General sentiments on paint...

[ashman]

You better watch out as painting it BRG the bike will of course go faster.

 

[jbruney]

That's for sure good for another 25mph & tighter cornering..... Doesn't do anything for braking though, but those just hamper the fun. Stopping was kind of an afterthought in the design I guess...… Just give more throttle when in doubt.

 

[jimbo]

There are no Commando purists.

there is one.....

 

[Torontonian]

there is one.....

Silver. With red and black pinstripes.

 

[Scout63]

I’m dropping my steel eBay tank and original glass side covers off tomorrow at my body shop. He is going to try to match the original blue glass tank.

It is a non flake blue and not super exciting, but I like the idea of keeping it original.

 

[Fast Eddie]

I'm getting a feeling that Commando's are still plentiful enough to be regarded as being a "rider's bike" and modifications that generally improve the bike are fairly well received vs. the idea that an older bike should be kept as factory-original as possible. I find this great news as I plan to be riding this bike for a long time.

Exactly !

Just don’t paint it black. Too many black ones already. SO last year darling...!

IMHO, so long as you keep the decals and pinstripes kinda stock-ish in design, you can use any colour you like and it doesn’t really look ‘custom’ it just looks ‘personalised’.

Or, remove the pinstripes altogether. This works well on Roadster tanks if it’s a really top notch paint finish. If not, it just ends up looking like a back yard rattle can job. Interstate tanks need stripes to my eye cos they’re a bit too big and shapeless without.

You might wanna check out the gallery on the cNw website for some inspiration:

https://coloradonortonworks.com/about-us/photo-gallery/

 

[Danno]

there is one.....

Yeah the guy who disparages disc brakes and said drums are good enough and that he wouldn't own a Norton with a disc brake. He was looking at the SS clone (it has 2) at the time.

 

[olympus]

Green is a great color for your Norton, especially as gold decal and stripes give it such a classic look. My first Norton was a steel Interstate tank matched to Roadster side covers in Mallard green.

Go for it. It will look great.

I luv it!! .... mine will be Roman purple & close to what yours is... and i don't care what the purist might say

 

[Madnorton]

Be brave, but, please, not the Roman bronze colour.
Some keep to the known colours but shades lighter or darker with good looking results.

 

[jbruney]

I'm very partial to all shades of black myself...… Only had two in the past which didn't become black. I did change up this time by feathering the edges with CA RED, so I can be moved.

 

[ILLF8ED]

I’m going with original fireflake red on the new to me ‘69 750 S. Really time period for the year. A 50 year old bike should look the part.

 

[jimbo]

I’m going with original fireflake red on the new to me ‘69 750 S. Really time period for the year. A 50 year old bike should look the part.

that will be very hard to get factory correct ( from a sometimes Commando purist)

one another note does anybody lay down correct hand striped pinstripes?

 

[ILLF8ED]

that will be very hard to get factory correct ( from a sometimes Commando purist)

one another note does anybody lay down correct hand striped pinstripes?

Fortunately the side covers and tank have good silver flake remaining in the gel coat. Some repairs needed and using a microscope with .002” scale I can see the flake size is .004”. Will do a sample silver flake in gel coat with candy red over. There is one area on the side cover where I removed a dealer sticker. The red has no fading here. I will post results as I go.

 

[gortnipper]

I am a sucker for the fireflake. Blue, red, purple... I would take any of them. Probably in that order.

 

[marshg246]

one another note does anybody lay down correct hand striped pinstripes?

When Blake Conway paints tanks and side panels, they are beautifully hand pinstriped. I think he has someone doing that part for him. They are under the clearcoat and IMHO, much better than factory.

Blake Conway
2441 Green Hills Way
Vista, CA 92084
(760) 732-3950

 

[jimbo]

When Blake Conway paints tanks and side panels, they are beautifully hand pinstriped. I think he has someone doing that part for him. They are under the clearcoat and IMHO, much better than factory.

Blake Conway
2441 Green Hills Way
Vista, CA 92084
(760) 732-3950

any photos ? ( wonder if he could get the pinstripes as factory, not better?)

 

[jimbo]

any photos ? ( wonder if he could get the pinstripes as factory, not better?)

never mind , I found his website

https://vintage-vendor.com/gallery/motorcycles/norton/nggallery/page/8

 

[marshg246]

never mind , I found his website

https://vintage-vendor.com/gallery/motorcycles/norton/nggallery/page/8

No, that's not him!

He doesn't have a web site.

It would be pretty difficult to say: "Please do the pinstripes fast and make sure there are skips and thin spots"! Also, IFAIK no one paints today without clearcoat so actually matching an original tank won' t happen.

He has painted three sets of Norton tanks/side panels, and multiple Triumph tanks and fenders for me. I am extremely happy with everything he as done.

Here's an example of his and an original tank I polished.

 

[MexicoMike]

"Hard to make a Commando look bad."

IMO, there were certain colors/paint schemes that were unattractive straight from the factory. But, hey, it's all personal preference and if it's your bike, you can paint it any way you want! FWIW, I've seen rattle-can paint jobs that I thought looked better on a Commando than some custom "show-paint" jobs!

 

[freddie1105]

On display at Seaba Station.