I would like to repaint my WDM20 the correct colour. It seems it should be either SCC No.2 Brown or KG No.3 . An earlier post said the colour change was about June 1942. I cant find a contract tag on the bike. The frame number is 72275. This I think points to KG No3. Any thought / suggestions ?
WM20 72275 was one of the earlier machines under contract C13290 but the contract was originally to have been for WB30s and was subject to delays. The first deliveries seem to have taken place during November 1942.
This would seem to place the bike firmly in the SCC No.2 Brown period.
Hi Rik,
Thanks for that information. I thought it was likely to be Brown. Cleaning off the current paint which is green I can only find red primer under. It looks quite thin and i guess it was repainted by REME with the BAOR.
I don't think that we should underestimate the use of caustic hot-dip tanks in those pre Health and safety days, by both REME and civilian workshops. If it's ex-BAOR then they'd happily have flushed the tanks into the Rhine afterwards. It's not uncommon to find no traces of original finish. Service Brown was the predominant colour on British and Commonwealth vehicles that went to France in June 1944.
Having stripped most parts now there appear to be only 3 layers of paint. Top matt finish mid green - thin coat- light green undercoat - then red oxide type primer. Certainly been stripped bare some time. No evidence of brown. Absolutely no rust anywhere. Oil tank had been lead filled at some time.
May be an odd question but if most nuts and bolts were painted rather than cadmium plated, when were they painted - after assembly by spray or paint brush or painted before assembly?
