This is the original candy red color.
The paint under the removed emblem is as it came from the factory.
The paint on the rest of the cover is still there! - It is just faded to the base metal.
Even the base coat is faded to clear, but if I take more pics you would clearly see the gold color to the base at the edges of the fading under the seat area at the top.
This is the result of the cover being exposed to sunlight for 30 or so years inside a dry barn.
A fuel tank is hard enough; I can't do it on a car. My brother does pretty well on cars. He gets it even, if not very glossy. Even that's very tough on a large area.
For us thickos/non-creative types, could someone explain the difference between "candy" paint and normal paint. Does it come as "candy" or does one do something to paint to make it candy. Also what defines the "candy" in terms of it's appearance i.e. how is it different to normal paint? I am wanting to respray my Titan Candy Lavender also. (I too will be using a professional) The post above said it is over a silver base is that correct?
Many thanks
No. The base color is gold, but that gold color has also faded to clear, thereby showing the silver metal underneath it
Remember that this paint is a type of lacquer that is hard to find these days and was more easily faded than the modern paints typically used today.
Regular paint has all of the color pigment in it, and depending on the type of system used, is either left as that or sprayed with a clear coat.
Candy is a base, usually silver or gold, gold being the norm for reds, and then several coats of clear are shot over the base.
A translucent pigment is added to the clear, and the color is determined by how many coats of clear are sprayed and how much pigment is put in the clear.
This gives an appearance that is different from regular paint.
It is a bit more tricky to get the look that you want.
For most candy colors today, there is a three step process.
1. Base coat of a metallic paint that dries flat. It can by any one of a number of colors, silver, gold red, orange, etc. I just did a Buffalo with a base called "Brickyard Red" which was sorta a mix of red and silver metallic.
2. Candy middle coat which is a highly transparent coat that can also be any of of a million colors and dries not quite flat, but almost. I used a color called "Cinammon Candy" which was the color of cinnamon, not quite red and not quite orange.
3. Clear coat which is where the final product gets its gloss. The clears being used today are called "High Solid" clears and are dificult to spray but fairly easy to repair a mistake. However, if trash gets into any of the coats except the base, it is going to be visible in the finished product. Not really a major deal on a bike because of its size, but you better have a clean invironment if you decide to paint a car.
Yes, I painted it with Dupli-color low-gloss black engine paint. Auto zone and Advance carry it. I did it while I had it apart for the rebuild. Just strip the parts, and knock all the oxidation off, then mask what you don't want painted, and spray away. Nothing to it.
Just got myself a GT380 which I'm told is a B model. The guy I got it off has done well part restoring it but he stopped part through the paintwork, The red is on but still needs the decals and lacquer. I have the decals here from Sunrise Graphics. They are 4 straight double lines of red/black. Spent ages on the net looking for a good size piccy for my paint guy to refer to. This is the best I came up with.
This one will probably do but it would be great if someone has a close up view of just the tank and a black (cci side) side panel please it would be a great help for him Also to confirm that the red/black stripe is correct.
