Paint The Frame; Yes or No

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I keep mine a gloss black....from a rattle can, use a touch up pen on chips,scrapes etc. I do not polish the frame though, that is for the tank and side covers.
 
L.A.B. said:
They were all silver from 1971.
http://www.classicbike.biz/Norton/Brochures/Brochures.htm
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I just cross referenced the yokes with the link above and mine are the correct casting numbers and have the ANG.

I just took this pic, so I’m ok! Phew...

Pure dumb luck, I picked these up in a trade.

Paint The Frame; Yes or No
 
Mines a rider with a touch of patina. Found Rust-Oleum Gloss Black matches well for frame touch ups, VHT Cast Aluminum Caliper paint for the Triple Trees and Rust-Oleum High Heat Black to touch up the barrels. (Spray into the lid and dab with artist brush). Also found that a bottle of black touch up paint kicking around from a former 2006 BMW 325 was perfect for the tank and side covers.
 
Norcoastal said:
Here are some pictures of where my frame is today before I do anything. I think I’ll do a touch up first and see how it looks, but I don’t think it’s too bad.

Paint The Frame; Yes or No

Paint The Frame; Yes or No

Paint The Frame; Yes or No

Paint The Frame; Yes or No

Paint The Frame; Yes or No

Paint The Frame; Yes or No

Paint The Frame; Yes or No
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That frame's paint appears to me to have a grey undercoat under the black.If this is the case then the frame has already been repainted.The factory only had black paint applied to the bare metal frame .
paul
 
Pretty off-topic but it might help some people. I had a chance to tour the Rolls Royce factory a while back -- like, you know, when it was British. The man who took me through the factory showed me the paint shop and explained how some bodies were made "in house" and some were supplied by coach builders. Every body would be thoroughly prepared for painting and then painted white and every defect or problem was corrected meticulously. Then the bodies would be painted by hand with brushes and paint so thin you wouldn't believe that it would cover anything. Then they were wet sanded, smoothed, examined, and perfected -- for coat after coat.
They allocated hundreds of man-hours to each vehicle and wouldn't have ever even considered a spray process.
 
HRD said:
That frame's paint appears to me to have a grey undercoat under the black.If this is the case then the frame has already been repainted.The factory only had black paint applied to the bare metal frame .
paul
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Can anyone confirm this?

This paint job looks original. Where it’s not chipped is perfect. If it is a repaint, it must have been a professional job, but it looks original.

Did they never prime???
 
HRD said:
That frame's paint appears to me to have a grey undercoat under the black.If this is the case then the frame has already been repainted.The factory only had black paint applied to the bare metal frame .
paul
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I agree, it looks to be non original repaint
 
FWIW -- no primer coat on my 74. frame appears to have (gloss) black over a bare steel.
 
Chips and wrench scratches are so common on frames - I just use lacquer in a rattle can cause you can easily tape off a section, touch up and blend it.
 
jseng1 said:
Chips and wrench scratches are so common on frames - I just use lacquer in a rattle can cause you can easily tape off a section, touch up and blend it.
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Yes, regardless of whether this was repainted, I think it’s better than what I could do.
 
I bought a small pint of Rustoleum gloss black and touched up the frame with a small brush.

Here are a few before and after pictures.

Just a first pass, but has some promise. Not too bad from 3 feet.

Paint The Frame; Yes or No


Paint The Frame; Yes or No


Paint The Frame; Yes or No


Paint The Frame; Yes or No
 
Norcoastal said:
I bought a small pint of Rustoleum gloss black and touched up the frame with a small brush.

Here are a few before and after pictures.

Just a first pass, but has some promise. Not too bad from 3 feet.
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And if you want it to look a bit smoother, it's easy to sand it after it has cured and spray another coat.

Ken
 
Blewdy Yaink said:
Pretty off-topic but it might help some people. I had a chance to tour the Rolls Royce factory a while back -- like, you know, when it was British. The man who took me through the factory showed me the paint shop and explained how some bodies were made "in house" and some were supplied by coach builders. Every body would be thoroughly prepared for painting and then painted white and every defect or problem was corrected meticulously. Then the bodies would be painted by hand with brushes and paint so thin you wouldn't believe that it would cover anything. Then they were wet sanded, smoothed, examined, and perfected -- for coat after coat.
They allocated hundreds of man-hours to each vehicle and wouldn't have ever even considered a spray process.
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And no doubt all these man hours working this way adds a couple of 00s onto the new car price list. . . . . .
 
lcrken said:
And if you want it to look a bit smoother, it's easy to sand it after it has cured and spray another coat.

Ken
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You have just shown up the tough job a motorcycle frame has to endure, what with riding in the rain and hail, stones throw up and a few chickens crossing the road, paint from a rattle can might not be tought enough for the job
Before everyone started cost cutting, frames were stored enameled across the broad in the British motorcycle industry which seems to have stood the test of time as quite a number of bikes 60,70 80 years old are still on their original stove enameled coat.
 
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Bernhard said:
You have just shown up the tough job a motorcycle frame has to endure, what with riding in the rain and hail, stones throw up and a few chickens crossing the road, paint from a rattle can might not be tought enough for the job
Before everyone started cost cutting, frames were stored enameled across the broad in the British motorcycle industry which seems to have stood the test of time as quite a number of bikes 60,70 80 years old are still on their original stove enameled coat.
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my 68 I just sold had its original factory black stove enamel and was just beautiful . IMHO, there are different "blacks" some more black than others

Paint The Frame; Yes or No
 
When I worked at the Longbridge plant that built Mini's in the 70's in Birmingham, all the steel brackets needing a black coat of paint were dipped into a vat of black enamel hung from steel wires and then after time spend draining over the vat then sent via conveyor through a stove oven. No primer was used, straight black over bare steel. The same process would have been using on these frames and the other brackets, evidenced by the drips on the edges and the witness marks left by the hanging wires. These clues are missing from these by the numbers restorations ;) so judges take note.
 
kommando said:
....the drips on the edges and the witness marks left by the hanging wires. These clues are missing from these by the numbers restorations ;) so judges take note.
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My sold Fastback did have those drips and original markings, unfortunately most motorcycle show judging that takes place , for example at Barbers with judges such as B Slark, do not look at things that closely
 
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