'68 Thunderbolt Flamboyant Blue Candy

Hi there

Please can I ask for your advice concerning how I might touch-up a few dings in the gas tank below? It's off a 1968 BSA Thunderbolt and I understand that the paint is called Flamboyant Blue Candy. As you can see, the tank has been dinged and dented by the handlebars or handlebar clips in the past.

The mounting bracket that holds the gas tank firm steady underneath the frame was missing, so I suspect that the tank wasnt held down tight enough. I think the tank was sitting too high and the handlebars then clipped the tank when turning the wheel. The front-end including bars all look original and I'll be sure to check for clearance when the tank goes back on.

The paint looks fine from a distance but you can see it's a little rough close up. I'm working on this bike for a friend and he would like to keep it as original looking as possible, but would like to tidy this up a bit as it's noticeable.

I would be most grateful for any advice concerning preparation and any matching color sticks or rattle-can spray colors that I could possibly use to mask the white and make it look a little more presentable. I've not done this before so thanks for your help

Cheers
Mike

Don Hutchinson sells small vials of touchup paint (or at least he used to). www.triumphman.com

Thank you GrandPaul, I'll give them a call!

IMO it looks like there is filler under the paint anyway... Personally i wouldnt touch it, meaning touch up the paint.. It really has seen better days and was "ill prepared" in the original paint job resulting in all the cracking and crazing...

What ever you do, unless a complete "back to metal" repaint, will look far worse than an appropriately "aged" and mature paint job (patina) like you have.. Do it properly or not at all, is what i think!!

And this BSA thingy should/can also be discussed down "The Pub"..

Thanks for your comments Chris
Cheers
Mike

The A65s require ' narrow base ' bars , where they bend up at the triple clamps . Std other bars ( Triumph ) ding the tank on lock .

Id get some really sticky masking something , to protect the chrome . Probly best to bead blast , though paint stripper'd do it . though would tarnish the chrome if it got under the mask .
Then strip & remask , for painting . :x

A ball on a bar , in a vice , is wots used to tease out dings from inside . Pretty easy - up close to the filler , like that . BLUE looks l9ke a metallic ' Royal Blue ' . Touch up would at least
provide a sample to use for a match .

Good old barge the BSAs :twisted: the Honda of the British manufacturers . or is that the Honda is the BSA of the Jap mass production mechaniseations .

Naaa, all it needs is some large gobs of hi-build primer - to fill in the holes, before you use the touch up paint on it.
Should be good for another few decades, AND will preserve your crazed-patina look !!

I know this topic is over a month and a half old but...just to be picky, and if you care, the white pin-stripe should lie perfectly on the division between paint and chrome on a BSA's tank.
Working your way down the tank from top, you should see ; blue paint, white line, chrome. Not ; blue paint, white line, a little more blue paint, and then chrome.