original paint roadster side panels - need pics

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L.A.B. said:
Yes, "if".
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well, i can't prove that my paint is original, but then again, nobody can prove otherwise. my tank and side covers are cleared, so as far as i'm concerned, there's no "IF's" about it! sorry if i've wasted anyone's time with my appalling questions. time fo me to move on.... ;)
 
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joe czech said:
well, i can't prove that my paint is original, but then again, nobody can prove otherwise.
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I wasn't disagreeing or attempting to "prove otherwise" just doubting that whoever did the paintwork for the factory (as I doubt they did it themselves) would have sprayed much if any clear lacquer over Candy as that is already a tinted lacquer applied over a silver(usually) base coat.
 
As a painter who started in that discipline in the 70's when lacquer was king, I can say that any candy or metallic paint needs to be clear coated. The color of candy paints depends on the thickness of the translucent color coat, and wet sanding the orange peel etc. (cut & buff) would leave a blotchy effect. Same with metallics, the process of wet sanding would expose metal flakes which creates an uneven blotchy appearance. There are no single stage metallic paints, unless you create your own.

I can say for certain that the candy apple red that my bike came with definitely had a clear coat.
 
maylar said:
Same with metallics, the process of wet sanding would expose metal flakes which creates an uneven blotchy appearance. There are no single stage metallic paints, unless you create your own.
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Yes, metallics usually have the colour in the base coat along with the flakes and clear is applied on top.
 
Clearcoats were introduced in the 80's as a solution of the older lacquers lack of durability. Any Norton tank that has a clearcoat is not OEM, it may be just the clearcoat is applied over the Factory paint or a full repaint but not original.

www.paint.org

A Brief History of Automotive Coatings Technology

By Douglas M. Lamb, Coatings Consultant The Birth of Automotive Coatings “The customer can get the Model T painted in any color he wants, so long as it’s
www.paint.org www.paint.org

Basecoat/Clearcoat Automotive Topcoats​

As previously discussed, thermoplastic acrylic lacquer automotive coatings, given their excellent appearance, were the major automotive topcoat used in the 1950-70s. However, these lacquer topcoats did have one significant drawback: they had weak exterior durability. After about one to two years’ exposure, the coatings would begin to degrade, and aggressive waxing was needed to “bring back the shine” of these systems. By the 1980s, the automotive manufacturers were requesting better durability for automotive topcoats, as consumers were now expecting their cars to last at least five years, and they wanted the car to continue to look like it did when they first saw it in the showroom. At the same time, the Environmental Protection Agency began to promulgate new volatile organic compound (VOC) regulations that limited the amount of solvent that an automotive facility could emit into the atmosphere. The high VOC content and weak durability of acrylic lacquer coatings were no longer acceptable in the automotive marketplace.

And if you want to match the Factory finish 100% you had better not get perfect pinstrip, it needs to have flaws and wobble.
 
I apologize, I may be wrong about clear since you have candy color.
All I know for sure is my black had no clear whatsoever on it and I bought it new.
jaydee
 
jaydee75 said:
Joe, you said your stripes were applied after the clear. If your bike has clear on it it is not original.
jaydee
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My 74 black with gold pinstripe tins were clearcoated from the factory. This was an untouched paint job, bike had 4000 miles and I'm 2nd owner.
 
Regarding the “ factory original “ placement of the Commando lettering on side panels ( parallel to ground or top edge of panels) I agree that parallel to ground looks right and was likely what was wanted by the factory - however this was a dying industry and I can’t believe that they wouldn’t move product out the door because some new worker put a decal on wrong .
My 72 750 Combat roadster was all original when I acquired it and the Norton script on the tank was clearly placed a little higher with the “D “ lining than I have seen on others so proof positive that these things occurred. Not trying to start trouble or be argumentative here - just offering food for thought.
 
jaydee75 said:
Joe, you said your stripes were applied after the clear. If your bike has clear on it it is not original.
jaydee
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I think what Joe was referring to is clear lacquer on the Candy and not 'clearcoat' that, logically would be applied over the pinstripes (and decals?) as the pinstripes in his pics look to be on top of the paint surface.
 
L.A.B. said:
I think what Joe was referring to is clear lacquer on the Candy and not 'clearcoat' that, logically would be applied over the pinstripes (and decals?) as the pinstripes in his pics look to be on top of the paint surface.
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Agree

AFAIK, there was no clearcoat at that time. There was clear lacquer which was simply lacquer without pigment and (again AFAIK) that's what was used on the "candy" paint jobs.
 
Choosing not to continue the original/repaint debate, How many people (probably women) did the pinstriping? It almost looks like one person did them all.
 
joe czech said:
David -
sorry, don't understand the "open end of the 7" thing. all photographs show the pin strips close together. so, from what you're saying, my side cover is either non-original, or repaint, a replacement part, or ???.
original paint roadster side panels - need pics


here's a pic of the pin stripe where it comes together. from what i can tell, it was hand painted after the clear. my stripes are well worn most likely from years of cleaning, polishing, and waxing,

original paint roadster side panels - need pics


this has me puzzled, and you have injected more doubt in my bikes originality -- i have to assume the pin stripe and decale stickers were applied at some time after the paint process, and before side cover's assembly to the ftame. the factory would have to have some sort of alignment jig to orient the label to an imaginary horizontal line, unless the "commando" sticker was applied during final assembly, after the side covers were installed. i'm assuming the horizontal line is the axle to axle centerline.
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These stripes are correct. The “7” or boomerang is the shape of the stripe. A triangle with a missing side…the “open” part. The 850 decals deteriorate and your’s have probably been replaced which is why they are parallel to the top of the side cover instead of parallel to the ground.
 
These look to be steel. My disco ball has glassfiber. You got the tank? is it for saleoriginal paint roadster side panels - need pics
 
Yes, they are steel. Been collecting them as they come up.
I have a few sets. No tank.

However, I did buy the 'Disco Ball' set from Marsh..
 
Metalflake finishes definitely had a (rather thin) clear topcoat, and from recollection of stripping a candy red sidepanel I don't believe it was clear coated; Candy tends to be high gloss as applied. The plain colours definitely weren't; fibreglass sidepanels were just the gelcoat colour.
I think the maxim of 'whatever's the cheapest way to guarantee a 12 month finish' applied.
 
Gene's pictures...

original paint roadster side panels - need pics
original paint roadster side panels - need pics


Show the same side cover being at different angles. The blue one seems to be parallel with the ground, while the red one "points upward". As the right side panel covers the oil tank, I wonder what's different between these machines? Or are the side panels shaped differently?
 
maylar said:
Gene's pictures...

original paint roadster side panels - need pics
original paint roadster side panels - need pics


Show the same side cover being at different angles. The blue one seems to be parallel with the ground, while the red one "points upward". As the right side panel covers the oil tank, I wonder what's different between these machines? Or are the side panels shaped differently?
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Notice that the blue one, on the right side is parallel to the frame tube and the red one is not. This implies that the oil tank is mounted differently or the spacers under the top edge of the cover are different lengths.
 
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