Fireflake blue again

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Fireflake blue is going to become the next "oil" thread!

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtkdo7bOmJc[/video]
 
rvich said:
Fireflake blue is going to become the next "oil" thread!
Click to expand...

It already is - there are about 10 previous threads here on this.

But, you never see 2 blue Nortons the same color.

(Yes, I know, there are 3 pictured at the Empire Rally, all exactly the same blue.
Same owner ??)
 
Spotted this cobalt electric blue Mk3 along the way recently.

Nice color, no relation to factory fireflake blue though (??).
Or is this the Pacific Blue in the brochure.
Where is that 'color page available from your Dealer' when you need it.

Fireflake blue again
 
72westie earlier said his bike was original paint. (?)
So that painter would be Norton Villiers, somewhere near Andover in 1973 or 1974 ?!
(Who did NV get to do the paint for them, they didn't have their own paint shop ??)
Pinstriping and sticker fitting may be another detail though.

Thanks for the pics 72westie, at least we are getting some consistent pics of the shade of factory 850 blue.

P.S. Would you say this paint is clearcoated over the top, or not ?
(If you polish it with wax, does any blue come off on the cloth ?)
 
As far as I can tell, it is original paint. It appears to have a clear over it, I will wipe it down tomorrow and see if any comes off.
 
Rohan said:
rvich said:
Fireflake blue is going to become the next "oil" thread!
Click to expand...

It already is - there are about 10 previous threads here on this.

But, you never see 2 blue Nortons the same color.

(Yes, I know, there are 3 pictured at the Empire Rally, all exactly the same blue.
Same owner ??)
Click to expand...

I just LUV these "Frieflake Royal Blue" threads :D The "three amigos" at the Empire Rally ... were the only "Metallic" or "fireflake", or "metalflake" blue ones I saw there. Below is the thread:

empire-rallies-the-three-amigos-t10682.html

That's why we took the picture, because they were so rare at the rally. The two outside ones are repaints ("sparkly" too 8) ) ... while the middle one is OEM "Fireflake Royal Blue" (and not so "sparkly") All three machines had different owners, and all had slightly different shades of blue. Though not really visible, the below picture also shows Jim Comstock's truck and trailer behind the trees. Cheers all.

Fireflake blue again
 
Thanks for clearing that up.

Look like 3 peas out of a pod.
David probably needs to find who did the repaints then.

BTW, 2 bikes nearest the camera look to have stock front discs.
But the front one looks to have a larger swept area on the disc.
How can that be ??
 
Rohan said:
Thanks for clearing that up.

Look like 3 peas out of a pod.
David probably needs to find who did the repaints then.

BTW, 2 bikes nearest the camera look to have stock front discs.
But the front one looks to have a larger swept area on the disc.
How can that be ??
Click to expand...

Correct; the two bikes nearest camera have stock Norton front disc; while the farthest has an aftermarket disc (dunno what kind though) My bike is nearest the camera, and was painted by Brent Budgor "the Vintage Vendor" and member of this forum. The middle bike is a 1974 850, with OEM Fireflake Royal Blue. And the bike farthest from the camera was "REALLY sparkly" ... and the owner said it was painted by a friend of his. Can't remember owner's or his painter's names though. :( Also if ya look close, you can see ALL have Corbin gunfighter seats too. 8)
 
72westie said:
Here are a couple shots of the 850 I am working on.

Fireflake blue again


Fireflake blue again
Click to expand...

I have an original paint blue '73 MkV 750 that is exactly the same color as Westie's 850. Mine came with gold trimmed with black decals. Most of the 850's in blue seem to have silver decals and stripes. I have shown pics of the paint in previous posts. I loaned the side covers to a friend who had his painter match it. It took a couple tries, but he came pretty close. I believe he wound up with a solid blue base.
 
" Mine came with gold trimmed with black decals. Most of the 850's in blue seem to have silver decals and stripes. "

Does the Black / Gold go with the Black cylinder barrels ?, and the silver logo / stripes go with the Silver Cylinder Barrels . ? :?: :( or did they mix a few up . :( :shock:
 
That's my 1974 Commando on page 1 of the thread and the paint is original on both the tank and the sidecovers. As others pointed out, this is the Fireflake Royal Blue paint scheme. The decal is a bit thickish and the pinstripes are done by hand (sometimes after a few pints, it seems!). The tank and sidecovers were both clearcoated, but that clearcoat has gradually worn over the years and the pinstriping has rubbed off here and there.

Hope this helps. Happy to take a closeup shot and post so that others can see the amount of flake.
 
David,
I think part of the problem is that all these years later, virtually everybody has a different version of the color, much like British Racing Green. The color I was using I got from Don Hutchinson. But Don is the fist to admit there were many variations to factory colors and often his colors are "approximate". I will be doing another flake job in the next couple of weeks. Rather than go with Don's version, I have a couple of original glass covers that I am going to match to myself. The flake is smaller than what Don sold me and not as glittery. It's more like House of Kolor's "mini flake". So I'm going to see if I can get the color to look like these original samples I have. Once I get them painted, I will post the pics. You are welcome to e-mail be at brent@vintage-vendor.com if you want to keep in touch on my progress or ask further questions.
Brent
www.vintage-vendor.com
 
David,
I see you are in Northern California. Our home is up for sale and once that is done, we are moving to the Central California Coast, my business will be located there as well. What's the painting competition look like there in your area. Living in So Cal for 25 years, I know there are plenty of painters down south.
Brent
www.vintage-vendor.com
 
Even though i just mostly lurk on the metal flake paint threads, it don't mean it ain't striking me as rather intense flash backs for me. Back in smugglers ground zero Miami Fla my drug dealer buddy bought a utilitarian BMW 750 commuter but did it in custom Deep Purple as in LSD tabs. with silver metal flack under some many layers of clear wtith distraction grating dust, that when he showed up and I looked into it deep in Florida direct sunshine I about felt falliing into another universe of rainbow sparkles spiraling into a black hole of brightness never to return for the singularity of each particle of color. Ms Peel will have some of that non factory glitter.

Fireflake blue again

Fireflake blue again

Fireflake blue again

Fireflake blue again

Fireflake blue again
 
HI , I was given a new old stock royal fire flake blue side cover to copy, after trying a few variations house of kolor f22 flakes over black came the closest, these flakes are 1/128" and seem about the same size as the original but a little brighter.
f22 flakes in blue candy over course silver

Fireflake blue again


f22 flakes over black

Fireflake blue again


new old stock side cover

Fireflake blue again


painter side cover

Fireflake blue again


side by side comparison

Fireflake blue again
 
Matt Spencer said:
" Mine came with gold trimmed with black decals. Most of the 850's in blue seem to have silver decals and stripes. "

Does the Black / Gold go with the Black cylinder barrels ?, and the silver logo / stripes go with the Silver Cylinder Barrels . ? :?: :( or did they mix a few up . :( :shock:
Click to expand...

All 1973 models had silver barrels. 750 and 850 alike. The 750's had no striping (except for the gold "D" on black models) but the one I have and two others at the dealer where I bought mine had black lined gold lettering. All the 850's I saw had silver lettering and striping on the blue flake models. I'm not saying no blue 750's had silver lettering or no 850's had gold stripes and lettering, just what I observed.
 
I ran across this on eBay.
Fireflake blue again

It is flat blue on the underside (basecoat) but the chipped area shows a silver flake with some of the blue showing through. Then a candy blue (translucent) topcoat over the silver flake.
 
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