Why doesn't anyone market a specific Carburetor color paint ?

[Greg Myers]

Rust, Rubber, Jet exhaust, but no dedicated color for automotive carburetors.

When looking at builds on contest tables, here on the board, and just about anywhere you'll find a myriad of different colors representing the automotive carburetor, from a definite gold to a definite silver and chrome too, and everything in between. Now granted, carbs come in a few different colors, but for the most part we tend to go to the lightly tinted gold color representing the  typical cast zinc or aluminum material carbs are made from.

But why , with so many colors available for other things easily mixed don't we have a designated Carburetor Paint ?

Edited December 26, 2017 by Greg Myers

[Mercuryman54]

I usually just mix gold and silver paint till it looks reasonable in color to the carb I'm trying to reproduce. 

Dennis

[highway]

Ummmmm.....maybe because just as your picture shows, there is no SPECIFIC carburetor color!! 

Black, pale gold, and aluminum are all colors I can easily find in my paint color selection, and even Tamiya X-32 Titanium Silver as on the catalytic converters on this is a pale gold hue. 

[BigTallDad]

Based on the amount of paint it takes to paint a carb. even a small bottle would probably dry out before it's all used up.

[Quick GMC]

Brembo Gold from Gravity Colors is pretty good. 

[JollySipper]

Why not get a can of this? It should last like 50 life times! 

 

[Bill Eh?]

Tamiya Titanium Gold comes pretty close, Available in enamel and acrylic.

There are a variety of other metallic colours available. I really like the the Vallejo acrylic line called "Metal Color".

Edited December 26, 2017 by Bill Eh?

[George Bojaciuk]

I worked at Eastwood and the bronze is pretty awesome. They also make a silver for Ford carbs. However, I have found hobby paints that work better and in smaller quantities. This being said their wheel colors like Rally Wheel paint can't be beat! They have a nice Chevy and Pontiac wheel paint that is all I'll ever use!

Edited December 26, 2017 by George Bojaciuk

[High octane]

We've been "getting by" without a specific color paint for carburetor for years, so why start now? I certainly wouldn't buy it. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

I just keep about a quarter of an ounce of a mixture of Pale Gold & Aluminum Alclad on hand for carbs & a few other detail parts that are generally that color & shoot them all at the same time for a particular kit.

 

Steve

[Dodge Driver]

It would be nice to have cadmium yellow-gold in a hobby friendly spray can. I don't see that happening, though. It would be a sliver in an already niche market.

[Muncie]

The trick here may be to wander over to the craft side and take a look - there are alternative gold-silver colors over there

[Daddyfink]

With just some Tamiya paint and your airbrush, you can make most of these colors. 

For example....

 

[935k3]

8 hours ago, Bill Eh? said:

Tamiya Titanium Gold comes pretty close, Available in enamel and acrylic.

There are a variety of other metallic colours available. I really like the the Vallejo acrylic line called "Metal Color".

Also

 

The transaxle on the engine below was painted TS-87 airbrushed.

 

Edited December 27, 2017 by 935k3

[berr13]

Krylon makes a small bottle in the "Short Cuts" line called "Antique Bronze" that I use for all my Holley carbs.  Mine is in a one ounce bottle, and I've been using it for years, with many more to come.

[#1 model citizen]

3 hours ago, Daddyfink said:

With just some Tamiya paint and your airbrush, you can make most of these colors. 

For example....

 

Thanks for posting this. Its quite a tutorial on airbrushing as  well as creating metallic finishes.

[mr moto]

I think you answered your own question with the photo in the initial post. There is no standard carburetor color. The gold anodized carbs are a pretty recent thing and in the day when virtually all cars had carbs the "standard" color was just a sort of grungy, dull gray. Having said all that, there's no shortage of colors available to model whatever color of carb is correct for your particular build and era. Google images can be a great help at finding out the right color for any particular vehicle.

[niteowl7710]

I think you're also marketing something towards higher-end builders, the casual Friday guys don't care what color their carbs are compared to the 1:1 factory specs, they'd probably not even dechrome them.  So you're marketing towards guys with airbrushes, and you're directly competing with Tamiya, Alclad, & Vallejo Metal Colors for a specific use product; that you would really have to have like a dozen or so carbs you needed to mass paint.  Because otherwise it would be a ridiculous waste of time to set-up and then tear down an airbrush to paint 1-3 carbs "Holly Light Gold" or whatever. (Especially when that Holly carb is pretty much out of the bottle X-31, with XF-16 base, X-12 linkages, and XF-56 butterfly)

Edited December 27, 2017 by niteowl7710

[DeeCee]

I find Dupli-Color  ANTELOPE  has a nice gold tinge to it, it sort of changes a little bit, depending on the light.

 

 

[RustedBronco]

Vallejo has a Bronze, 70.998, which is very close. 

[Greg Myers]

17 hours ago, niteowl7710 said:

I think you're also marketing something towards higher-end builders, the casual Friday guys don't care what color their carbs are compared to the 1:1 factory specs, they'd probably not even dechrome them.  So you're marketing towards guys with airbrushes, and you're directly competing with Tamiya, Alclad, & Vallejo Metal Colors for a specific use product; that you would really have to have like a dozen or so carbs you needed to mass paint.  Because otherwise it would be a ridiculous waste of time to set-up and then tear down an airbrush to paint 1-3 carbs "Holly Light Gold" or whatever. (Especially when that Holly carb is pretty much out of the bottle X-31, with XF-16 base, X-12 linkages, and XF-56 butterfly)

Holley 

[Olderisbetter]

I'd say the reason nobody markets a specific carburetor paint is due to demand and the volume of paint that would be sold. Think of how small a 1:25 carburetor is. Now think of how many carburetors you can paint with an ounce of paint. Also factor in that once a model is built, you can barely see the carburetor(s). So the demand is so terribly low, there is little market for the product.

[Ben]

[kentak]

Take a look at Model Master jet exhaust.

[Dave Darby]

Other than Holleys and the occasional Rochester and Carter 2 barrels MOST carburetors are bare diecast. That makes them silver. Everybody has that one I'd think. I always chuckle when I see  a gold painted Stromberg 97 on a model.