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Re: How to - Painting a WM20 ??

I painted my G3L fully assembled over a black powder coat finish that the PO had applied! With a brush. I have had lots of compliments on the finish since it has weathered a bit and received mud and sand and grease/oil. It looks authentic and actually used. I have yet to see any photos of DR bikes in WW2 that did not look like they had been dragged through several hedges backwards.....apart from the factory reference photos. Depends what you want? A fictional representation or what they REALLY looked like....IMHO. :innocent:

Re: How to - Painting a WM20 ??

I'll stick with the 'fictional representation'...Patina to be 'applied' later from clocking up the miles....

The fact is that REALLY they started off new and got worn out over time, they didn't start off worn out.......Ian

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

Re: How to - Painting a WM20 ??

"Worn out"....no. In-service, bikes got dirty and got washed down with oil and petrol and were refurbished regularly with a paint pot and a yard brush. They looked "new" in between the supply depot and delivery to the service unit. Even "new" I doubt the finish vaguely resembled that achieved by the rivet counter brigade...IMHO.:relaxed:

Re: How to - Painting a WM20 ??

Let me add, that there IS a point to my (somewhat) tongue in cheek remarks about painting in that many folk really do not have the skills or resources to achieve a high level of finish which might seem rather discouraging. However, unless you are really ham fisted, and the bike is basically "right", it is achievable to have it presented as a very accurate "in service" machine - not worn out - but the way nearly all fully serviceable bikes would have looked like in WW2.

Re: How to - Painting a WM20 ??

'Worn out'...Perhaps a rather lax use of English...To be more specific, when the bikes were manufactured they weren't brush painted and obviously arrived at depots in ex factory, new condition...That finish obviously deteriorated over time and use and became 'worn out' at which point the bikes were refinished to a specification largely dependent on circumstance it seems...

An 'ex factory' finish is just as valid historically as an 'in service' finish (which itself varies) as at various times the bikes were indeed in both conditions.. Frankly it's a ridiculous idea that an 'in service' finish is somehow intrinsically a more credible specification....

I'd be the first to admit that my restored bikes exceed the specifications in some respects that they had when new....That's because I've spent about 50 years trying to build the best bikes I can, though not necessarily the most historically accurate and I have the luxury of expending more time on it than BSA did....However, I've used my rebuilt M20 extensively in all conditions and have had to restore it more than once over the 40 years I've owned it......

During that process it has transitioned from 'over restored' through 'well used' to 'needing extensive restoration work to prevent further deterioration'....I guess somewhere along the way it would have had an 'acceptable' look in the eyes of some observers....Maybe at every stage in fact if everyones view is taken into account...

If you like them hand painted that's fine...My idea of a well restored bike is different to that though and I don't think there is any reason to suppose that hand painted is the most 'correct' finish, it's just one of a few possibilities...Ian




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

Re: How to - Painting a WM20 ??

Just about said it all on here .Get a compressor fro somewhere like tool station you will always use it you will get a good spay gun for thirty pounds . Get an old piece of tin or something to practice on but be patient and build the coats up slowly .For paint just go to jeeparts.

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