repechage

Folk will find that when mixing color, the more different colors required the faster the chroma, or intensity will drop.

so, if mixing is required note that the color will get less “bright” as you modify.

some people even in design school don’t get it.

lighter, brighter to duller is the movement.

do not be surprised how many colors include black to get there
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Vintage Schwinn

Use the SPRAY PAINT. Here is how: Get a piece of Aluminum foil about 14 inches long from the roll of REYNOLDS WRAP in your kitchen drawer. Get a couple of those basic el-cheapo artist paint brushes (think:your kids' watercolor paint sets or theirs or yours airplane/auto MODEL building paint brushes, etc...)-------------GO OUTSIDE ON A DRY, CLEAR AND RELATIVELY WINDLESS DAY!----------------Set out old Newspaper or a scrap piece of corrugated cardboard that is at least twice as large as your 14 inch piece of REYNOLDS WRAP------------------------------------PLACE THE REYNOLDS WRAP(aluminum foil) on top of the cardboard or old newspaper----------------------SHAKE THE SPRAY PAINT CAN -------------------------------AFTER SHAKING THE SPRAY PAINT CAN, Proceed to SPRAY the paint from that Spray paint can onto the the aluminum foil from a very close distance of maybe 3 inches away at the same spot on the REYNOLDS WRAP such that you are making a puddle of paint, kind of like how a new puppy might peee on the kitchen floor..-----------------------------YOU THEN PAINT WITH THE BRUSH because you can wet the brush from the puddle of paint off of that piece of Reynolds Wrap(aluminum foil)---------------------------REPEAT THE PROCESS if you need more or if the spray paint puddle has begun to dry before you complete your task. Yes, this is wasteful of spray paint and does expose you to the airborne toxic chemicals associated with spray paint unless you're wearing a respirator, but your exposure is limited to a few minutes at most, and you can opt to wear a protective respirator, but I am betting that you don't when you do brief spray painting outdoors anyway. Who the frick cares if you waste the spray paint......you can always buy more if needed for normal spray painting to complete other projects or related projects. A can of spray paint is what, approx $10 or less anyway, and IF THAT IS THE PERFECT MATCH FOR YOUR BIKE or PROJECT, then just spray a large puddle on to either a piece of aluminum foil or an empty flattened COKE can and use that puddle as your touch up with the little artist brush. This works well. You'll likely need to repeat the process or work quickly because the puddles that you'll make of the spray paint will dry faster than regular canned paint. Aluminum pie plates or the small aluminum tv dinner chicken pot pie plates or even the black plastic microwave Stouffers macaroni or Stouffers Lasagna containers or anything similar will do the job as a sacrificial thing to make a large spray paint puddle to use as your paint brush's touch-up paint supply. It ain't frikken rocket science and you'll have matching paint.

Andy_K 

But why use the perfectly matching paint I already have when I can concoct some overly complicated technique to mix a new color that might almost match?

Seriously though, I probably will do something like this for the Allez and I appreciate all the tips from you and the others who have suggested ways to use the spray paint. That still leaves the problem of other bikes.

Embarrassingly, I prepared a couple of sample spots mixing colors I had on the shelf to see what I'd need to do for the Molteni orange and it turned out that once it dried one of the colors I had in a jar was a very good match without mixing in everything. I guess I must have given up on it when. I bought it because while wet it's much too light.

Vintage Schwinn

Here is good tip on matching colors from off the shelf sources in the spray paint aisle and paint section at stores such as Home Depot, LOWES, Tractor Supply and even Wal-mart. Take your bicycle into the store ...(yeah, roll it into the store...tell them at the customer service counter at the front of store that You Need To Find A Very Close Match to touch it up... they will certainly allow you to take the bike into the store---------------THEN Proceed to the Paint Department within the store and begin to at first eyeball the colors that might be close. Ask the person working there in the store if they think any of the colors look close enough..... Trust me your bike is gonna gather attention from both paint shoppers and store employees and based on my prior experiences, you're gonna have both store employees and maybe other shoppers test spraying paint on to scrap cardboard and on to the shelf at the paint aisle to see if anything halfway matches. Make note of the closest test of the off the shelf paint color that store has in stock...... at Home Depot etc, they will likely advise you to check elsewhere like LOWES, TRACTOR SUPPLY, Wallyworld etc to see if they have something that is a better off the shelf match, before you decide..............IF THEY DON'T TELL YA TO CHECK EVERYWHERE ELSE, you need to tell them at the store that you are gonna check the existing OFF THE SHELF stock at all the different competitive local stores as you do wish to obtain the closest OFF THE SHELF MATCH, and if there store has the one that is the closest match, that you will be back after checking all the other stores. There is something about an old bicycle that just gets both store employees and even customers happy and enthusiastic in helping you obtain the best color match.
Although your local LOWES , HOME DEPOT ....etc can typically "shoot" (scan) the paint of certain items to color match an oil based mixture that matches that part that was scanned, you have typically have a minimum quantity of possibly a pint or perhaps a quart even though the cost isn't very much but the small round surfaces of the frame's tubes might make it more challenging to get a decent scan that could be used to clone the color. It likely would be very easy to "shoot" (scan) the paint on a flat surface of a chainguard on on an older style cruiser or Schwinn..................but ask the paint dept experts there and, who knows, perhaps there might be an area on your roadbike that could yield a useable scan to CLONE the color in an oil based enamel mixture. You should still explore the off-the-shelf colors to see if there is a match. The NAIL POLISH idea is a very good one. We did use Nail Polish to match up to scratches/small paint chip on the hardtop of a Mazda Miata special edition that my wife once owned until about twenty years ago.

repechage

Spray paint has the advantage of a high level of solvents- so goes on thin.
problem is opacity- takes multiple coats to build color.
in California, esp Southern California, oil based paint is a dodo.
Visit Arizona.

Wildwood 

I might roll 2 or 3 and fuggetaboutthetouchup.

jiangshi

Testors or Model Master. I use a toothpick and drop each color into a bottle cap. Count the drops to duplicate the color. I've found it works well. I believe caterham told me this method. caterham is usually correct when he tells you something.

jdawginsc 

The worst colors to replicate...all invented by some sadist...
1. Dark blue with a purple overtone
2. Dark burgundy with a purple overtone
3. Deep blue with a teal overtone

And color fades of very cool contrasting colors...

xiaoman1 

Well said, or at least 4 tall 7-7's dry!
Best, Ben

Andy_K 

Riffing on a few of the suggestions here, I decided on this:



I'm betting at least a few people here will see how the toilet paper roll is fitting as an alternative to the "roll your own" theme.

There's a slight chance I should have worn gloves. On a related note, does anyone know if Mitch McConnell happens to have a purple bike?



This produced plenty of paint, and I've still got some left in the can. I was surprised how thin it was in the jar, but it got thick quickly as I used it. I'm not sure it will stay wet in the jar, but it's worth a try.



It's a shame my grandson hadn't had cherry recently.

I'll post pictures of the results in my project thread.

jethin

Add a farm implement and a creepy vintage doll and ^^^ this post is in the running for best of C&V Halloween 2020.

Billhpeloton

If you don’t mind paying a substantial premium auto-body paint suppliers will do an exact color match in small sizes or even spray cans. Not something you want to do every time but a good solution for a high-end bike. I did that for my Rivendell Legolas and it came out very well. Over many years and many bikes I’ve tried Testor’s and nail polish but never gotten a great match. That’s probably due to my limited skill set but it’s a hard thing to do by guess work.

Murray Missile 

I spray it into an old baby food jar until I get a small "puddle". Let it sit until the solvents flash off and it thickens to the desired viscosity. It will even keep for a short period if sealed well. If it gets too thick just spray more in and mix it up with a straw or stick.

Andy_K 

The baby food jar is perfect. I collected paint this way Friday and it was still ready to use today.

Follow up question for everyone who might have an answer: what do you do about brush texture? I've got good coverage and color match, but if I look closely under harsh fluorescent lighting I can see the brush strokes where I applied the touch-up paint. I tried sanding, but quickly got to the point where the primer was showing through. I feel like I've reached the point where everything I do is making it worse. Should I just quit and remember than when it's built up I won't be looking at it this closely? Or should I put on more paint so I can sand it smooth without taking away the color?

Murray Missile 

I've done that to fill chips. I brushed in thick paint until it was above the surrounding surfaces and let it dry thoroughly. Then I used 600 grit and wet sanded it down smooth and level with the original paint around it then used rubbing compound and micro polish to match the gloss. Mot of the time that's all it took. A couple times I had to spray it with clear to get the gloss to match but usually the polishing compound did the trick. Obviously it only works with solids.