I have a 2012 Ultra Limited it's Ember Red Sunglo/Merlot with medium red pinstripes.

Problem is the inner and outer fairing, the Merlot color on the bottom of the tank and fairing lowers got damaged.

Solution paint the damaged parts the OE colors.

Problem nobody has any idea how to formulate these 2 colors and the best answer I get is to buy paint from the MOCO and that's not happening. My guy has a Sikkens system but has no idea what goes into these colors.

Is this House of Color paint or what????

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. I want to get riding again.

 

Harley Davidson won't release it's paint formulas. You either have to buy their paint or else put up with a close but not quite perfect match. This answer was provided by my boyfriend who works in a custom paint shop that orders HD paint for perfect matches. They can scan it in and try to match it, but it's just not quite right.

BTW I'm totally in love with that Merlot paint, that red metal flake in it is awesome.

 

Thanks for the input Firewoman but I've talked to quite a few painters since I posted and have been getting told quite the opposite. They say the HD paint is NG and the PPG is cheaper, much more readily available, easier to work with and a better match.

I will give it a few more days to get opinions before I decide what route to take.

 

One problem with using HD paint is you must buy in one quart quantity which is way more than necessary.

Also, even if you use HD paint, it's up to the skill of the painter to apply it to get a great match including gun pressure, coats, etc.

PPG has paint formulas to mix what you need. Also, use a shop that does spray outs--basically dspraying test panels to get the match.

Lastly, with PPG you only buy as much material as the job requires.

Good luck.

Carl

 

Thanks Carl, that's the route I'm going. Almost everyone I talked to echoed your opinion.

 

We've found that HD paint is currently much cheaper than PPG products. Unfortunately, you do have to purchase touch up bottles or a quart. Merlot is actually a three pass color, so the paint is brutal. Paint from the MoCo is surprisingly cheap. We always compare aftermarket to HD and more often than not, HD is cheaper. It's worth looking into.

Typically, their paints are from PPG, but you won't get the code from Harley. Sorry!

 

Thanks for the info isellem but I already have the codes and a sample piece back to me and it's a perfect match. Go figure.

 

anytime!