Takahashi Paint Colour

[Cleetus]

I recently acquired a 22 year old Takahashi EM2 mounting for my FC 100 DF. I already had an al-taz mount for this telescope but wanted another option so decided to accept an offer to own this wonderful mount. My DF is over four years old and was bought as a package so it came with a clamshell. However, as I was using rings in my set up, I sold this a couple of years back. I was now wishing I hadn't. I decided to buy another clamshell but was disappointed when it arrived to discover Tak had changed the colour of their green - it was now a bluish-green and was no match for the mounting or the green on the telescope.

After a bit of searching around I saw a post on Cloudy Nights discussing this change and suggesting colour Tamiya XF-21. This is for model painting and, coincidentally, manufactured in Japan. I decided to try this as it was only £1.85. As you can see from the enclosed pictures it is not a 100% match but it is very close. Another option would be to take part of the mount to a paint shop where they will mix up a more accurate match but there may be a minimum order for this - probably more paint than you want.

For a 22 year old mount it was in excellent condition with only a few marks and scratches on the wooden tripod - the mount itself was blemish free. I decided to treat these with a wood dye - Jacobean Oak which matches the Tak colour exactly. The dye seeps in to the wood rather than lying on top like a varnish or woodstain.

 

 

[Stuart1971]

Why didn’t you just buy the proper Tak paint from an Astro dealer here in the U.K., I have a pot of both the green and the blue, and trust me they are a perfect match, and come from the Tak factory...not cheap but well worth it...

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/takahashi-other-accessories/takahashi-focuser-touch-up-paint.html

 

[jock1958]

On 30/11/2020 at 14:43, Cleetus said:

After a bit of searching around I saw a post on Cloudy Nights discussing this change and suggesting colour Tamiya XF-21

Bought this paint after reading the same or similar CN post to touch up my 2004 Tak FS-60C clamp, however I found it a little dark and had to add some white,  next time might order the paint that @Stuart1971 suggests 🤔  

As you say there's a marked difference between the latest Tak blue and the earlier Tak green, why they changed it I'll never know?

BTW your EM 2 mount and tripod looks the biz, I'll have to keep my eye out for one for my FC-100DL 😃

Edited May 8, 2021 by jock1958

[Cleetus]

11 hours ago, Stuart1971 said:

Why didn’t you just buy the proper Tak paint from an Astro dealer here in the U.K., I have a pot of both the green and the blue, and trust me they are a perfect match, and come from the Tak factory...not cheap but well worth it...

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/takahashi-other-accessories/takahashi-focuser-touch-up-paint.html

 

Because it was/is a rip-off price. The paint I bought was a couple of quid so it made sense that was my first option. If it had been a disaster then I would have gone for the rip-off version. Not a 100% match but good enough for me. Paint bought from Amazon UK.

Edited May 8, 2021 by Cleetus

[Stuart1971]

2 hours ago, Cleetus said:

Because it was/is a rip-off price. The paint I bought was a couple of quid so it made sense that was my first option. If it had been a disaster then I would have gone for the rip-off version. Not a 100% match but good enough for me. Paint bought from Amazon UK.

Rip off price.....and yet you buy Tak gear for hundreds of pounds and won’t spend £30 to make it match....now you have painted it with cheap paint that will more than likely flake off in the cold and damp, and completely de valued a superb bit of kit, and on top of that the colour is still way off........🤔🤔

[Stu]

Let’s keep it civilised please chaps. We all have different opinions as to what is important, so please just express opinions without putting down others’ views or actions.

Thanks! 👍

[Cleetus]

9 hours ago, Stuart1971 said:

Rip off price.....and yet you buy Tak gear for hundreds of pounds and won’t spend £30 to make it match....now you have painted it with cheap paint that will more than likely flake off in the cold and damp, and completely de valued a superb bit of kit, and on top of that the colour is still way off........🤔🤔

Stuart, perhaps I didn't explain properly about my choice of paint so let me try again.

A member on CN used this paint and was happy with the results. If I remember correctly he did say the match wasn't perfect but was near enough for him. So, faced with the choice of paying £29 or £1.85 I decided to go for the cheaper option. I had already decided that if I wasn't happy with it then I would go ahead and buy the Tak paint. It would mean I wasted £1.85 but I considered that a risk worth taking.

After applying the paint I could also see it didn't match 100% but it was close enough for me and I am happy with it. Now, if sometime in the future, those cold dewy nights are too much for this paint and causes it to break down then I'm pretty sure I will buy the Tak paint. Fingers crossed.

[tooth_dr]

3 hours ago, Cleetus said:

Stuart, perhaps I didn't explain properly about my choice of paint so let me try again.

A member on CN used this paint and was happy with the results. If I remember correctly he did say the match wasn't perfect but was near enough for him. So, faced with the choice of paying £29 or £1.85 I decided to go for the cheaper option. I had already decided that if I wasn't happy with it then I would go ahead and buy the Tak paint. It would mean I wasted £1.85 but I considered that a risk worth taking.

After applying the paint I could also see it didn't match 100% but it was close enough for me and I am happy with it. Now, if sometime in the future, those cold dewy nights are too much for this paint and causes it to break down then I'm pretty sure I will buy the Tak paint. Fingers crossed.

Looks lie a pretty decent job to me and far better than before.  We just need to remind ourselves that we use these pieces of equipment at night to look through not at.

 

12 hours ago, Stuart1971 said:

painted it with cheap paint

Tamiya paint I wouldnt say is 'cheap' in quality, maybe cheap in price.  I've been using it on my RC models for years, and it does the job very well.  It will do the job on this too.

[Stu]

I can’t actually believe that, despite the warning, I have to lock a thread about paint. Quite unbelievable.