Casting Dark Gray rim paint

[johnmc]

Hi all
I'm restoring a 1981 GSX 400 f and I'm at the stage of painting the rims . The colour is called casting dark grey and the part number is 990001020912U . I'm having problems trying to locate this colour paint . Does any one know of a paint retailer in Sydney or Australia that I can buy it from .
Regards
John
Sydney Australia

[sealpup]

John,
I owned a GSX400F when they were new so I know what shade of grey you are referring to. I'm almost certain it is the same finish as the OEM dark grey on my '79 GS1000S "snowflake" wheels.

That should jog the memories of some of the more experienced members around here. Hopefully they will chime in with a response.
Good luck.

[sealpup]

John,

Unfortunately that part number will mean nothing to a paint shop of spraypainter.
Are the wheels still OEM grey and need restoring, or have they been repainted so that now you don't know what colour to apply?
Any GS with grey snowflake wheels from the late 70's / early 80's will have the same colour as your GSX400.
Have you actually seen the grey you are trying to match? if so, go through the paint sample books at a local spraypainter (or even powdercoater) to find something close. As a long shot, see if the Colorbond range has a match.

As a word of advice, try to go to the effort of retaining the polished rims and machined edges of the spokes - painting the whole wheel without masking up the shiny bits just ends up looking like a half-arsed job.

There's a another Sydney guy here "hillsy" who also may be able to assist.

PM me if you wish to take this conversation offline.

Greg

[johnmc]

Hi Sealpup,
Mate thanks for your advice. When I got the bike, the Snowflake rims were still OEM grey but badly faded. The paint on the inside of the rear rim (on the drum break side) was however, in a good enough state to be colour matched or so I thought. Unfortunately, the paint shop had completely got it wrong. I'm going to take the rim back to show them how much they were out with their colour matching. I will try to post a picture to show you the difference when I get a chance.
Regards
John
Sydney Australia