think I have ever heard a bad word said about them. I haven't had paint from them personally, as all our paintwork, and many forum members, have our paint done in Germany by Menno Dek.

[Gareth]

Thanks for the reply.

Just to say that the opinion RS paints is totally his (the bike restorer I'm working with). I've never used RS paints so have no comment on them. I will ping Menno Dek an email via his website and see if he has any suggestions.

Thanks again

[philward]

I've had paint from RS for 2 bikes and its spot on - my painter has never made comment on the paint I've provided - is your painter experience in candy paints?

[heli_madken]

I have done a lot of painting in my time and find RS paint colours spot on and easy to use. Two comments I would make is I am not too keen on their primer so tend to buy 2K primers from elsewhere and their clear coat is Isocyanate free so takes a lot longer to harden and become fuel proof etc but ultimately works fine.

It may be that your professional painter doesnt like this delay in being able to flat and polish the clear coat? The simple answer is to use RS colours and full 2K clear from another source

[Gareth]

Thanks for all the feedback I will pass it on. But, out of interest, are there no other suppliers in the UK of these older Honda colours. Or is RS the only one?

One thing I do recall him saying, is that he didn't like the colour match on a couple of last jobs he had done. Paining replacement parts to match 'original' items. But I thought (later) that this is always going to be a problem as the original paint may have faded a little over time() and the new part IS closer to how it may have looked when new.

As we are doing a full new paint job that is not going to be an issue as there are no original colours to match to...

But back to the thread here. Are there any other suppliers (in the UK) of these older Honda paints. In my case the Muscat Green Metallic. The hunt continues.

[Bryanj]

Biggest problem is that the "Candy" paints will never match thats why you need to do it all at the same time

[AshimotoK0]

Just bought loads of paint from RS and although quite expensive, it's decent quality paint IMHO . After sales is good too. I recently painted some parts in their metallic and they match some NOS parts have in the same colour. Candy is all dependent on application coats of the metallic base  and candy and best left to the pros IMHO. But that's not a reflection on RS's paint. Their safety dats sheets seem to suggest that their colour paints are made by Lechler.

[Moorey]

I was told by my local paint supplier that RS Paints use Lechler Paint and any Lechler paint stockist should be able to supply you the same as RS.

[philward]

I was told by my local paint supplier that RS Paints use Lechler Paint and any Lechler paint stockist should be able to supply you the same as RS.

Do you need a code for the Lechler stockist? - Just checked on RS site and they only give colour. I'm asking as need to buy some Candy Custom Gold shortly

[Gareth]

Thanks all for your comments.

I was beginning to get a little worried and confused as the discussion moved into talking about 'Candy' paints. Had to google what that meant. Following that little bit of research, to my understanding, and confirmed by some recent emails this (G-38M-S) Muscat Green Metallic colour on the CB200 should be a straight metallic.

Doing some more online research, the use of this colour (and Honda colour code) on the other bikes (e.g. 750F, CL360, CB500 A & CB500K1) all seem to be a darker green and not like the lighter (almost lime, as I've read some referring to it) 'version' I recall for the Muscat Green Metallic colour I'm trying to return this bike to.

I dug into the family photos to try and dig up a good photo of the bike in its original form. The only pic I could find, so far, dates back to the 1990s (after the crash) and taken at night. But one can still make out the lighter green on the tank.

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The tank alone looks very different now, all cleaned, de-rusted, treated and coated inside and out.

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Looks like I need to do a little more digging into the correct colour (version) before I buy paint and we start coating the parts.

[AshimotoK0]

Having tried a few aerosol paints including RS Bikepaints ones ..the quality of this paint and delivery from an aerosol can from this company in Germany  is far superior than any other product I have tried.

https://www.auto-k.de/

It's only available from one UK supplier though, as far as I know.

Going back to the RS paint, the colour metallic basecoat is applied quite thinly (as was Honda's original paint) and a small amount goes a long way. Looking at prices for Lechler paint itself on-line, I don't think it would be much cheaper in smallish qualtities than RS and I guess that many colour formulations have been custom done by RS to match original NOS parts. For instance, I supplied them with a NOS part to match to Honda 'Black Metallic', as originally applied to the 1967-69 CD175A 'sloper and the match was perfect.

[Moorey]

I was told by my local paint supplier that RS Paints use Lechler Paint and any Lechler paint stockist should be able to supply you the same as RS.

Do you need a code for the Lechler stockist? - Just checked on RS site and they only give colour. I'm asking as need to buy some Candy Custom Gold shortly

I told him the Honda colour and code which meant nothing to him. Then i told him RS Paints did the colour i wanted, he looked on his computer and got the suitable code and then made the paint. He told me any Lechler Stockist should be able to make up any colour RS do.

[philward]

Was it much cheaper?

[Moorey]

A fair bit. I can't remember how much but he is my nearest paint supplier as well. Which is handy.