Black Paint?

[falves]

Does anyone have any recommendations about what paint to use to match the black on the Gen2 LS frame? Any insights appreciated!

-Fernando

[nora k]

alrighty, this is what i heard from the horse's mouth:
The skippy on this is go to your local hardware and match up the color … :) I got that right from supply chain…. The buyer said China does not supply us with paint [color].


signed,
your friendly insider source

Does anyone have any recommendations about what paint to use to match the black on the Gen2 LS frame? Any insights appreciated!


-Fernando

[falves]

:confused:

Are you trying to be the next Crash? :)

-F

[nora k]

that, my friend, is an unattainable goal!

i'll translate:

i have someone who works on the inside who i ask these questions of (aka the horse's mouth.) when you posted it reminded me to ask him because we also were wondering. it turns out we were doing the right thing by comparing shiny paint swatches at lowe's to try and do some fixing up of our tour units. your thread was my incentive to write and ask him what the real deal was. the blue quote i supplied was his response, verbatim. i can't help you with what he said, though. that's just him.

:confused:

Are you trying to be the next Crash? :)

-F

[falves]

So your friend is aspiring to great Crashdom... :)

I completely understand about having the color matched at Lowes or Home Depot, what I'm left wondering about is the correct shine and type of paint. You mention shiny samples. I gather you mean hi-gloss or semi-gloss. But the black paint on my i2 doesn't look glossy to me... It looks closer to flat. Or is it lo-lustre, satin, or eggshell? And what type of paint? Latex, oil, what? Argh!

The best solution, I think, would be if there is some sort of off-the-shelf spray paint that will do the job. One of the Krylons or Rustoleums...

If you try anything in the not too distant future, please let me know if it worked for you.

Thanks,
F

[GlennO]

I had this problem with my 1st gen machine so when I got my i2 the first thing I did to it was to plug it in. The 2nd thing I did was to paint the trim, fenders and the LSF. This way I know what kind of paint to get.

When I have to touch it up, it always matches exactly.

Glenn

PS - You'd think that this wouldn't be a company secret, eh?

[bentbiker]

I had this problem with my 1st gen machine so when I got my i2 the first thing I did to it was to plug it in. The 2nd thing I did was to paint the trim, fenders and the LSF. This way I know what kind of paint to get.

When I have to touch it up, it always matches exactly.

Glenn

PS - You'd think that this wouldn't be a company secret, eh?
The original finish is not paint -- it is black anodized.

[opticat]

Is the Seg frame anodized or might it be powder coated?

[segsurfer]

The original finish is not paint -- it is black anodized.

Is the Seg frame anodized or might it be powder coated?

see above
-segsurfer

[Five-Flags]

see above
-segsurfer

IIRC, they're both right. The black i2 was anodized but the white was powder-coated, and not well. That was a contributing reason for dropping the white i2.

[falves]

...The black i2 was anodized...

OK. So, given that the black i2s are anodized, and no paint is going to match exactly, has anyone nonetheless used paint to either touch up the anodized finish or to paint any new parts/weldments made to the original i2 finish?

-F

[wwhopper]

You can duplicate almost anything, with the right painting technique!

[falves]

I really do need to take a finishing course! Not just for paint, but chemical finishing too. Unfortunately, I don't think this will happen before I'll need to finish this mod, so I'll continue to be on the lookout for any recommendations you guys may have regarding my question. :)

-F

[dgbint]

Although I am not a painter, I suggest that you will have great difficulty matching paint to an anodised finish.

If you want it to look nice then paint the entire LSF ( as Glenn suggests above ).
If you want it to look even nicer, apply a clear coat ( or several ) over the paint.
Then you can buy some Segway reflectivity kits, if you want the brand on it.

Heck, once you're painting, you can even choose a custom color.

Michael

[PeteInLongBeach]

For minor touch-up of flaws, I find that a black indelible marker works OK.

[falves]

I too am a fan of using a Sharpie for touch-ups on black stuff, but what I need this for is an area much too large for Sharpie use. Also, black Sharpies aren't really black - they're more like a deep, deep, purple.

Elsewhere, I've been recommended to use one of the specialty Krylon spray paints made for painting BBQ grills. Looks like it might be a good match. I'll update here after I try it out.

-F