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Proper color code for 1980 V50 II

Martino

Tuned and Synch'ed
Joined
Sep 24, 2017
Messages
30
Location
Upstate NY
I bought this bike and someone had painted the side covers black and the rear fender needs repainted. Mine is the red color and I'm trying to find the proper paint color code because the tank is ok and I want the rest of the bike to match the tank and of course the front fender is plastic.
I can't seem to find the color code and its not in my Guzziology, parts manual, shop manual or my restoration book. Ugh. I can take the fender in and see if someone can match it but my experience in doing this has not been very good.

Any help is appreciated. As purchased Aug 2019
 
Thanks to SheepDip, I have found a UK based company that has the paint but its pretty pricey to have it shipped to the US so am still looking for it here in the US. I can take the fender and have it computer scanned but have had bad luck going this route in the past. At least I now have a back up source :)
 
Yup, been there, the V50 isn't listed. Without some way to know that my color is the same as it is on say an 850 T3 or V35, etc, I can't be certain I'd get the proper match. However, SheepDip sent me a link to a UK company that has it, http://www.rsbikepaint.com/en-us/colours.php?setlocale=true

It cost more to ship it to the US than it does to buy the paint :) However, as a last resort, at least I have a source if I can't find it in the US
 
Martino,
I ordered paint from that RS bunch in Englnd, I ordered the red that they listed for the V65 of my year model and it matched my V50 perfectly! It is not cheap, but it got here quick and matched what I had.
 
You did, eh? Tell me, how hard do you think it is after its had time to thoroughly dry and set up? My concern from painting with spray paint cans is that the paint ends up being soft so as you put the bike back together, work on it, etc, any little slip of the socket wrench, screwdriver, etc nicks the paint off and you're down to the primer. What do you think?

Also, did you paint the plastic side covers and if so, how well did the paint adhere to plastic? or did you use some sort of plastic adhesion chemical first and then spray them?

I went to our local Colours automotive paint store, they quoted me $60 for a pint of paint and one filled spray paint can. One pint will fill four cans so I can bring the left over paint back and they will continue to fill additional cans for me. They matched it using their scanner and said that matches go from 1 to 20 with 1 being an exact match and 20 being very very iffy, mine turned out to be a 4. I've not bought it yet as I am working on the frame right now.
 
Clear out of a can isn't hard either. You would need either a professional gun and air compressor for urethane or an epoxy based paint...both are pretty dang expensive and I don't have a professional spray gun. You can get two part epoxy paints in spray cans where you push up on the bottom of the can to release the hardener into the paint, then you have a couple of days to use it before the remaining paint in the can turns to a brick. I just bought that sort of primer and am waiting for decent weather before priming my frame but I cannot find that sort of paint for the base coat even if they match the color.
 
Martino, I found the attached paint list somewhere online.
It doesn't cover your bike, but I would bet Guzzi has always been using Lechler paint (factories near each other).
Perhaps more research would lead to universal codes that a paint store could recreate.

My V65GT engine is out of the frame and I'm debating whether to repaint the lower frame rails. Then, might as well repaint the engine... heavy decisions.
 

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Thanks Pescatore! Yeah, I came across that in my searching as well and your'e right, my particular bike is not listed for some strange reason. I took the fender to our local Colors body shop supply store, they scanned it and came up with a match of 4. They said a 1 is a perfect match and a 20 is pretty darn iffy but a 4, they thought, would be indistinguishable from the OEM color. Thing is they are not set up to sell to walk ins, they support auto body shops and the minimum quantity I would have to buy would be enough to paint 20 bikes :-(
I did find the OEM color but its out of the UK, shipping is more than the paint itself :)

Yes, paint the lower frame rails, this is the time to do it if your engine is out. If your engine/gearbox is dirty and you are having a hard time getting it clean, try some Eagle One mag wheel cleaner. Its some nasty stuff made for plain aluminum. Spray it on, let it foam and soak and then hose it off. You may need to use a brush for some areas but it made my wheels look new!

Screen Shot 2019 11 17 at 110657 AM

I have my entire frame now painted but since the weather in NY has turned into winter, the project is on hold till spring.
 
I might use that on my aluminum wheels.

I had the kickstands and rear wheel hub cap blasted and powdered coated black.
I figured that stuff needs robust paint.

My whole engine has a light gray paint that melts with strong cleaners.
Simple Green worked well for degreasing.
Unfortunately the paint is peeling in many places. Looks bad. I've been pricing the job.
And the swing arm and drive box need paint too!
I have a few months to think about it.
I'll be sifting through posts like yours to get ideas.
Send a picture of your frame.
 
If you have an engine that's been painted, then you will need to strip the paint off by either bead/soda blasting or paint removing chemicals. Its all quite a nasty mess no matter which way you go. The eng/gearbox have so many intricate surfaces and many are hard to get at that its a time consuming process. The good thing though is that its not a really big job since the eng/gearbox is small. The etching mag wheel cleaner is not meant for cleaning painted surfaces but I found if you don't leave it on too long, it can do a good job there as well.

Here is a pic of the rear wheel after I finished cleaning it with that mag wheel cleaner, the non clean front wheel is next to it, they both were as dirty.

IMG 8658

Here are pix of the frame. I used a few coats of epoxy black primer followed by several coats of gloss black. Once spring is here, I'll compound it before starting to put things back together.

IMG 8870

IMG 8903

IMG 8904

Here are the rest of the parts :) All cleaned and ready to reassemble once the orange/red paint for the headlight mount, fender, tank and side covers is done.

IMG 8998 web ready
 
Nice job on the wheel and frame.
What paint did you use on the frame?
I had a similar table of parts. I finally put everything in boxes and labeled them. I already forgot what's what.

Have you seen this site:
colorrite.com/department/moto-guzzi-10021.cfm

Again no guarantee it's what was used on your V50.
I am looking into it for the engine paint.
 
Yup, been to that paint supply site, they don't list it for mine so I wrote them and they directed me to RS Bike Paint, it's out of Hertfordshire, north of London, they have it.

I used this as a primer - amazon.com/SprayMax-Activated-EPOXY-Primer-3680034/dp/B07CXPQ814/

I bought it at my local Colours, Inc store but you can get it on Amazon. Yes, its several times more expensive than the spray paint you buy at Lowes but I wanted a much tougher paint for the primer and I wanted black. Here's a pic of it:

Screen Shot 2019 11 20 at 32802 PM

Contrary to what one of the Amazon reviewers said, I found that it sprayed very evenly. The spray nozzle is adjustable, maybe that reviewer didn't realize it and had it misadjusted. You take the red cap you see at the top of the can and place it on the bottom of the can and press it hard, this releases the catalyst into the paint and then shake the crap out of it. Once this is done, you're good for about a day or two before whatever is left in the can hardens up. I make sure to have all the parts I wanted to spray with this ready to paint, then used the entire can. Worked great! It leaves a rather rough finish but I was going to wet sand after the primer anyway, so no big deal.

You know people will slip with screw drivers and nick the paint with wrench handles, etc That's why I wanted a black primer instead of gray or white. I used Rustoleum gloss black for the top coats. Once spring comes and the weather warms back up, I'll compound the paint, it will look great when done and in case someone nicks the paint, only the black epoxy primer will show, which will be pretty hard to see. This will just make for a better looking bike, longer.
 
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