OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Victa Lawn Mower Frames Victa Hammertone Paint Drama, Early 80s Model.

Hi. Recently got this now quite rare Victa hi arch to do up. Was originally aiming to make it a showroom special, but that would mean I could never use it and I won't have that, so I intend on a refresh to make it presentable again after years of mowing duty.
I have become stuck on sourcing an acceptably close match to the yellow gold hammertone finish and the only one I have found so far is a company called Vernici in ITALY that has what seems a very good match, but alas, on contact (via email) they replied they don't sell to Australia, EU only. I may try calling them to see if they make an exception upon speaking with me.
I would much rather exhaust all possible local solutions first, before trying my luck that way.
Also, can you still get nos axles for this frame, as the stubs on front and back have become loose on the right side(!)?
Any leads would be appreciated immensely.
Here is the mower, a budget model hi arch series with 125cc and a pic showing the repair I have done to the badly worn edge of the aluminium deck.

Hello MF

This looks to me to be a similar colour to the Mayfair Gold.
The No.1 expert for 1970s (or 80s) machines is Blumbly (on this site).
Perhaps he might have some suggestions.

For me, the issue of hammertone paint remains mysterious.
I don't know whether - in part - the hammertone process involves a specific
application process.

I feel there must be a local solution, and am hoping a member might
offer a solution.

All the best with this project.

------------------------
Jack

Here's something for you to peruse but unfortunately will not help you find the paint you're looking for.
Victa Mayfair

Cheers, Ted

Yes...I saw that while lurking here a while ago. If only mine was in that standard of condition, it would have been an easy restoration indeed.*Sigh*. Fantastic tip find.
I feel privileged to have got my hands on one at all though, and my neighbour, in the late 1980s had my exact version, with the Victa 125cc, and I used to envy his hi arch base and space age styled thumb latch catcher, over our relatively daggy looking (but very capable) late 70s Waltons store brand 160cc flat decked model with north south engine orientation.
If anyone has any knowledge on when this model was produced and what grade it was positioned at on the marketplace, it would be very welcomed by me.
My theory: made into the early 1980s and took over the price point of the former flat decked store brands and was produced along side the electronic ignition side starter 160cc models as a budget level aluminium hi arch mower. Clues are non bearing wheels, screw knob folding handles ,standard handles and ,of course, the smaller capacity engine.
It could be from late 1970s but most likely 1980-1982, one of the last iterations of the 125.
Thanks CyberJack for your encouragement. I just know it will impress when it gets done.

are you still looking for the gold hammertone?

Yes still looking. Have you got anything?
I have rung around a few Sydney paint outlets and none lead me anywhere. One I did find that told me over the phone they could mix some couldn't assure me of a decent match when I brought the mower deck for them to have a look.

There is an Italy based online company called Vernicispray who sell a yellow gold hammer tone colour that looks to be a great match who told me over the phone they don't deal outside the EU and said I would need to nominate an address in Europe to send to.
I also discovered a metallic non hammered paint in a can made by Dulux that is a very close match. I might have to use that for now.

I thought I'd bump this topic up since I believe I have finally got the paint I want (but still not sure it's a match -will find out once I start applying, but I have seen a pic of some applied and it looked promising) so have started sanding the base. I have done half of the top and both sides.
I'm not sure if I'll retain the Victa label or replace with a reproduction one. Threw present one has degraded with a few pock marks and missing print.

Hi MF,

How's the painting coming on ?

I'm really interested in the result of this chassis.

Cheers,
BB.

Hi Bonnar Bloke,
Still in the sanding stage. I will hopefully finish today and start on the etch prime which I bought from a panel beater's supplies shop. Looks to be top grade stuff and reasonably priced at about $13.00 for a large can. One of the staff gave me some helpful painting guidance.
I also obtained some green enamel paint I think is a very close match to the green commonly used on 1980s Victas.

I appreciate your interest.

I think you are about right MF

This one has a briggs engine with date stamp 20/4/1980, then add several months to get from USA warehouse into Victa stock, and a few more weeks to make its way onto a mower

After I started a thread to find out when 125 production ceased, no one could say for certain but the consensus seemed to be some time in 1977 or 1978. Victa may have had a large inventory of Mark IV 125s which had the G4 barrel due to the majority wanting the beefier 160cc. Victa may have devised this "2 stroke" model to run out the last of their 125 stock by offering it on an alloy high arch chassis, but with basic wheels and handles, at a value for money price point compared to a 160cc model. These were a hidden gem of a machine as they still had plenty of grunt and are actually more durable than the 160.

A few more pics showing the filling jobs I did with epoxy filler ready for paint.
All four axle locations were worn away and so I applied Selleys Knead It Steel. The brighter aluminium in contrast to the dark grey epoxy filler shows how worn they were.

Hurry up and paint it already, i'm anxious to see the finished product.

Won't be too much longer bigted. A lot of humid weather and distractions.

Gave final sanding with some 320 and applied first coat of etch primer. It has shown up a couple of small blemishes but they will be concealed by the engine and fuel tank.

The paint went on today and I can confirm it is a very good match to the Victa Mayfair Gold the mower base came in.
At least 90% match, if not 99% and the finish is superb but those Ultra-Color hammertone cans clog up quickly. You're lucky to get half of it out before it falls on it's side.
I will have to try Bonnar Bloke's method of 10 minutes shaking before baking in the sun for several hours (at least three to four??) to dissolve the skin he believes forms in these cans.
I recommend using a respirator as the smell is like nothing I've experienced before. I hope it isn't isocyanates like 2 pack has! It doesn't smell healthy.
I had to use two of my three cans and managed to get them to spray again for a few seconds at a time after clogging up by forcing some thinner down the tube with a compressed air gun. Thus would only revive them for a few seconds spraying at a time before I'd have to repeat the process again. Sometimes it was the can's tube and others it was the nozzle itself that I had to force air through backwards to get a few seconds out of it. I managed to get enough out of the two cans this way to finish the job to my satisfaction.
This paint is very forgiving stuff and you can go over parts that didn't get sufficient coverage without ruining the rest. What a shame these Ultra Color cans give so much grief but the finish has blown my mind.
Only negative is I'll have to give the engine a lot of attention to be a match to this now new looking base!

I used a beach tent as my spray booth!

Hi MF,

Yep these things certainly will give plenty of grief.

Honestly I don't know how they could ever sell these at a retail outlet as customers would constantly be bring these back and the retailer would be refunding every time, resulting in an eventual fall out between supplier and retailer and we all know where that leads to don't we.

Such a great product but what do you expect from that powerhouse of manufacturing.......................China ?

Regardless of that the end result looks fantastic and yes now it's up to the engine to make it all look as good as the base currently does.

Cheers,
BB.

I thought you'd be impressed B_B. I was.

I used a tip from this video to successfully get one of my cans restarted to go over a couple of spots I felt needed a thicker amount, after they were hot from hours in the sun. A can of carburettor cleaner and a compressed air gun as the cleaner is mainly acetone and the straw is a handy way to to get it into the jet.
I was able to touch up what I needed without the can blocking. I squirted a bit of the cleaner into the tube of the can and cleaned the nozze before putting it away.

Hi MF,

A good result in the end then I gather ?

One other point I'll bring up while we're on the same topic and that is this paint will take weeks to properly cure out so please don't be in any rush to do the fit out on it. Also don't place anything on the surface while it's sitting around curing as it'll mark the surface for sure.

In the current climate I'd leave it out in the sun for a solid week if you are also getting 38~42 degree days like I am at the moment.

I don't know what it is, but this paint just doesn't go hard quickly like us blokes generally do, but the colour and depth in these makes it worth the wait I reckon.

Cheers,
BB.

PS. I couldn't resist that one it was there to be expanded on.

I want it hard as glass before fit out. Should I use clear coat? The finish already looks grand as is.
When it did work properly, I couldn't believe how the gold paint transforms to the desired hammered finish before your eyes as if by magic. This is quality stuff.
Well worth buying multiple cans.

Hi MF,

That's pretty much what thought as well.

No point in clear coating this stuff as it's not designed for that and won't bond to the cured finish properly.

Cheers,
BB.

Looks fantastic MF, now i'm happy!

I'm not so happy after seeing the difference with the bit of pristine original paint I masked off where the label went.

I wanted to see a sample of the paint before I applied but with the reputation these cans have and the pics I'd seen this paint, I was convinced it was the one.

There was this hammered paint by Hammerite I never tried out as their gold looked to have tooa much of a green tint to me. I may have been on the right track according to this contrast revealed below.

What's the problem ?

The Ultra is a far better colour than the original, it's much more brighter gold while the original is just dull and boring, much the same as my
Verti-Cutter that is far brighter and better looking than it's original dull green.


If my bullion in the safe was the colour of the original Victa then I'd be checking to see if it was real gold or fools gold, while with the repaint I'd never be asking the question.

Anyway that's my take on it all.

Cheers,
BB.

That colour looks the nuts MF..!!

Dont forget the original paint would have faded/dulled a fair bit over the years, either way, well done..!!!

I'm still bothered as I have been waiting years to find a close match to the original only to find this is more different than I expected.

I take the point from Bonner Bloke that the Ultra Color green is a very attractive shade of green that really pops and this gold certainly does that just as well.
It does fool my eye into thinking it is more or less the original colour without the direct comparison.
It would be such a shame to sand back such a successful hammertone finish just to make it exactly as it was in the late 1970s, should the other paint turn out a better match. I think I'll run with it seeing as it captures essence of the original without being exact and it looks excellent.

I'll move onto other parts of the mower while I think it through.

Well, I've decided to run with this colour as my eyes have adjusted to this more golden hue and I'm just happy to see it with a badly needed new coat of lacquer that will last years.

Now onto painting the dress cowl. I've already found a very good matching colour to the original shade of beige. Only negative is it's gloss. I'd rather it was satin as the original plastic would not have had much shine to it but I'll have to be flexible as finding such a good match to the colour in a rattle can was a blessing in itself.

Any advice on prepping the plastic before paint would be appreciated. You can see it's very patchy with parts of the textured surface worn off and scaly over the years and some bad yellowing from spilt fuel around the filler. The dirt you see is ingrained into the plastic.
Does this need to come off though thorough sanding or can it be painted over after a basic rub down?

I have had to apply body filler to a couple of damaged spots (one is circled).

Hi MF,

It is plastic, so I would just give it a thorough wash with extra strong car wash, then paint once dry. It already has a matt finish, so the paint will stick well (so long as it isn't water based paint haha).

Also, are you sure the colour was beige and not white? 1970s and 80s plastic (think old computers, think old lego, etc) tended to yellow due to the fire retardant and plastic composition changing in UV light.

Hi MF,

I went over my VC cowl with some methelated spirit / isopropol alcohol before I painted it green to get it grease free. Give it a good rough up with a green kitchen scouring pad, I also used a plastic paint primer coat.

I recon that cowl must have been white 30 odd years ago?

Hi there Alan and Sapper,
very helpful ideas from both of you.

I used the relatively pristine underside as my guide and it is very much off white, further confirmed by my removal today of the label off the front for the first time since leaving the factory several decades ago (see pic below). It was like archeology lol.
I was fortunate to come across a can of Plasticote brand paint with a near dead on match compared to other beige like colours I directly compared it to. It'll look incredible once painted up and fitted to the mower!