metal flake

doctorbrown · Mar 10, 2012

ready to paint my 71, was thinking BRG but the more i look at those metal flake paint job????? would like to see pics and were any specific for 71?
thanks in advance.
dr.b

L.A.B. · Mar 10, 2012

doctorbrown said:
were any specific for 71?

"Fireflake Royal Blue"
"Fireflake Golden Bronze"
"Fireflake Roman Purple"

jbbudgor · Mar 10, 2012

I don't know which ones might have been specific for 1971, but I have had several requests to do the Fireflake Blue. And several years ago, did a Fireflake Red. I do love spraying these big flake colors, but it's amazing how I keep finding little sparkles in the strangest places, even weeks later.
Below is one I did for Chris Bryan in the UK, aka britbike220.
Brent
http://www.vintage-vendor.com

Cowboy Don · Mar 10, 2012

Firelfake Golden Bronze!

I had 3 colour preferences when looking for my 2nd Commando, Black, Fireflake Roman Purple or Fireflake Golden Bronze. I'm glad I ended up with this one.
When I first saw it in person, I felt like I could dip my finger into the paint and stir it! It's a respray, to replace the fibreglass tank, but to original colour.

possm · Mar 10, 2012

possm · Mar 10, 2012

Sorry try this-

ILLF8ED · Mar 11, 2012

Hi Brent,

I've seen the blue you used on the above photos on other 850 Commandos. In the photo below from an original '73 850 gas tank the color seems a darker blue and not so sparkly. Where there two fireflake blues?

DogT · Mar 11, 2012

Here's what my '69 gel coat FF blue looked like. There was a lot of black flecks in it that don't show up at a distance. I'm thinking the gel coat was probably different than the metal painted tanks?

Dave
69S

rvich · Mar 11, 2012

Brent,
Regarding those flakes showing up later, do you have one gun you use for flake and others for non-metalic. I discovered some flake in my clearcoat even after cleaning the gun I used. I "thought" I had done a thorough job of it. Dang things are stubborn for sure!

Russ

PS-I saved a large chip of the original paint off my '74 tank (see avatar) just in case it need ever be matched.

jbbudgor · Mar 11, 2012

David,
That blue looks too dark and too fine from examples I have seen. But who knows? Type Fireflake Blue Images into a window and see what I mean. Russ, you have a picture of your tank with the orig paint falling off that I have seen and it looks more the my example. The flake in your tank David, almost looks more like a coarse metallic, rather than a flake. The color I used I got directly from Don Hutchinson. He is the color GURU on these vintage Brit colors. But he will be the first to admit that there are many variations to these old colors. I did a gold/white Triumph Trophy and got the paint from Don. It was completely different than the original paint fender I had which had nice paint. He told me he had 4 orig fenders that color, each looked different.
So whether Nortons looked different from steel top glass? Maybe. Did they have batch variations? Perhaps.

And Russ, to answer your question, I have a dedicated "metalflake" gun. Otherwise, it's impossible to get rid of all of it. I've not had errant flakes show up in my paint, but I have seen it in my bedroom !
Brent
www.vintage-vendor.com

B+Bogus · Mar 12, 2012

This is my interpretation of Fireflake Blue

I originally used the lighter colour as in the above post, but it was too silver to my eye, so I started all over again.

The biggest problem with metalflake is after two aborted attempts the tank started getting heavy, and had to be stripped back.
Too many coats leaves the surface too pebbly, and it can't be levelled.

Rohan · Mar 12, 2012

If you study the 750 and 850 Norton brochures and Parts Books, there is Fireflake Blue, Royal Blue, Pacific Blue - and possibly Fireflake Royal Blue.
Think the discussion has nailed and captured the Fireflake Blue very well, but quite what those other colors are is yet to be nailed down. Some show quite a light blue with large flakes, and another is a darker blue with finer metallic rather than flakes.

Maybe this lets any version of blue be correct. ??

Cheers.

illf8ed said:
Hi Brent,

I've seen the blue you used on the above photos on other 850 Commandos. In the photo below from an original '73 850 gas tank the color seems a darker blue and not so sparkly. Where there two fireflake blues?

Rohan · Mar 12, 2012

Has anyone else got a gelcoat this blue color, that can confirm that that mix of colours is genuine Norton ?

To my eyes, that looks a later style type of color, with that mix of colors in the particles, but can that be redone as a gelcoat ???

Are there any (old) pics of Commandos in blue fibreglass anywhere, I don't recall any, but there must have been... ?

DogT said:
Here's what my '69 gel coat FF blue looked like. There was a lot of black flecks in it that don't show up at a distance. I'm thinking the gel coat was probably different than the metal painted tanks?

Dave
69S

Rohan · Mar 12, 2012

I reckon that is a candidate for Fireflake Royal Blue ??
Or is that what the 1973 850 brochure labels as pacific Blue ??

B+Bogus said:
This is my interpretation of Fireflake Blue

jbbudgor · Mar 12, 2012

I wonder too if back in the day, they simply had color variations or used what was on hand for a particular run? When Carroll Shelby was building the original GT 350's and Cobras, often parts were substituted when something ran out, pretty standard practice. I don't imagine the fellows putting Nortons together back then, took the same loving one on one approach we tend to when restoring these wonderful machines. I think both blues are stunning to behold. In fact all the flake colors shown are truly spectacular. They are not the easiest things to spray and my hat is off to all these beautiful examples and to those that did them. Well done!
Brent
www.vintage-vendor.com

Rohan · Mar 12, 2012

Nortons listed 3 different blue colors in the brochures and parts lists, so its not as simple as that ?

jbbudgor said:
I wonder too if back in the day, they simply had color variations or used what was on hand for a particular run?
Brent
http://www.vintage-vendor.com

Be interesting to get the color-selections-available-page that went with each of the brochures, wouldn't it. ?

I have a digital one for the 1971 model year, courtesy of an ebay seller, but can't find where I 'filed' it. It had a patch of color for each, but printed colors doesn't necessarily match the real thing too closely. But it does give an idea.

So who has any of those brochure color pages ?
Joe ? The NOC ?

Rohan · Mar 12, 2012

By this I meant that this color seems to quite closely match the blue 850 Roadster shown in the 1973 brochure. (linked to in an earlier discussion on this subject)
Great looking color too...

There is also a lighter blue shown (Fireflake Blue ?) , which also looks good.

Rohan said:
I reckon that is a candidate for Fireflake Royal Blue ??
Or is that what the 1973 850 brochure labels as pacific Blue ??

B+Bogus said:

This is my interpretation of Fireflake Blue

Click to expand...

Rohan · Mar 17, 2012

850 style Fireflake Blue - or Pacific Blue ?

And Fireflake Royal Blue ? With NOS (?) sidecover.

Ron L · Mar 18, 2012

The steel tanks were definitely a different color than the glass ones. More of a metallic than the flake in the gelcoats. In fact, I noticed in '74 that the blue was "brighter" than what was on my '73 750. Here is a shot of my 39 year old paint on my '73 I bought May 6, 1973.

B+Bogus · Apr 19, 2012

Thought I'd resurrect this topic - I just took delivery of an original FF blue Fastback tank from Clive Huphreys.

I've finally got the opportunity to compare original with my best endeavours.

I'm content, to say the least...

It's very difficult to get a decent photo due to the nature of the paint and the angle of the subjects, and the only un-faded portion is the bit which was originally covered by the seat, but it's pretty well spot-on 'in the flesh' to my eye

The Fastback tank looks to have been painted, i.e. not in the gel-coat. - The original gelcoat underneath is a plain blue very reminiscent of the BSA Barracuda - cute but not 'Commando-Class'

metal flake

doctorbrown

L.A.B.

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jbbudgor

Cowboy Don

possm

possm

ILLF8ED

DogT

rvich

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Rohan

Rohan

Rohan

Ron L

B+Bogus

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