Just a touch, not exactly a hint, of colour (4)
I believe the answer is:
tint
'colour' is the definition.
(I know that tint is a type of colour)
'just a touch not exactly a hint' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'not' could be 'nt' (synonyms) and 'nt' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ti' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'of' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tint that I've seen before include "Quality of colour" , "work for coiffeuse?" , "A slighth shade of colour" , "Hue, shade" , "Shade; colour slightly" .)