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the70sbike

I have recently acquired a new TdF frame at my local bike swap. It is presently painted red and scratched beyond what I am willing to keep original.

What I would like to know is if anyone has paint specs for the various Gitane colors. I am leaning toward Violet, a color I liked but seldom saw when I worked in the LBS that sold Gitanes.

If I do this repaint, I will be contacting Cyclomondo for some foil decals.

Anyway, if anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated!

greyhundguy

70s,
The "Criterium Violet", as it was called in the 1970 Gitane catalog is a very striking color in my opinion. It, along with the Black, were not often seen. I have seen only 3 photos of original "Violet" TdF's and 2 in Black.

It's a deep, regal color in my mind. Find a color that you are happy with and go for it. It will make a statement when paired with the right components and accessories.

That's my opinion as a person who has wanted a "Violet" TdF for a long time.

Jay

the70sbike

Thanks, I am glad I am not the only one who likes the color. Some time back, there was a Super Corsa in Violet on ebay, but it was seriously scratched up. I should have grabbed it!

verktyg

Purple was probably my least favorite Gitane color, closely followed by "club green" (vert omnium). There was also a very ugly brown that started showing up on a few Gran Sports in 1974 Evil or Very Mad

During the Gitane Foil Decal era the bikes were very poorly packed at the factory with the wheels freely rolling around in the boxes and the bars with cables attached draped over the top tubes.

Gitane used a thick white filler/primer coat under the color layer. There were 4 solid colors, White, Black (extremely rare), Orange and the multi hued Match blue (which ranged from light robin's egg blue through turquoise to the color picture below).

The rest of the colors were "flamboyant" or as we called them in the US "candy apple" colors. These were tinted transparent lacquers painted over the white primer. The lacquers were soft and rubbed thin easily at wear points plus they faded in direct sunlight.

One of the problems with purple (criterium violet) was that being the darkest color, chips and scratches in the paint from shipping damage really stood out as white marks in the paint! They were also hard to touch up.

Of the TdFs I remember seeing, club green followed by white were the most common colors then aqua marine blue. Mel Pinto still had some foil decal Gitane TdFs in stock as late as 1975 in the less popular sizes, 50cm, 62cm and 64cm (in white and maybe green or purple).

Over the years my taste in Gitane colors has mellowed so green and purple aren't so bad any more. Orange and gold are still my favorites and there was a rare burgundy color too.

Repainting the candy apple colors can be difficult. The paint thickness has to be uniform to get a consistent color. Gitane NEVER used metallic colors in those days and rattle can or non flamboyant professional paint jobs just don't look right! It's like a Min-wax finish on an antique chair!

The ugly brown is still ugly! Rolling Eyes

Chas. the arbiter of fine taste!

greyhundguy

the70sbike

verktyg, thank you for the pictures. I like the purple, have seen few in that color. At least the photos will help me if and when I go to the paint store. I have always associated white with TdF's, my co-worker at the LBS had one in white. The reason I considered the purple is that I like how it looks next to chrome, and the chrome on this frame is in surprisingly good condition for French chrome.

greyhundguy, since I come from a background in painting, though not cars or bikes generally, I know enough not to put a light color under a dark primer. I guess back in the boom days, almost anything would sell, so they just wanted to get them out the door as quickly as possible.

verktyg

The white primer base or in some cases silver (or gold) is the secret to flamboyant or candy apple colors. You need that bright base to reflect the light back through the tinted transparent lacquer.

Some companies used a flat silver base color but bright white is what really brings out the flamboyant effect. A lot of top name British bikes and frames like Bob Jackson and Mercian used flamboyant colors too. My fire engine red Colnago has a white base coat.

1 through 7 of these Mercian colours are flamboyant (mouse over colour to see the name.

http://www.merciancycles.co.uk/finishes.asp

Modern lacquers are much tougher than the materials used during the Bike Boom era but tinted transparent stuff is still hard to apply. You can get tinted urethane too.

BTW, I suggest that you get your materials ASAP because I've heard that after January 1, 2010, all top coat paint has to be water soluble based. Also be prepared to chunk out $40 - $80+ USD for a pint of just the tinted paint - primer and top coat are extra!

Do a Google search on "candy apple paint" to see some of the problems to look out for.

"A final variation, hardly ever used on automobiles but common on bicycles and motorcycles, is "flamboyant" or "candy apple" paint. This consists of a metallic silver base coat covered with a translucent coloured lacquer, or more commonly urethane. Flamboyant paint gives an unusual effect of depth, but is almost impossible to touch up after damage without leaving an obvious mark."

Chas.