Can anyone help me with the colour of my bike please as I need a few bits respraying.  Its a BMW K100 basic manufactured 10/83.  No stickers remain under the seat and the colour appears metallic orange/red depending on how sunlight hits it as per the picture attached.

Any codes or colour names appreciated.

Forget about trying to match the color.  It is a red that has faded badly and nothing you do will be able to match it.

Best thing to do is live with it or pick out a shade of red that you like and do it in that.

If you can find a spot that is out of the sun, you can take that part to an auto paint place and they can match it with something close that is used on cars.  The part of the rear cowl that is under the seat should still be close to the original color.

My Mystic Red K75RT has a good match in a Ford paint code G2 "Red Fire" that was used by Ford between 2002 and 2011.  I have used it on the fairing, and you can't tell the difference between that and the original paint on the tank and other body parts.

Point-Seven-five wrote:Forget about trying to match the color.  It is a red that has faded badly and nothing you do will be able to match it.

Best thing to do is live with it or pick out a shade of red that you like and do it in that.

If you can find a spot that is out of the sun, you can take that part to an auto paint place and they can match it with something close that is used on cars.  The part of the rear cowl that is under the seat should still be close to the original color.

My Mystic Red K75RT has a good match in a Ford paint code G2 "Red Fire" that was used by Ford between 2002 and 2011.  I have used it on the fairing, and you can't tell the difference between that and the original paint on the tank and other body parts.

Thanks point-seven-five, that souinds a sensible thing to do, I could remove rear cowl easy enough and get it to a shop - see how much they want to do a full respray for me then.  Rear cowl is scratched badly as person before me fitted a non standard top box and the underneath of the top box put big groves into cowl.  Front radiator grill, sides also badly scratched and tank has a lot of crazing and a few chips.

Wilbo,

I think your paint is Red Metallic (Candy)...see screen shots from the RS Paint website:



As Point Seven-five says - even if you order the right paint getting a match with the old (faded) bits will be difficult. My first K100 was this colour and it does seem to fade to an orangey colour. I resprayed the whole bike with Red Metallic (Candy) (a K100 LT has a lot more fairing than you have!). As detailed above, you need a specific base coat to get the right finished colour and the top coat is not the easiest to apply for getting a uniform colour all over.

I have just used the RS paint people again (with the repair of Gretel) and they are very good and quick too. I needed 5 spray cans of my top coat (I had no need for base coat this time) to do the duck tail, front fender, fuel tank, radiator cowl, small side panels, top box and panniers. I bought primer and lacquer from Halfords (a bit cheaper) - if you are going to do your fuel tank, Halfords also do a petrol resistant lacquer in a rattle can.

Good luck!

+1......my RS have the same colour......code: 031 rot metallic.

Born Again Eccentric wrote:Wilbo,

I think your paint is Red Metallic (Candy)...see screen shots from the RS Paint website:



As Point Seven-five says - even if you order the right paint getting a match with the old (faded) bits will be difficult. My first K100 was this colour and it does seem to fade to an orangey colour. I resprayed the whole bike with Red Metallic (Candy) (a K100 LT has a lot more fairing than you have!). As detailed above, you need a specific base coat to get the right finished colour and the top coat is not the easiest to apply for getting a uniform colour all over.

I have just used the RS paint people again (with the repair of Gretel) and they are very good and quick too. I needed 5 spray cans of my top coat (I had no need for base coat this time) to do the duck tail, front fender, fuel tank, radiator cowl, small side panels, top box and panniers. I bought primer and lacquer from Halfords (a bit cheaper) - if you are going to do your fuel tank, Halfords also do a petrol resistant lacquer in a rattle can.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for this!  I really appreciate it, and I may even have a go at doing a small panel or two myself, always feel spraying is a dark art though.  The website looks useful so I suppose nothing ventured nothing gained!  Thanks for Petrol resistant Laquer advice also, makes good sense to ensure you dont ruin your hard work.

I have found that a significant savings in cost of a paint job can be had by doing the prep, primer and base coat oneself and then taking the parts to a professional for the clear coat.

The clear coat is the only really critical part of the job as it needs to be a "wet" coat, and only experience and frequent exercise can get the best results without runs, sags, or orange peel.  All the layers beneath it require is the application of several light coats to get the required coverage.  A job even I can do.

wilbo wrote:Thank you so much for this!  I really appreciate it, and I may even have a go at doing a small panel or two myself, always feel spraying is a dark art though.  The website looks useful so I suppose nothing ventured nothing gained!  Thanks for Petrol resistant Laquer advice also, makes good sense to ensure you dont ruin your hard work.

You're welcome! That's exactly why the forum is here. 

As Point seven-five says, the primer and base coats are fairly easy to do. The Candy top coat is a little trickier to get a consistent colour on all parts, but not impossible. Lacquer is not too bad to apply, but if you want a really good glossy finish, a professional is probably the right answer. As ever, preparation is the key - even the slightest unevenness of a repair will stand out like a dogs parts and you'll end up wasting paint and time if you don't get it right.

Make sure you order at least one more can of paint than you think you'll need. Nothing more irritating than running out with just a little bit left to do.