Hi all, well bike going well, oil lines now found and extremely close to first kick!,
In the mean time am going to paint on my c number on tank which is C5210946
Can any one tell me how was this number applied, was it stencilled and stipple brunch or just one stroke hand painted?
Many thanks from rainy reigate
Hi Simon. The numbers were originally painted by sign writers. Info here http://www.wdbsa.nl/BSA%20Tank%20Numbers.htm
But you can get stencils here and I can provide tips if you need them http://www.axholmesigns.co.uk/
There are sign writers about , look up fairground, AKA showman on face book, there's one called (coach painting and lining )there is someone not far from reigate who still teaches the art, carters steam fairs down guildford way, but wartime there was a bit of a rush on , and perfection was not adhered to, so Rons suggestion might be the best way to go,
email (option): warbikes at gee male dot com, think about this folks
The advantage with a low-tack vinyl stencil is that it can be applied with centres etc. intact and therefore avoids the 'broken' stencil look - It's worth bearing in mind that most contracts or periods had a typical number form and location - these were not randomly applied and clearly followed directives.
It is definitely worth looking at as many original photos as possible from your contract and discussing them with the stencil supplier to make sure number forms are correct.
Although there will always be a slight edge with stencils, if you're fairly bold and follow the form as a signwriter would have done, the effect is not too bad from two or three feet away.
For what it's worth I used chalk to mark out, line up and size the individual digits and then painted them in. I fixed the position of the 'BSA' decals in the same way, doing both operations together to get the whole thing about right.