tank paint

[fullchoke]

Is the tank paint color the same on the 97 super combat and 98 super rat ? The reason I ask is because the blue frames were darker on the super rat than the super combat. Anyone have a paint code for the orange tanks and the dark blue 98 super rat frame?

Thanks

[Zyx]

Same color. Here is a link to the paint from the Strictly Hodaka website:

http://www.strictlyhodaka.com/product_p/206014.htm

[fullchoke]

Thanks AZ Shorty, I did a search and for some reason that did not come up. I just bought a model 98 Super Rat and the tank and frame have been painted wrong colors. Any ideas on the frames shade of blue? Strictly Hodaka says it is darker than the Super Combat. They sell the SC frame paint, but I didn't see any for the Super Rat. I'll search again.

[rtboone]

Greetings

I have A 250SL that I had the frame powder coated with RAl#L 5011 "steel blue" which was a very good match to the original factory paint. It also looks to be very close to the 98 Super Rat frames that I have seen.
Hope that helps.

Tom

[Zyx]

Thanks AZ Shorty, I did a search and for some reason that did not come up. I just bought a model 98 Super Rat and the tank and frame have been painted wrong colors. Any ideas on the frames shade of blue? Strictly Hodaka says it is darker than the Super Combat. They sell the SC frame paint, but I didn't see any for the Super Rat. I'll search again.

I don't think Paul offers the Rat frame color. He may not know what color it was. I have never found a ready source for the paint, or the proper paint code. If Hodaka had this info, I think it is gone now, and we just try to find a color that is similar, or one that looks good even if not authentic. Many paints that were available in 1974 are no longer out there, and unless you can find a standard paint code, matching paint is tough to do. Even with a color sample, my local paint supplier had no cross reference data for paints from the 1970's. You would have to know what brand of paint it was, and what the color code was, and then hope the manufacturer is still able to produce the paint from the code. Not saying it can't be done, only that it is not easy to do without something to go on. The paint shop here would only offer colors from their own color wheel. They could custom blend, but the burden was on me to come up with a formula they could use because they did not have a chart to make their paint from formula based only on a color code. If I had one of their codes, they had that data. Some other brand, no. All their formulas these days are digital based on percentages, not the old four to six digit codes.

The paint Paul has is about as close as you will find with ease and I think has has only the Ace red frame color and the Super Combat blue.

[hodakamax]

Hey Tom, Really nice 250SL, I hadn't seen that before!

Maxie

[olddogs]

I used a 1960s and 70s Chevrolet hi temp engine orange paint from a spray can on my SC then coated right over it with 2 part clear coat automotive paint. This color matches perfectly and the automotive clear coat will give you the resistance to gasoline the spray can wont. You don't have to spray the orange to a high gloss, just cover the primer. 2 or 3 coats of the clear coat will give you the shine you are looking for. They make the clear coat in a very fast dry time formula for spot repairs. Great for garage type projects when paint booths aren't available.

[bchappy]

The Chev engine paint is what I used on my SC tank and I also sprayed the clear coat. Perfect match for the plastic fenders. It did a nice job and still looks good 2 years later.

[Zyx]

I was referencing the rat frame more than the tank, but no doubt you are right. Just putting myself in the place of a Hodaka management type on the question of what colors to use, I would look around for examples, such as Chevy Orange, Ford Blue, or whatever, and if I found one that was good, I would source the paint using the color code that went with that paint. Could be Hodaka did the same thing, which may be why Chevy Orange is a ringer for Hodaka Orange tanks. If you can find paint labeled that way, go for it.

What I was trying to do in finding a paint for my frame, was to source an automotive 2K that matched the old Hodaka color blue used on the Super Combat. I could find examples that were mighty close if not spot on, but the trick was to find a supplier that would blend that paint. Color codes from the day were manufacturer specific, so if you had a code that was 631XXX, that code had meaning only to the manufacturer whose code it was. If there was a manufacturers cross reference chart then, I can't find one now, so even though I found a color I liked and knew the old code from the late 60's early 70's, only the original paint company could reproduce that paint using that code, and of course, that company has been absorbed by another and so on to the extent that finding someone in the business who admitted to being able to blend that paint was not possible in Outland Arizona.

Which brings us back to what to do. I found a color I liked. It is brighter than the old SC blue, but readily available in any base paint I wanted, so I compromised. I was not doing a resto so actual color was less important than availability and durability. I had no luck whatever getting rattle can paint to stick to 44 year old Hodaka metal, and went with 2k epoxy primer and 2K poly enamel. It has proved so far to be bullet proof. Even the bottom of the kickstand has lost minimal paint from parking on a concrete driveway, and otherwise there has been no flaking or chipping. So I am happy even if the color isn't authentic. Maybe what I have is the color Hodaka should have used in 1974.

[bchappy]

I never liked the dark blue of the Super Combat so when I had my frame powder coated I chose a much brighter color and then I ran across a stand and decided to just paint it with a rattle can to match a close as I could. I chose a Ford engine blue and the picture below shows how close the color match is. I think Hodaka should have chose that color to begin with as they obviously chose Chev motor orange for the tanks.

[hodakamax]

Bill, Wow! Looks awesome to me. I really like the whole package. Good job for sure.

Maxie

[fullchoke]

Great information guys and beautiful, awesome bikes. The guy that had my super rat must not have liked the color combo as he painted the tank black and the frame orange. The frame was painted other colors too but that blue is underneath it all.

Thanks