Bicycle Mechanics - How to touch up with paint my 1953 Raleigh??

I just received a 1953 Raleigh Sports with a full chaincase and it's in beautiful condition.

The only problem with it is that it has a 3' - 4' long, 1' wide gaping scratch on the full chaincase.

The rest of the bike is in its original black, which contrasts horribly with the silver underlayer.

I would like to touch this scratch up and make the bike as black as it was when first purchased; can somebody please give me advice on how to do this? I've never touched up a bike before.

Maybe recommend a brand or type of paint? I know it's taboo to mess with the original paint color, but I'm fine with it - it's not a collector's piece to me, I want to use it, not admire it from a distance.

Back in the day, Raleigh used translucent paints which allowed some of the undercoat to show through. That's how they get the deep gloss, and the subtle response to different lighting. The black over silver is a bit easier to work with than the traditional Bronze Green, which some people call racing green, which is a translucent green paint over a bronze undercoat.

What makes these so hard to duplicate is that the color changes with lighting, Direct light goes through the paint and reflects off the undercoat, while indirect or low light reflects mainly off the surface. You can buy automotive touch up paints which can match pretty well indoors, then you'll get out in the sun and it'll look like crap. Most of us give up and use closest match nail polish, or auto paint and live with it.

Need pix!

I did an auto touch up spray (rattle can) with a translucent top coat, long ago,
so look in the car stuff..

my choice, back then, was black undercoat so the color was a green patina
over a largely black color..

Unless it's a show bike, I'd just brush off any loose rust and paint some linseed oil over the scrape.

Here's what the bare spots on my daughter's chain guard look like after a year outside on her college campus:

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/linseed-tx.jpg

Please give this guy a break!

That's, guys! I'll keep those in mind.

I'll post pics of her when I fix up that scratch. Don't want her presented with a hole in her dress.

I touch up my bikes with Testors model paint. Can get it at hobby stores and its good paint. You apply with a small paint brush. You can buy one color at a time or a kit of about a dozen colors. I have mixed a couple colors together in a small container till it comes close to original. Its hard to be perfect, but if its not a collector to you then this works fine and preserves bike. The paint quality is as good as the original.

Honestly, if it was my bike, I'd leave it alone. Two reasons:
1. It can only be original once.
2. There's "perfect match" and there's "not exactly". "Perfect match" is hard to achieve. "Not exactly" dwars your eye to the blemish and looks worse than the scratch.

I touch up my bikes with Testors model paint. Can get it at hobby stores and its good paint. You apply with a small paint brush. You can buy one color at a time or a kit of about a dozen colors. I have mixed a couple colors together in a small container till it comes close to original. Its hard to be perfect, but if its not a collector to you then this works fine and preserves bike. The paint quality is as good as the original.

+1

Works really well for me. There's quite a variety of colors out there of model paints too, although I sometimes custom mix my own colors.

+1

Works really well for me. There's quite a variety of colors out there of model paints too, although I sometimes custom mix my own colors.
There has been times where I touched up a bike and used a polishing compound to blend it in. Its really easy to do blacks or whites because its not a blended color. It does take patience and skill to do it right , but I have save a classic or two by doing it this way. I would rather do the touch up then sand blast and powder coast because it loses its idenity. I am going to finish off one with clear coat to help protect from future chips. Its clear , gives a shine and a protective coat as well. Most classic cars have a clear coat or two.

I would rather do the touch up then sand blast and powder coast

I'm not an english teacher but then and than totally change the meaning here!