Robvolz 

what's the latest on paint codes?

Is it true that the DeRosa orange was slightly different from the Colnago and Kessels?

Has anybody ridden their Molteni frame next to one of those new SUBURUs and said, Holy Sh*T, that's the same color!!!!

Robert

satbuilder 

As many shades as opinions of what's correct. That's one long rabbit hole.

Almost like trying to nail down the correct shade of Celeste.

Robvolz 

I disagree,

Bianchi Celeste is a color that started post-World War II and has constantly evolved. molteni basically use the color orange from 1969 to 1975.

Robvolz 

I am hoping someone Who has restored a bike with his color might be able to chime in.

Robvolz 

I understand and I sympathize with your struggle. However I am not asking about Celeste green I’m asking about Molteni orange. Thank you for informing me.

Robvolz 

No where in my query did I mention the word Eddie Merckx.

This is because there are other team members and Eddie didn’t even join their team until 1970.

Molteni (the team) existed prior to that and used orange frames.

Andy_K 

I'm not sure how much I can help with the other questions, and my bike isn't a "Molteni" bike, but I do think it's the same color as the Subaru orange or at least very close.

This is a 1973 De Rosa that was repainted by CyclArt. I have no idea what color code they used. Before I got this, I thought Molteni orange was less creamy and a bit darker, but I now think that was ignorance on my part. I think this matches the Molteni frame hanging from the rafters at River City (which I believe is a Colnago).



It also matches the orange stripe on the Campagnolo Epsilon rims, FWIW.

Soody

When I got my Rocky Mtn powdercoated the color was called 'Tingle Gloss Orange'

Robvolz 

Oh Andy
be still my beating heart

what a beautiful bike

Robvolz 

And…. Triple crank

ill call cycle art.

repechage

and before that a medium metallic blue.

"Molteni" Orange is possibly two colors for sure. Fortunately not trademarked like Gulf Oil light blue and Orange where automakers have to pay a handsome royalty to paint to match.
Porsche and Ford have both made it an option and absurd in cost.

Drillium Dude 

One thing I can share: the primer, or at least the underlying coat before the orange is put on, is extremely important. Before I had my '73 Super restored, the layer below the orange was originally hull red. For the restoration? Flat white. Check out the difference in hues based solely on the base coat beneath the finish coat in the following couple pics.

Original:



Restored:



We're looking at these on a computer monitor, so yeah, making out the difference in hue is kind of a fool's game, but trust me - the new look is lighter, and less Molteni orange-looking than the original.

In addition, I've had two other Colnagos refinished in metallic red; one with a gold base layer, the other with silver. This resulted in a "warmer" look with the gold undercoat, and a "cooler" look with silver. What's my point? The undercoat color is just as important as getting the pigment correct on the topcoat.

DD

ehcoplex 

<a href="member.php?u=111144" class="utag">@Andy_K</a> <a href="member.php?u=168558" class="utag">@Drillium Dude</a> <a href="member.php?u=401612" class="utag">@Soody</a> Pardon the brief thread interrupt, but <em>wow! </em>I've got a '79 Holdsworth Pro in the queue (had been stripped and painted black, but I think it was originally a light blue from some traces under the black...) and I've been debating what color to go with. Wasn't really feeling the orange, though it is, of course, <em>the right </em> color for a Holdsworth- but looking at the above bikes may have tipped me into the orange camp! They're all stunning!

Mike V3

Isn’t there a burnt and a bright? Older ones being burnt?

big chainring 

If Lionel had gone into bike manufacturing. Choo-choo

embankmentlb

The original Molteni orange in my unofficial opinion a more earthy (burnt) orange and not at all a bright signal orange.

Robvolz 

OK, here's the latest.

I stopped by the local suburu dealer and their orange which looks damn good to me has not been available since 2018.

I'm also into vintage alfa Romeo and started thinking about "what did Italian paint shops have access to in 1972 without the internet?"

They would not know Porsche orange. They would know AR241 which even from my monitor looks pretty good.

And yes, they had a bull's blood primer which might be the difference between all these too bright of orange and the original MOLTENI orange.

RAL2004 = way to bright.

satbuilder 

I picked up an early '73 Super several years ago. Debated on repainting it, but didn't. Tried to find a close touchup paint for it. After purchasing several different samples, and trying to custom mix something, I decided to just keep it original and leave the battle scars intact.

It's probably easier to tell you what it's not, than what it is.

Although others have alluded to Porsche Signal Orange being a match, it is too yellow.

RAL 2004 is probably the closest match for the '70's Motobecane Champion Team bikes.

I also tried most of the other RAL colors that looked close to the Molteni Orange of my Super. Closest one I found was RAL 2011, but still not close enough for me to use as a touch up paint for it.

If you go here, https://www.speedbicycles.ch/collect...t_by_name.html and scroll down thru all the Molteni Orange bikes, it appears there were several different shades of orange used on the Colnagos. There is only one Molteni Orange DeRosa example on the site, but the orange used there, looks a lot muddier than the Colnagos, and the Kessels bikes look to be a totally different shade than the Colnagos. Could be just the lighting, who knows?

If I can get some decent light, I'll post up a shot of my '73.

Robvolz 

https://www.alfabb.com/threads/1972-...e-3#post-33486

click on the color. Looks good

nenad

Adding some insight and info from my research and experience. Last year, I purchased an early Merckx Professional whose paint was in condition beyond repair, the only option was a repaint. My idea was to paint it in Molteni colors so I set out to find the orange that will match it closest, coming across this thread (lots of good info here). I went to see my painter, for orange I was going to pick one of the RAL colors and I inquired about different primers. In a nutshell, what he said was that any particular RAL color will resemble the sample card only if you use white or silver (kind of white as well) primer. In other words, using oxblood red (discussed above) as primer will give the RAL color a different hue.

I decided to keep it simple and go along with his recommendations. For orange, we both felt that RAL 2008 would look nicer than RAL 2004, RAL 2004 being somehow much too orange (too loud, obnoxious). For blue panels I went for a dark blue that pulls towards purple. This is how the frame turned out:





I guess the point I am trying to make is to not overthink it (I did at first). Go for colors that may not strictly adhere to the original but that will speak most to you. It is your bike after all. Ditto with the stickers: personally, I am not a fan of having other man's picture on my bike even if that man is Eddy

Robvolz 

did you see the other post I wrote about taking the three examples, a DeRosa, a Colnago and a Kessels, removing the fork to get non-sun touched examples. The color that matched all three times was from the Italian auto manufacture, Lancia.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...nge-color.html

Anyway, you did a fine job there, and I love the fact your blue panels are painted.

Well done!!

nenad

I did and kudos to you for figuring it out. If ever I saw an orange color card that speaks Molteni, it's the Lancia sample that you posted there.
The reason I decided to do it with arbitrary orange of my own liking, what gave me courage, is the Colnago above owned by Drillium Dude. I much, much, prefer the look of the bike (the orange color) after the restore was done. Also, Andy_K's De Rosa is a beauty to behold (some bikes are just special) and it isn't necessarily Molteni orange either.

So, this thread was a great find for me before I took the plunge.