PAINT: AGAIN!
I repainted a couple of Velocettes back in the 1980s and ’90s. Years earlier I had read some articles in the VMCC journal by a noted concours-winning restoration expert. It went into great detail and by following the advice I achieved a passable finish. Extremely thorough preparation was the main item, and Teckaloid paint was the recommended coating. However the author’s method was to pour paint into a separate clean receptacle, not to dip the brush into the paint tin. After painting was done any surplus was thrown away and not returned to the can. It worked for me, but the paint seemed to remain ‘soft’ so wasn’t that durable.
In recent, very slightly more affluent times, powdercoating has become my norm. Once I reached the three score years and ten mark, lengthy procedures are no longer needed!
John Carter, member 4636
Indeed. At our age, time is of the essence!
Frank W completes its process by absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere, the outside ‘skinning over’ before it hardens thoroughly.
After the first coat is left to dry for a couple of days, a wise move is to wet rub the piece and leave it overnight to allow solvents to escape from the film before repainting. A lining tip to recreate hand lining is to use 3mm lining tape, available from autopaint stores. Apply the tape to the inner part of the required line, hiding your rough edges. Draw two marks 3mm apart on card. Use this template to mark (I like chinagraph pencils) the outer perimeter at intervals all round. Then more lining tape to the outer edge.
After painting between the lines, allow just a few minutes before removing the tape and pull it away from the paint edge. This allows the paint to fall to a more rounded edge and mimics the appearance of hand-lining. A proprietary ‘tack cloth’ is more likely to give a dust-free finish, and painters of old resorted to hanging a damp sheet near the job.
I have used ‘chrome’ paint with an air brush to give a nice ‘old chrome’ appearance. The only downside is that I used two-pack lacquer on top – not advisable in your shed. Unfortunately some chrome paints lose the chrome look when overlaquered, so practicing on old tins is a good idea to build confidence before the main job.
Hopefully this will have been useful and Bob will not feel I’ve upstaged his boots.
Colin Wood
Two views of the painter’s art. There will be more, I’m sure. Frank W In lockdown with my Thunderbird sulking in the garage, I stumbled upon RC201.THE brush painting article by Oily Boot Bob resonated for various reasons. In 1960 I was apprenticed as a coach painter / sprayer to a coachbuilders. Knobby Clarke, when showing me the ropes, said ‘You can tell a coach painter from a house painter by his boots: the coach painter has paint all over his!’
Painting a very large panel on a pantechnicon required you to transfer a lot of paint from your Hamilton’s Namel-var oval brush to the panel. We acquired a zen-like ability to apply the right amount, spread and lay off without brush marks or runs.
Bob has written the perfect guide to brushing your classic bike. Why blast your tinware to within an inch of its life, then try to recreate factory conditions for the all-important first coat if the old finish is sound?
The Tekaloid on the Royal Enfield suits it more than the over-gloss of some two-pack masterpieces. I agree that large artists’ brushes are ideal for this work. Thinner coats of paint are also ideal. This type of paint