78 mc5 colors

[tomale]

I am wondering if anyone know who makes a paint that matches the colores on a 78 MC5 400 I need to paint the new sideplates and the frame is needing a fresh coat of paint. I think that the sideplates were white with black pin strips and the frame was orange... I do not have a conventional spray unit but if I had to I quess I could visit harbor freight for a small one.

Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.

[tlanders]

Thom,

I painted my 1978 MC5 frame Penton silver!!! I got new side panels from DKWracer. They are fiberglass and beautiful. The tank is the original white fiberglass with the KTM world champion stickers on it. It's beautiful. It's also an AHRMA National Champion!!!

Teddy

[DKWRACER]

Yo Bro, can try International Orange for the frame....Adios.....

[tomale]

Thanks, I have been thinking of painting the frame Black but as I have been told, that will change the look and it will no longer look stock. Not sure that is all that important for a bike that will be raced.
The bike came with side panels that DKW made but have never been painted... They sure look nice. The plan is to trim them to fit.... minor adjustmenst.... and then paint white. Does anyone make the decals for the sidepanels.

Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.

[DKWRACER]

400 MC5 side panel decals?? There was an earlier post from a guy under the ID Vino or Wino (someone like that) he was in the process, but where he is or what happened to the project I don't know....maybe he will repost etc....Tom......

[john durrill]

Thom.
 My 79 400 GS had a blue frame when we were done. Kind a like the negative of the 73 Penton Six-Day bikes the US team rode ( their frames were silver though). * GRIN *. It looked very nice to me. Can send you a picture if you like. That Orange frame was too much like the new riders gear to me. Way to gaudy! Chevy Orange engine paint is a close match for the orange on the frames though.
 We would have done the 1973 , 175 Sachs /Ktm GS 6, Six-Day Penton in the blue frame , White fenders  , air box and tank if we could have found a good tank in white.
Guess i am getting old guys . chuckle chuckle
John D.

[Mike Lenz]

Chevy engine orange, or red? its called. Almost an exact match also. Can get in cans in most any Hardware store.

[tomale]

Great, thanks,
My concern with using paint cans is... will it really last all that long? maybe some of you guys have some experience with that. I did buy some White and clear paint that looks like a good match for the side covers. It cost about twice as much as the stuff at the hardware stores. PJ1 I think that was the name. They make colors that match factory colors. I bought the clear to cover the white in the hopes that it would last longer.
My experience with paint cans on high use items is not very good. I guess it was all those years as a house painter..  my standards are a bit higher. I love the idea of using real car paint but that stuff is really expensive and you must have it mixed up by a shop. To paint any thing will set you back 100 bucks just to get the supplies... If I was going to do alot of one color then maybe it would be fine. Hmmmm maybe the Black would be worth it... And then there is the problem of how difficult that stuff is to use...
Any one have any experience with Acrylic car paint. I have heard that it is easy to work with.

Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.

[Mike Lenz]

Chevy engine orange, or red? its called. Almost an exact match also. Can get in cans in most any Hardware store.

[tomale]

Great, thanks,
My concern with using paint cans is... will it really last all that long? maybe some of you guys have some experience with that. I did buy some White and clear paint that looks like a good match for the side covers. It cost about twice as much as the stuff at the hardware stores. PJ1 I think that was the name. They make colors that match factory colors. I bought the clear to cover the white in the hopes that it would last longer.
My experience with paint cans on high use items is not very good. I guess it was all those years as a house painter..  my standards are a bit higher. I love the idea of using real car paint but that stuff is really expensive and you must have it mixed up by a shop. To paint any thing will set you back 100 bucks just to get the supplies... If I was going to do alot of one color then maybe it would be fine. Hmmmm maybe the Black would be worth it... And then there is the problem of how difficult that stuff is to use...
Any one have any experience with Acrylic car paint. I have heard that it is easy to work with.

Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.

[Mike Lenz]

I have a pro do mine. He can formulate better paint. The can is for tuch ups.

[tomale]

Thanks Mike, I  could do the car paint or what ever but I was not really excited about socking big dollars for paint for a bike I plan on racing. I agree though, having a pro do it would be much better. That gives me an Idea, I do have a friend that paints cars for a living. Hmmm!

Thom Green,I own and ride a 76 250 MC5 MX which I bought new.

[john durrill]

Thom,
 We bought some automotive paint from Napa. It used a caytalist.
 It was not hard to use. We got a pint and the hardner . Used a $25 automotive touch up spray gun. It was the first time we had use anything but cans to do bike parts.  The paint realy impressed us .
  We put it on our airbox covers 2 years ago and it is holding up very well. We only have a few scratches that go all the way to the metal from falls. No real scuffing. Thats with 2 Reunion Rides on mine and a dozen trips to the woods with ride from 25 to 40 miles each time on them. And lots of  hours testing with short rides.
 Their was some waist because we were only painting the 2 covers.  The paint left us plenty of time to clean the gun before it set up.
 We tried to get acrylic but the local Napa store did not carry it except by special order. It would have cost us the same as  the type we used.
 I think the paint was $40. We have enough to do 5 more covers left.
 John & Peter D.