1970 Paint Colors - Gold

[gitguy]

Attempting to determine the colors available for 1970. Spoke with John Pierce of Colorwrite and there is some confusion about the gold colors available for 1970. His site lists "sun gold" and "sparkling gold" both as options. Gold painted bikes for 1970 are quite rare based on my research however a friend has a low mile OP version and we are trying to determine which color gold his bike is. The pic is a closeup of his front fender and the link is to a video of his bike, which is a real beauty!

If anyone has knowledge of colors for this year any info would be appreciated. BTW I am almost ready to paint my 1970 (see pics) and really like the color of his bike.

[gitguy]

Here is the link to the video - oops: https://youtu.be/M4RWdYA24PM

[exeric]

Are the paint cans from ebay, or in your friend's possession?

[Sportster Jerry]

I can say pretty confidently that the front fender photo that you posted is Sparkling Gold. A friend has an original paint 1970 "Sparkling Gold" Sportster Boattail fender, and it looks like the exact same color.

Here is the gas tank from my 1969 Sportster painted with John Pierce's "Sparkling Gold" paint:
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2hg2cum]

[gitguy]

Those paint cans belong to my friend, not from ebay. They are full and he said he is willing to part with one for me to use on my project. What a guy! Those original cans say enamel right on the label which is my preference rather than 2 stage paint. Going for an original look. Base coat/clear coat looks a bit too "modern" on an older bike for my taste.

The sparkling gold on that sportster looks great! Is that 2 stage paint, Jerry?

[exeric]

Having original paint is the best way to match the color, which can be done in modern single stage enamel. Modern single stage paint from a name brand manufacturer is superior to most paints made before. Very durable, gas resistant, and far easier to apply. The problem is, paint suppliers rely on computer paint matching which isn't perfect. I'm being generous with that statement because I have been very disappointed in computer paint matching. I've had this done 3 times in the past few years and the computer match is not close enough for spot, or panel repair. I've done my own color matching and come close but I am not nearly as good as the paint mixers of the old days. The human eye is still far more accurate than any digital camera in color analysis. My only recourse has been to repaint all the sheet metal with the new color.

[gitguy]

Spoke with John Pierce again yesterday and he said that DuPont (his supplier) does not manufacture the components for him to mix single stage metallic paint. This particular sparkling gold is a metallic so if I go that route then it's base coat/clear coat. Or . . . as exeric says, get a sample from my friend and have it reproduced from a paint supplier in a modern single stage enamel. Since all the sheet metal will be painted, there will be no blending or spot repair involved. It's not going to be a show bike so as long as it's real close that will probably be adequate for my purposes.

[exeric]

I believe Dupont auto paint is now Axalta which probably doesn't make a bit of difference I have used Dupont auto paint with great success and think they make fantastic products, albeit expensive. You could also look into PPG which is also high quality, and equal to Dupont in my opinion. I use Dupont because they are closer to my home. Right now I'm struggling with committing to a paint color for my '51FL. Harley had a pretty lame selection of colors in those years and none of them 'grab' me. I have no problem picking a color from my paint suppliers 1 million samples, but there-in lies the problem Good luck, gitguy.

[gitguy]

Thanks for the input. Now crafting a plan. Will post pics of the finished product when I get to that point.

Here's my friends paint collection: 123_1_20201205_141447[3892].jpeg

[pan620]

I would say you are lucky to have him for a friend, nice collection.