Matching old and new paint '47 A7

[Brandis]

One of your brothers on the Forum asked me if I was going to do conservation or restoration. He clearly had an opinion. I like the look of older patina if you can do it right.  Most of the old paint will come up well with a quality wax.  But the front fender and small rust patches will need a down-to-bare metal treatment. 
Who out there in Forum land has experience with all that? Is 74 year old black really black or is it very dark gray? Do we go with bright, shiny nuts and bolts?
I'm going with new rims, spokes, handlebars and the chrome on the tank can be saved.  I can get replacement chrome pieces for the front forks.
It is #280 and it, therefore a wee bit special.
I attach photo to show where its at.

[sean]

as far as I remember the original paint was a stove enamel later years they went to a lacquer ....its your bike to do as you wish .....you can rub an oily rag over it and ride it as is .....enamel paint had no UV protection like the base / clears of today so the paint fades .....there are clear coats you could apply over the old paint but I would test a small area first .....Tamco make a clear you can paint  over sound  rust   and over the original paint I would contact them for more info
....tamcopaint.com

[RDfella]

That's the dilemma, Brandis. A good clean and an oily rag, but the parts that need paint will stand out. I'd avoid gloss and go for a sheen finish. All paint fades, black* can go to a sort of grey, some old ones a sort of green.
* and nowadays you've even got various shades of black. As the paint suppliers / mixers I use told me, you've only got to add one drip of another colour into a litre of 'black' and it's a new shade.

[Brandis]

A photospectrometer.  My local paint store has one. You can bring in a chip of paint from your house, and they match it.  Maybe the could read a tool kit   But they just mix house paint.  Perhaps I can find a specialty auto finish place that could do it.
The hunt is on.

[BSA_54A10]

You can not match old & new pint to get an invisible patch
Even if they are a perfect match, that will be for a single coat and 2 coats will of course make the new paint darker .
IMHO a bike is only original once  and an aged patina is always better than a modern respray.
Old stoved enamel does not fade because it was made with mineral pigments , which is why there was a limited colour range.
For me, I treat rusted parts with a phosphate coating of some sort, do a light put of the remaining paint then spray with a matt clear
There are a lot of them out there specially made for protecting old paint.
I get mine from Eastwoods .

However it is your bike so treat it the way that makes your hear beat faster .
No matter what you do 75% of those who do not own the bike will critizise your choice .