Help with a Raleigh colour

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
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Dupont
Posts: 230
Joined: 28 Aug 2023, 4:00pm

Help with a Raleigh colour

Post by Dupont »

I am hoping someone can with a colour match in my Raleigh Royal 2012 chromoly frame. It scratched up a bit and in one place down to the metal with I was transporting it on a carrier.

It is metallic green, but I am hoping someone can have some more definitive advice. It is a lovely tourer and I even thought of a full respray but I guess that would be very expensive.

I have attached some pics of the top tube and colour. Thanks. 😁
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tim-b
Posts: 2463
Joined: 10 Oct 2009, 8:20am

Re: Help with a Raleigh colour

Post by tim-b »

Find someone near to you with land presence (rather than online only), like this https://www.paintforcars.co.uk/contact-us/
Find out if they can scan your bike and match the colour in an aerosol
~~~~¯\(ツ)/¯~~~~
Dupont
Posts: 230
Joined: 28 Aug 2023, 4:00pm

Re: Help with a Raleigh colour

Post by Dupont »

tim-b wrote: 16 Feb 2025, 7:56am Find someone near to you with land presence (rather than online only), like this https://www.paintforcars.co.uk/contact-us/
Find out if they can scan your bike and match the colour in an aerosol
I didn't think of that. I have a couple of body shop repairers by me, so I could try them. The initial enquiries into a frame respray are not as expensive as I initially thought either.
rareposter
Posts: 3466
Joined: 27 Aug 2014, 2:40pm

Re: Help with a Raleigh colour

Post by rareposter »

Dupont wrote: 16 Feb 2025, 8:17am The initial enquiries into a frame respray are not as expensive as I initially thought either.
For just a quick touch up / refresh of a small blemish, the auto-repair suggestion is spot on.

For even smaller amounts (like a 5 or 10ml can), try model / hobby / craft shops, they may well have something "close enough" for tiny touch up of small scratches. The kind of shops that sell model aircraft, trains, Airfix kits etc, the tiny cans of paint they have.

If you're considering a whole bike refresh, lots of new parts, complete strip and rebuild etc then a full respray from the likes of Argos Racing Cycles is well worth it. They'll also be able to do any frame repairs that may be required. They can also colour match so they'll scan the frame and create that colour.

No association with them but I've had a couple of frames resprayed by them and one bit of frame repair + respray. As the advert would have to say: Other resprayers are available! 😉

https://argoscycles.com/
Dupont
Posts: 230
Joined: 28 Aug 2023, 4:00pm

Re: Help with a Raleigh colour

Post by Dupont »

rareposter wrote: 16 Feb 2025, 8:45am
Dupont wrote: 16 Feb 2025, 8:17am The initial enquiries into a frame respray are not as expensive as I initially thought either.
For just a quick touch up / refresh of a small blemish, the auto-repair suggestion is spot on.

For even smaller amounts (like a 5 or 10ml can), try model / hobby / craft shops, they may well have something "close enough" for tiny touch up of small scratches. The kind of shops that sell model aircraft, trains, Airfix kits etc, the tiny cans of paint they have.

If you're considering a whole bike refresh, lots of new parts, complete strip and rebuild etc then a full respray from the likes of Argos Racing Cycles is well worth it. They'll also be able to do any frame repairs that may be required. They can also colour match so they'll scan the frame and create that colour.

No association with them but I've had a couple of frames resprayed by them and one bit of frame repair + respray. As the advert would have to say: Other resprayers are available! 😉

https://argoscycles.com/
Their reviews are good.

I have also read that nail varnish is ok for a quick temporary fix.
The Path Racer
Posts: 63
Joined: 13 Aug 2023, 10:18am

Re: Help with a Raleigh colour

Post by The Path Racer »

Not sure about your 2012 but 'nail varnish' isn't a bad guess when it comes to some older Raleigh's. I have 'nail varnish' on my 60's Raleigh roadster and my mid 90's Raleigh ATB. It's a base coat of silver or gold or bronze paint overcoated with a heavily tinted varnish. I think the car sprayers term it a 'candy coat'. It's a little more complex than a straight metallic paint finish and there's a certain amount of illumination and chatoyance. It's not a million miles away from gold leaf underneath tortoise shell found on some antiques or gem stones over gold found on Saxon jewellery.
Back in the day Raleigh did some pretty good stuff.
Brucey
Posts: 47400
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Help with a Raleigh colour

Post by Brucey »

the good news is that the white stuff has fairly clearly come off something else, so it will probably look a zillion times better once that has gone.

Unfortunately, there is pretty much no way to be certain about what kind of paint you have (it could be single-stage metallic, pearlescent, flamboyant, or two-stage metallic) leave alone get a good colour match. If you do get matching paint, and have it carefully applied (eg. via airbrush, by someone suitably skilled) you may not be able to see the join.

It might be worth asking the people who normally see to small scratches on cars.
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Dupont
Posts: 230
Joined: 28 Aug 2023, 4:00pm

Re: Help with a Raleigh colour

Post by Dupont »

Brucey wrote: 25 Feb 2025, 7:29pm the good news is that the white stuff has fairly clearly come off something else, so it will probably look a zillion times better once that has gone.

Unfortunately, there is pretty much no way to be certain about what kind of paint you have (it could be single-stage metallic, pearlescent, flamboyant, or two-stage metallic) leave alone get a good colour match. If you do get matching paint, and have it carefully applied (eg. via airbrush, by someone suitably skilled) you may not be able to see the join.

It might be worth asking the people who normally see to small scratches on cars.
I tried using nail varnish and now it is looking a bit of a mess. Dunno whether to just ignore it or get a respray.
Brucey
Posts: 47400
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Help with a Raleigh colour

Post by Brucey »

people have been known to put stickers over scratches....
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Dupont
Posts: 230
Joined: 28 Aug 2023, 4:00pm

Re: Help with a Raleigh colour

Post by Dupont »

Brucey wrote: 26 Feb 2025, 6:05pm people have been known to put stickers over scratches....
Yes, my wife has a bike covered in stickers. 😁🤣🤣🤣
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