Coloured Mudguards

[blinkered]

Does anyone know where (if?) it is possible to buy colour mudguards. It's easy enough to find black and silver but I'd really like grey if it is possible to find any.

[Heltor Chasca]

Could you get them dipped or sprayed by an auto-customiser?

[cycleruk]

"Bluemels" used to do different colours.
Certainly blue, white, red, gold etc' were available.
Maybe try Ebay or some continental supplier.

Metal guards are available and could maybe be sprayed to your desired colour?

[Tangled Metal]

I've got tortec ones with a reflective edge that's supposedly silver. It isn't. It is grey.

I've only just spotted that it's got two transparent strips along its length where you can see the tyres. Only just spotted outta despite it being over a year on my bike and I put it on my own bike.

[cycleruk]

I've got tortec ones with a reflective edge that's supposedly silver. It isn't. It is grey.
I've only just spotted that it's got two transparent strips along its length where you can see the tyres. Only just spotted outta despite it being over a year on my bike and I put it on my own bike.

Not sure about your guards but there are some that have a couple of metal strips the length of the guard.
I am under the impression that these can be used to supply current to a rear light mounted on the back edge of the guard.
These guards, I think, have a couple of see-through longitudinal strips.

[Tangled Metal]

http://www.zyro.co.uk/products/detail/SKMBMR
These are the ones I think. They're down as silver but more grey. If you enlarge the image you might just make out there's a stripe effect. These are actually 2 clear strips of transparent plastic.

[drossall]

As cycleruk said, coloured mudguards used to be standard items. You'd buy to match your bike. I can't really understand why, in this age of customer choice, these and coloured cable housings have disappeared from the market.

[The utility cyclist]

My favourite colour (cadbury's purple) but never mounted, couldn't find a suitable frame
You can buy some SKS ones which have an olive green hue to them and have copper rivets

[blinkered]

As cycleruk said, coloured mudguards used to be standard items. You'd buy to match your bike. I can't really understand why, in this age of customer choice, these and coloured cable housings have disappeared from the market.

Thanks all I think this confirms what I thought from searching around that it isn't possible to buy coloured mudguards. Yes it's possible to get mudguards sprayed (and my LBS would do it) but I was concerned about the longevity and cost.

I'll take a look at the tortec guards which look like a possibility ... at least they might be closer in colour than what I have found.

[JohnW]

"Bluemels" used to do different colours.
Certainly blue, white, red, gold etc' were available.
..........................

Oh, that's absolutely true - there was even a metallic green! There was never an orange one (not that I found, anyway) and there was a time when I desperately wanted some orange guards! It does depend on the shade of grey you want, I suppose, but at the moment I have the chromoplastic silver guards (SKS and Tortec) and they both 'look' grey enough - I suppose you'd call it silver grey,

I still have a pair of black guards, from the seventies(?) hanging in the hut.

[wjhall]

The current limited range of mudguard colours is why your friendly local car parts shop sells a wide range of spray paints. The quality of results probably depends mostly on how well you clean the guards before painting, and perhaps whether you use primer or undercoat.

House paint is quite good for cable housings. Dragging it through the guides when fitting afterwards can even give a matt rubber looking finish.

[bev55]

I've just 'coloured' some for my Moulton 'cus they only come in black (gloom).
Rub them with wet 'n dry to get a matte finish....spray with a plastic primer....two coats of top coat/ colour....then a coat or two of clear lacquer.....all car spray aerosols from Halfords. As long as you leave 24 hours between primer/colour/lacquer and then a few days to harden off before fitting...should all be fine.

[bev55]

On a slightly different note....I sprayed my Brompton mudguards on the inside to give a green pinstripe where they are just clear....cleaned first with soapy water then a wipe over with white spirit before a spray coat of car paint. Six months so far and nowt peeled off.

[Brucey]

it is perhaps worth mentioning that many aerosol paints contain a solvent that attacks typical chromoplastic mudguards.

On the minus side paint overspray can be very difficult to remove from mudguards, but on the plus side quite a few different types of paint will stick very well to mudguards without the use of special primers.

My tip; try an inconspicuous area (eg the inside of the mudguard) and see if your paint of choice sticks well or not.

cheers

[1942alexander]

Hi blinkered,
Is grey the only possibility? What colour is the bike? Are you looking for NOS Bluemels? If you are refurbishing old steel the mudguards are usually the starting point for me. Every other part of my vintage builds are obtainable in many colours e.g. saddle, bar tape, frame paint, decals, except saddlebags. I have managed to buy NOS Bluemels in metallic blue, metallic green, metallic purple and metallic gold during the past year, all from ebay. I've got purple bar tape and a white/purple saddle bag as well just waiting for a frame. They are available out there but the asking price may give you a bit of a shock.
Cheers...