Obsessing about Celeste, again
#26
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My ‘83 Specialissima, like your second pic looks like the pearled turquoise. My ‘89 SLX was slightly lighter more like the shade on the left. I replaced it with another ‘88 or ‘89 SLX that was somewhat lighter with pearlescent finish (the one Doc painted hot purple).
Good luck.
Good luck.
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N = '96 Colnago C40, '04 Wilier Alpe D'Huez, '10 Colnago EPS, '85 Merckx Pro, '89 Merckx Century, '86 Tommasini Professional, '04 Teschner Aero FX Pro, '05 Alan Carbon Cross, '86 De Rosa Professional, '82 Colnago Super, '95 Gios Compact Pro, '95 Carrera Zeus, '84 Basso Gap, ‘89 Cinelli Supercorsa, ‘83 Bianchi Specialissima, ‘VO Randonneur, Ritchey Breakaway Steel, '84 Paletti Super Prestige, Heron Randonneur
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Sea Foam or Pearl are close..IMHO, I don't think you would go wrong with either of them....the others are either too green or blue on my monitor.
Best, Ben
PS Pantone might get you closer..... https://www.pantone.com/color-finder
Best, Ben
PS Pantone might get you closer..... https://www.pantone.com/color-finder
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#29
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Pick one, any one.
Insist that it's the one and true Celeste to anyone that asks. Heck, volunteer the claim to total strangers.
Who's going to contradict you?
Insist that it's the one and true Celeste to anyone that asks. Heck, volunteer the claim to total strangers.
Who's going to contradict you?
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If someone tells you that you have enough bicycles and you don't need any more, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
If someone tells you that you have enough bicycles and you don't need any more, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
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This reminds me of what I did with my house. I was painting over stain. Two coats were going on. I wanted a reddish brown. I knew the house was going to take several 5 gal buckets. Bought a gallon of a standard color that was pretty close to my vision. Painted two adjacent upstairs outside walls with it. A day or two later, I caught the late afternoon sun on one of the faces. Way, way too red! Went back to Home Depot and had them add a few drops (now I now cannot remember what). Painted two more adjacent walls. No surprises but not there. A third try on two more walls. Nah but close. Fourth try - far from my original idea but yeah! Four years later I love it. Wouldn't have picked in a million years but for this trial and error. That and seeing them in the real light.
For a bike? If you are going to strip it anyway, you could first paint say the back with one celeste, the front with a another. (Small cans of auto paint hand brushed? Right over the original paint. You could just mask off the hardware. Voids between it and the new paint don't matter.) Take it out and ride it. See it in a bunch of different lights at different times of day. Not there yet? Go back to the auto store and try again. Paint on right over the old. Now you have had 4 different colors to look at in real conditions. Like one? By a bike's worth, strip all that old paint and go for it!
For a bike? If you are going to strip it anyway, you could first paint say the back with one celeste, the front with a another. (Small cans of auto paint hand brushed? Right over the original paint. You could just mask off the hardware. Voids between it and the new paint don't matter.) Take it out and ride it. See it in a bunch of different lights at different times of day. Not there yet? Go back to the auto store and try again. Paint on right over the old. Now you have had 4 different colors to look at in real conditions. Like one? By a bike's worth, strip all that old paint and go for it!
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#32
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Meanwhile, in the "lower", lower level ('89 SLX)...
#33
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I'll volunteer a vote for sea foam from the initial post.
The legend of celeste is that it represented the clear sky over Milano, or that it was born of blended surplus light blue and light gray paint so it could be a color besides black. I'm more attracted to the pale blue/green than the bluer and brighter shades. I also know it's not my bike and my opinion is worth less than the time I took to share it .
Why are so many barns painted red? Because red paint is cheap to produce, and hematite isn't subject to fading.
The legend of celeste is that it represented the clear sky over Milano, or that it was born of blended surplus light blue and light gray paint so it could be a color besides black. I'm more attracted to the pale blue/green than the bluer and brighter shades. I also know it's not my bike and my opinion is worth less than the time I took to share it .
Why are so many barns painted red? Because red paint is cheap to produce, and hematite isn't subject to fading.
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Convincing other people is easy. Convincing myself is the trick. Have I told you my theory about using a coin flip to make decisions? While the coin is that in the air you realize which way you're hoping it lands and that's your decision. This one is too uncertain for a coin flip, but I'm hoping that if enough other people tell me which one I should choose I'll figure out which one I want.
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My ‘83 Specialissima, like your second pic looks like the pearled turquoise. My ‘89 SLX was slightly lighter more like the shade on the left. I replaced it with another ‘88 or ‘89 SLX that was somewhat lighter with pearlescent finish (the one Doc painted hot purple).
Good luck.
Good luck.
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#37
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I'll volunteer a vote for sea foam from the initial post.
The legend of celeste is that it represented the clear sky over Milano, or that it was born of blended surplus light blue and light gray paint so it could be a color besides black. I'm more attracted to the pale blue/green than the bluer and brighter shades. I also know it's not my bike and my opinion is worth less than the time I took to share it .
Why are so many barns painted red? Because red paint is cheap to produce, and hematite isn't subject to fading.
The legend of celeste is that it represented the clear sky over Milano, or that it was born of blended surplus light blue and light gray paint so it could be a color besides black. I'm more attracted to the pale blue/green than the bluer and brighter shades. I also know it's not my bike and my opinion is worth less than the time I took to share it .
Why are so many barns painted red? Because red paint is cheap to produce, and hematite isn't subject to fading.
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#38
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This is helpful for picturing what the bike will look like in my garage. @gugie can confirm this.
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If someone tells you that you have enough bicycles and you don't need any more, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
If someone tells you that you have enough bicycles and you don't need any more, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
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Pick that one. (the one I'm pointing at)
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One thing I've noticed looking at older Bianchis is that they have a hue similar to the tube of Phil grease - and I think it's a function of time and exposure to the elements. Also, exposure to grease; the sky-blue looks more seafoam-green around the BB shell and the top/bottom HS races on older frames even if they tend to lean more sky-blue.
For the most part, my '81 is more sky-blue than seafoam-green; while sky-blue is nice, I actually prefer the seafoam-green.
DD
For the most part, my '81 is more sky-blue than seafoam-green; while sky-blue is nice, I actually prefer the seafoam-green.
DD
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Me, I'd suggest Molteni orange but he's already got a DeRosa in that color!
DD
DD
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One thing I've noticed looking at older Bianchis is that they have a hue similar to the tube of Phil grease - and I think it's a function of time and exposure to the elements. Also, exposure to grease; the sky-blue looks more seafoam-green around the BB shell and the top/bottom HS races on older frames even if they tend to lean more sky-blue.
For the most part, my '81 is more sky-blue than seafoam-green; while sky-blue is nice, I actually prefer the seafoam-green.
DD
For the most part, my '81 is more sky-blue than seafoam-green; while sky-blue is nice, I actually prefer the seafoam-green.
DD
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This guy did a DIY powder coat in "seafoam green" and it looks like Celeste to me (having seen the Celeste I've seen). Between that and your real life samples, it looks like light and camera filtering give some variance, but it seems to me that Seafoam Green (maybe in a pearl/metallic, because that's more fun!) is a great choice, with Pearlized Turquoise as a more vintage backup plan. Celeste, to me, strikes a balance between being breezy (light in shade) but not desaturated (dull/grey/limp), not dedicatedly green but not baby blue either.
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I just read it again and even I don't know wtf I was on about. In my defense, I did partake earlier. Carry on
DD
DD
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This guy did a DIY powder coat in "seafoam green" and it looks like Celeste to me (having seen the Celeste I've seen). Between that and your real life samples, it looks like light and camera filtering give some variance, but it seems to me that Seafoam Green (maybe in a pearl/metallic, because that's more fun!) is a great choice, with Pearlized Turquoise as a more vintage backup plan. Celeste, to me, strikes a balance between being breezy (light in shade) but not desaturated (dull/grey/limp), not dedicatedly green but not baby blue either.
(The aforementioned second SLX of @Spaghetti Legs)
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Buy the bar tape you like...match to it.
bar tap is the most important color on a bike anyhow...
bar tap is the most important color on a bike anyhow...
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We've come a long way since the early days of Bike Forums, when many people said that they detested celeste bikes (a.k.a. "infant stool green," among other evocative descriptions).
Long shot: check with Bianchi USA---ask whether they have any pints of celeste available. I remember getting pints of paint from them, but I can't remember whether that was in the 1980s (Sky Yeager days) or in the 1970s, when the bikes were being distributed in the U.S. by Portofino International.
Long shot: check with Bianchi USA---ask whether they have any pints of celeste available. I remember getting pints of paint from them, but I can't remember whether that was in the 1980s (Sky Yeager days) or in the 1970s, when the bikes were being distributed in the U.S. by Portofino International.
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I really just want an excuse to post mine for reference.