OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Paint and Decals Atco - Corret Colour for Restoration

Hi all,

I've just come across this website. I must say thank you for this forum to all of the posters you're a wealth of knowledge.

I have 2 atco mowers and a 14" Victa. I'm trying to find out the correct colour to use on the Atco machines as the paint is badly faded or not there.

Any help is appreciated.

Best regards,

Keith.

Hi Keith, welcome to Outdoorking. I have the impression that reproducing ATCO green is a lost art, but if you read far enough down this English thread you will find what purports to be the answer:
http://www.tractorbox.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6464

He asserts that Leaf Green, RAL 6010 is a perfect match. To see whether you agree with him, here is an RAL colour chart:
http://www.ralcolor.com/

The main problem is that Leaf Green is actually RAL 6002. RAL 6010 is Grass Green. I'm not all that sure either of them matches the ATCO I had long ago.

Hi All,

Technically there appears to be no one true colour for Atco machines built prior to the 1960's. I have Atcos dating from the 1920's to the late 1950's and they are all slightly different in colour (and I am talking about comparing samples of original paint that has not faded). Even mowers made in the same year can vary noticeably in colour. This applies to both the red and green colours used, but the green seems to have the greatest variation. One story that I have heard is that Atco would buy paint from the cheapest supplier on the day and consequently there would be variation between the batches. From experience, the best thing to do is find a sample of the original paint (if you can find it on the machine somewhere - e.g. under the chain guard) and get it colour matched. However, it must be noted that getting a 100% match may be quite difficult as modern pigments are different to those used in the 1950's and earlier. Whilst the colour match may not be 100%, a good paint supplier can generally get fairly close to original - I have to say that I am happy with the paint that I had made up for a few of my current restorations as it is certaily very close to the original colour.

Cheers,

Sir Chook

Thanks for all of your help.

I'll get a colour sample of ral 6002 and 6010 to check against the underside of the chain guards on these machines.

Thanks again.

Keith