+1 on the POR. It sticks like shit to a blanket as long as you follow the instructions to the letter. Not UV stable so the best thing to do is spray the first coat of color over it before the POR sets - usually when it is still a bit tacky. Finish with a matt 2-pac clear and it should outlast you.

They sell a sample kit with the cleaner and primer. Its enough to do a complete frame and associated bits. Its also self-leveling so it can be brushed on but the finish is as good as spray.

email (option): cas.vanderwoude@gmail.com

"modern petrol can rapidly bugger up your careful paint Job"

Too true

Got any recommendations for laquer??

Cheers

Pete

POR15 does a nice Job as well and seems to stick to the metal very well as long as you prepare it carefully. And it seems to be petrol resistent as well

Particularly easy to get it "streak-free" if you use the foam brushes

Thank you all... It never ceases to amaze me the pool of helpful information and experience you all have. Thank you for taking the time to share.

Cheers,
Anthony

email (option): BagnetteAW@me.com

Foam brushes are brilliant - i painted a 28ft yacht hull with some and everyone thought i had sprayed it !!!

Don't buy the 5 for a pound cheapies though - look for the good ones with a wooden handle like the pix - usually available from a ships chandler or something

I think the other important thing to bear in mind is that really you should paint the thing the way you want to as it is quite difficult to paint it any way that would not replicate a WD motorcycle during WW2........... from immaculate finish to painted with a yard brush including tyres and saddle! Shades of green, and poo brown......whatever. Nicks, dints, oil stains, or none of the foregoing. iMHO the crappier it is, the better it looks, but its up to you. You choose.

I prefer painting nowadays.
The trouble with powder coating is you cant repair it when its damaged.
With paint you can.
Thats very important for me.

Another thing is they heat parts up for powder coating, dont they ?
What does that mean for oil tanks, gastanks and so on ?
Can soldered parts come loose ??

Yes.
The last genuine WM20 I saw at a military surplus auction looke like it had been painted using a floor mop
The AIF insignia on one side of the tank had been redone by overbrushing a flat stencil so there were run outs every where that had been picked off when almost dry.
Every inch of the bike was painted either green or silver frost, including all of the castings . Wheels had been painted complet so there were paint runs down spokes and onto the rimes. The only bit without paint on it was the chain.

Five year latter I saw the same bike , owner in full kit with a long poster detailing the active military history of the bike "as exhibited", unaltered in original military condition.

However the entire bike had been given a full bare metal respray so was now a dead smooth perfect finish. insignias had been sign painted by a professional so had perfect lines over the curves and all of the previously painted alloy parts had blasted clean and actually polished shinny. The one exception was the tyres which had been cleaned, cracks filled with tyre wax and then polished to a high shile.
Yes they were still the tyres that were in it when bought because you could not get the Uniroyal Block tread tyres any more.

Depending how you look at things, this bike was a lot more "fake" than the RAF one in the previous thread.

So getting back on topic the rougher the finish the more authentic the appearence of your bike.
While they were sprayed or dipped at the factory, they were brushed in use so unless you want to leave the bike with no other markings than the original C number then picture perfect spraying should not be an option.

email (option): bsansw1@tpg.com.au

There is some merit in the 'rough finish' argument for an in service bike that has had the ongoing 'tart up' treatment...

Though I have it first hand from an ex REME signwriter that the bikes were frequently RESPRAYED during the course of a base workshop full overhaul...

Also, if you wish to show the bike in an ex factory finish, the way it was when it was built, then a brushed finish won't do it...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

I painted my Vespa with powdercoat. Mainly because I got an extremely good deal. Tried to knack out as many dents as possible but the result was not perfect. However I wasn't going for prefect, due to budget restrictions.

This is of course waaay off from the ideals of a WD bike with quite different esthetics, but here it is https://www.flickr.com/photos/bohuslan/albums/72157626352586056
And here are my M21 wheels powder coated at the same firm as my Vespa https://www.flickr.com/photos/bohuslan/albums/72157631976176428 (scroll down a bit)

What I can tell you is:
It can be quite shiny, better than I had ever hoped for.
If you want a matte finish just ask them not to put the layer of clear coat on. Looks quite good, a friend did that on his Harley.
It is rather hard and it doesn't scratch easily (but possible if you really put some effort into it )
It is very sensitive to petrol, on a Vespa the filler hole is underneath the saddle fortunately. I perhaps wouldn't use it on a tank.
It is, as stated, not possible to repair.
It builds quite thick.

My next build will probably get a powder coat for the frame.

While we are on the subject of paint & petrol. Does anyone have a recommendation for how to keep petrol from sloshing out of the filler cap? I have tried replacing the gasket with a thicker material but it still leaks. I`m sure someone must have a fix for this.

Rick, I commiserate with you on that one! My WDG3L has always been incontinent when traversing rough ground with anything more than a quarter full tank and it only took a day at the War and Peace show to create mayhem on the freshly sprayed tank with paint bubbling up around the filler neck. Instant patina! The pie crust cap has a seal/gasket of sorts, but pretty ineffectual.....at least mine is. Maybe a bit of a side-ways solution, but I had thought of installing a block of ethanol resistant foam in the tank to stop fuel sloshing about.......after all, they stick this in racing car fuel tanks for the same reason, although I think to assist stability rather than avoiding leaks!

oh yes,things can unsolder - i had a set of LE Velo forks (for a bantam racer) come unsoldered.

One big problem is old grease flowing out of holes and joints, screwing he paintwork up.

My M 20 had been in storage for 11 years when I picked it up.
The original cork gasket was quite hard & dry but a slow simmer brought it back to its former soft glory.
Unfortunatly the moren mix of volatile organic solvents called "fuel" killed it stone dead in less the 3 months. So I replaced it with a NOS gasket and it lasted nearly a year.
The next obvious try was Buytul ( petrol proof ) rubber, but what thickness.
I tried 1/16" , 1/8" & 3/16".
The 3/16 worked best and allowed the sort of one way breather to work, for about 3 years then it went to jelly in a week ( heaven only knows what was in that batch of "fuel" ) so it got replaced with some more 3/16 buytul rubber.
Thia onw lasted less than 1 year & I eas pissed big time.
So Rex to the rescue with some 75% teflon foam which works like a charm so far for the last 16 years.
The stuff is teflon foam rolled out into sheets and the 75% is the density.
It is getting a little compacted now & I have to push down quite hard when locking the fuel cap to get it to seal now days.
Apparently these were off cuts from a company that made gaskets for chemical processing plants.

email (option): bsansw1@tpg.com.au

Best 'rubber' for petrol/hydrocarbon resistance is NITRILE sheeting.

Most others will swell and/or turn to jelly

Gasket cork is available but i'm not certain about using it on something like petrol cap.

Is it leaking from the cap/tank joint - or a breather hole ?

I have been a powder coat enthusiast for about 20 years. There's really no comparison for motorbike parts. I started with an Eastwood kit (eastwood.com) and a redundant electric cooker and apply powder coat at home. A blast cabinet is essential- the powder binds best to a sand-blast finish. My WM20 is done in NATO green matte.

I must address some of the misconceptions noted in this thread:

Fill with lead-free body solder. Melting point is well above the powder curing temp of 400deg F (204 C). Small defects can be filled with Lab Metal.

Scrapes and chips are repaired by dissolving some of the powder in MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) and applying with a brush.

Cover threads with silicone plugs or special high-temp masking tape (see Eastwood).

Autobody paint stripper removes cured powder for a re-do.

Advantages include low cost for DIY application, safety and minimal odor, extreme durability, and petrol resistance.

Disadvantages: difficult to get uniform finish on large areas, like an auto bonnet. Frames, mudguards etc require a larger oven, or IR lamp curing. There are plans online for construction of larger ovens, or use a commercial applicator for the frames (and be prepared to pay dearly!)

Jeff

email (option): jjbandoo@aol.com

Jeff, who is the supplier for the NATO green matte powder? Any reason this powder cannot be supplied to your local favorite powder coater to take advantage of their oven?

email (option): iron_ariel@yahoo.ca

But of course NATO Green is a post war colour and would not have been used on our bikes. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Thank you for the responses all. I will try NITRILE sheeting looks like the most common usage is for commercial roofing .Any suggestions as to thickness?
Tevor, what is Rex? Is it short for Rexine? I can only find this for use for upholstery.

Thanks all,
R

Thank you for the responses all. I will try NITRILE sheeting looks like the most common usage is for commercial roofing .Any suggestions as to thickness?
Tevor, what is Rex? Is it short for Rexine? I can only find this for use for upholstery.

Thanks all,
R

1. Wish I had known...
2. Assuming you got some extra powder (purple in my case) from the paint shop, and also I am not quite sure how this will look if you have the layer of clear coat (which maybe you don't)?

No it was REX as in Rex Bunn with some left overs products from the developement of the Bunn Breather.
OTOH I do have some part rolls of Rexine that I retreived from the skip bins at Leyland in the 90's when it got banned.
Was always going to use it to bake some seat coves but never go around to it.
I use Nitrie gloves all day when working on the mowers and it does not appear "petrol proof" in any way shape or form.
Then the gloves are cheap & I suspec they packed in as much latex as possible.
But they do sell up and go mushy after 10 minues or so dipped in fuel.
Takes deisel ( parts washer ) nearly 1/2 hour to make them swell .

email (option): bsansw1@tpg.com.au

who is the supplier for the NATO green matte powder? Any reason this powder cannot be supplied to your local favorite powder coater to take advantage of their oven?

Hi Wade

Ottawa powder coat in Ottawa have NATO green

Cheers Steven in ottawa

email (option): goodbell@ripnet.com

Roofing ?
We used it extensively in pharma and chemical industries where aggressive solvent usage is common.

Its slightly harder than Butyl, etc, so perhaps thicker is better.