Hey folks!

So I've had a bike frame built for me, and it's at the painter's right now. I'm trying to come close to a classic Bianchi look - specifically, something like this:

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/z8gAA...GP/s-l1600.jpg

I sent that and some other images to the painter, said I wanted a classic "Celeste" color. He is finished with everything except the graphics, and sent me some images:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cB...rL8XRtS4ruJHga

I told him that didn't look very "Celeste" to me; he said it matched other "Celeste" bikes he'd done, and a painter friend of his said it looked like "Celeste" as well. I showed it to some Bianchi-loving cyclist friends, who all said it looked like "pale blue" or "baby blue".

At first I was going to take his word for it, but then I decided that I really wanted this to look like a classic Bianchi Celeste. I sent him to Bianchi's current image of their Eroica frameset as a guide:

https://www.bianchiusa.com/archives/...oica-frameset/

... and he'll strip and repaint it.

What do you think? Does what he was calling "Celeste" match any Bianchi "Celeste" bike you've ever seen?

- Tim

Bianchi changed the hue of Celeste over the years thru their different models.

It might just be the lighting thats making the paint look that way and it still looks fresh.

Yes, this I know; but that color the painter used doesn't look like a Celeste I've seen on ANY Bianchi, from ANY time period.

That's what I'm asking here - does that look like anything anyone has ever seen Bianchi call "Celeste".

- Tim

Im seeing the Tipo Corsa and Pista having a lighter hue closer to a baby blue.

The eBay link is most likely what the painter went off of to match color.

So you had a bike built and your painting it Celeste with Bianchi decals as well? seems weird

FWIW the original Celeste from back in the day was a bit more bluish.

Quite possibly; but even the eBay link has a bike with much more green in it than the actual paint he did; at least, it looks that way to me - you don't see it?

- Tim

Celeste means sky blue. Celeste, sky, like celestial. Bianchi has used many different shades of paint they call celeste and the lighting, camera, and monitor can all throw colors off too. If the painter is primarily a bicycle painter, then yes, they probably should have known better and tried to get something closer to Celeste #227 . But if he just paints bikes on the side, Bianchi are the weird ones who think the sky is mint toothpaste green, and that color is indeed celeste.

Not at all, where'd you see me say anything about decals? There'll be other graphics on it, not Bianchi graphics.

As for more bluish Celeste - I searched around, but all the examples I found were more greenish than the one I posted that the painter had done.

My question is only this (as for some reason that seems to have gotten lost in this thread): "Does the color used by the painter on my bike look like any Celeste you have seen on a Bianchi bike from any era?" (and, if so, can you find an example?) - because I have found none that match it.

- Tim

Nope, he's a professional bike painter who's been doing this for at least 20 years; that's all he does. He said this is the color he used in the past for other "Celeste" requests. But to me, it looks much bluer, less greenish, than all other Bianchi "Celeste" bikes I've seen.

- Tim

Yes I do see the difference between. There are many factors why it looks different.

There are 2 different lighting in the pictures of the ebay bike and your frame.

Replicating an original paint is very difficult to do from pictures. Celeste has always been a difficult color to mimic.

If the painter is willing to redo the work by all means go for it.

Ask him for the paint code then. If the color is in dispute, then a paint code can be more accurate than a photo, and it will let you settle on something you'll be happy with.

He said he thinks a local shop in his city has an Eroica for sale, so he's going to see if he can go take a look at it. That'll make it much easier, I think.

Thanks for your reply! :-)

- Tim

Good idea - I should have done that to begin with; I hadn't thought about different ideas of what Celeste is when I requested it. Lesson learned.

I also notice that I think I would have liked more simple, Italian-style lugs instead of these Newvex lugs (at least on the head-tube); another lesson learned!

- Tim

Im going to be 100% honest with you on this. I think the crucial mistake was sending two different Bianchi bikes as a guide.

The Tipo Corsa vs L'eroica frameset are 2 completely different Celeste colors.

The painter went off the first picture sent to him and he painted it as close as possible.

If i asked for a repaint I'd go with a 88 Giro Celeste. Like this one of mine for example.

Yeah - my other custom bikes have been titanium, so no paint job was needed; this is the first time I've had a bike painted in anything other than stock colors - I'm learning things. :-)

Do you have a photo of the 88 Giro?

- Tim

Included in my post

1950s and earlier Bianchis swing toward the blue side.

Is this the Celeste shade you're looking for?

Weird - I think my work network was blocking it - I see it now on mobile. Thanks!

- Tim

Closer, yes. The Eroica gets closest i think.

- Tim

That's original paint on a '73. The pump I shot with a mix I had scanned at an automotive paint supply shop, after I matched what was on the bike. While the pump paint isn't a perfect match, it's close enough for my taste.

Here are the specifics for the pump paint:

Nason Ful-thane single stage IS
Spectramaster
code GS334
Tinting guide: for 16 oz:
430-03 H.S. White 137.3
430-07 Ochre 171.5
430-11 Green 195.9
430-02 Carbon black 203.7
435-82 Nason 2.8 VOC SS binder 486.8
441-21 Medium ful base redu 528.5

Thanks!

I think I'm going to look at the photos I have and open them up in a paint program and sample the colors to see what their values are. That'll help!

- Tim

I think he did pretty good for the example you gave to copy.
Here's 87 Celeste.

Ok, so I loaded a few of these into PhotoShop and checked their color values (average of 3 pixels). I compared them all in an online color comparison tool, and got the below. Looking at it this way, I do see the differences quite a bit better. The painter's choice has quite a bit more blue in it, but still has some green. The ones I liked better had a lot more green in them. Looking at them like this, mackgoo's looks most like what I would think of when I think "Celeste". Of course, this doesn't account for varying lighting in the images, but I tried to get a good approximate.

I think I might send the painter this image...

- Tim

By the way. I see you have an Eros, not Celeste I guess