correct paint

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Does anybody know of a good painter to do an mkIIa 850 tank the right way? id rather not use decals, but no one around me in oklahoma city seems to have an interest in helping me. Ive seen a lot of really well done paint jobs on this forum, just trying to see if people are going to a specific person or what
 
nortriubuell said:
lazyeye6 said:
I've used Vintage Vendor for 3 Nortons. He does stunning work any way you want it. Painted on logo
and pin striping.

http://www.vintage-vendor.com


+1 with having Vintage Vendor do your paint :D

I had him do the paint on my '74 Commando. The result is adequate. I can't say I'm completely satisfied, but it is what it is.

After a number of emails back and forth about the quality, I realized I was stuck with it. It's not bad enough to repaint, but it certainly isn't a top notch paint job.

* Clearly visible sanding scratches
* Ragged edges from pulling the tape for the stripes
* A couple chips in the color coat that look to have been touched up with a brush prior to clear coat
* Not enough clear applied to the side covers to sufficiently cover the metallic. In fact, in a couple areas I'm not sure there's any clear at all :(

Just want you to be aware that not all customers are impressed. Stunning is not among the words I would choose.
 
I sent him my kid's Bonneville tank and covers. I'm quite pleased with the result. He sent pictures of every stage; stripping, priming, base coats, stripes, and finally clear. The tank looks great.

I'm aware of one other less that satisfied owner who I think posted here. Perhaps he'll chime in.

I would use him again. I had a couple of conversations with him before sending the parts off and perhaps that's necessary to establish clearly, the expectations.

Jim
 
I have a great painter in Pasadena California, he has done 3 Commandos for me and work for friends bikes. All graphics are sprayed on, no vinyl decals, usually 5-6 coats of clear and polished, great work at very reasonable prices. All parts are taken to bare metal first to ensure a quality job, he has done a lot for SCNOC members. Call Miguel Keener at 626-394-6496..........
 
I recently had Brent at Vintage Vendor paint a tank and side covers for me. His price was much more reasonable than a second quote from a different painter. He was very professional in sending several photos by email of the work in progress. I believe his quality is better than stock, though still not perfect for a concours job. I ride my bike, so I don't need it completely blemish free. You can see photos of my newly-painted bike on my personal Facebook page. ~ Kim Z. Turtenwald
 
Kim Z. said:
... Brent at Vintage Vendor... I believe his quality is better than stock, though still not perfect for a concours job.

A "concours" paint job should be exactly as stock.

So if he's "better than stock", is that why it's not perfect for a concours job?

Just trying to understand what you are saying...
 
In the Austin Healey car restoration world, a car would be knocked down from a 100pt coucours score if the car had clear coat, or a very current looking high gloss finish that was not available in the year the car was manufacturered...or so I am told.


grandpaul said:
A "concours" paint job should be exactly as stock.

So if he's "better than stock", is that why it's not perfect for a concours job?
 
Why would you want a paint job as bad as the original? ......half paint, half vinyl done as cheaply as possible, with no 2 exactly alike and stickers in different places sometimes!....we upgrade and improve everything else on our bikes!....The paint is usually the first thing you notice and should be an improvement over the original. The word Concours when applied to Pebble Beach type machinery is way over the top restoration, those vehicles were never that good originally, and rarely used after being restored, I hope we don't get there! A totally original bike would be good for a museum only in my opinion, that will probably start some disagreement, hopefully.
 
manx850 said:
Why would you want a paint job as bad as the original? ......half paint, half vinyl done as cheaply as possible, with no 2 exactly alike and stickers in different places sometimes!....we upgrade and improve everything else on our bikes!....The paint is usually the first thing you notice and should be an improvement over the original. The word Concours when applied to Pebble Beach type machinery is way over the top restoration, those vehicles were never that good originally, and rarely used after being restored, I hope we don't get there! A totally original bike would be good for a museum only in my opinion, that will probably start some disagreement, hopefully.

To do a proper restoration is to reproduce the original finish as accurately as possible. Trains, Planes or Automobiles( motorcycles too) That is much harder than the normal base coat,clear top coat process familiar to everyone.Try to find somebody to reproduce the orange peal on a 50's car. ( The manufacturers preferred orange peal ,it hid all the flaws) The terms proper, concours,"over restoration" , original,stock,OEM, "never restored" are all something a judging organization has to agree on before any judging takes place. In our club's, INOA national events we typically do not have formal judging, only casual membership voting, however to enter a AMCA event with your bike it must be completely stock and anything that deviates will deduct points. To build a bike to ride and to be proud of , anything goes.


as always, IMHO :D
 
jimbo said:
To do a proper restoration is to reproduce the original finish as accurately as possible. Try to find somebody to reproduce the orange peel on a 50's car. ( The manufacturers preferred orange peel ,it hid all the flaws) The terms proper, concours,"over restoration" , original,stock,OEM, "never restored" are all something a judging organization has to agree on before any judging takes place.
We had a gentleman in the Mopar car club that very meticulously documented the saggy paint on the firewall of his '68 Hemi Coronet, then had the painter do his best to reproduce it when the car was "restored". I thought that was a bit over the top...
 
Interesting thread!

I've done a few paint jobs over the years but I stopped doing it commercially some time ago - I now do it when time allows, just for 'fun' :roll:

A forum member asked me to repair a metalflake tank a while back, and was very clear that he didn't want a modern high-gloss shine, but needed to keep the '70s 'patina'.
It was an interesting challenge, but I think we were both pleased with how it turned out. The only worry was that the tank would eventually become more shiny with use, which couldn't be helped.
Factory fresh they were pretty glossy judging by the NOS panels I've seen, but the finish was a bit orange-peely on the metalflake stuff I've seen, and lose gloss over time and use. Conversely, the straight colours were actually very good for the most part.

Getting additional 'points' for introducing sags...? I'd be rich by now!

On the subject of concours restorations, I prefer 'over-restored' to 'factory finish', especially where decals, pinstripes - and electrics for that matter - are concerned, and I can't hand-line a tank to save my life. I believe there are people out there who can, but I don't know any.
 
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