Dear All,
A minor disaster occured this weekend - my lovely stencilling was ruined due to a slight petrol spillage. I used Acrylic paint not realising it was so easily dissolved by petrol.
I will now have to do it all over again so the big question is:

What paint do I use and where do I get it?

(Any westcountry boys/girls out there can let me know a place to go pick it up if possible please)
Yours in frustration
Kimble

I don't know about anyone else but I find contemporary 'petrol' attacks most paints. If no-one else comes up with a definitive solution it may be worth testing some traditional 'enamel' paint on a piece of scrap metal to see if that withstands it. I am thinking on the lines of Humbrol enamels,only a small outlay for the tiny pots and more than enough to do both sides. I used it on mine but I have not 'tested' it with a spill yet :-) It might be worth entering the 'canvas circle/ring' club?

email (option): cruiserchooser@hotmail.co.uk

I always use a rattle can of standard 'Petrol Proof' lacquer as a finishing touch. It's available from most high street motor factors. A few very dusty coats over the vulnerable areas will help stop any disasters, but if you put it on too heavily, it will leave you with a nasty gloss finish. It's still not completely petrol resistant, no matter what the makers say, so you have to wipe any spillages off, but at least it gives you half a fighting chance of protecting your stencilling.

Clearcoat lacquer is the only way to go for complete petrol resistance...It is available in gloss, satin and matt finishes. Every new vehicle is sprayed with the stuff..Rattle cans never live up to expectations in my experience and generally compare poorly to a proper 'sprayed' finish..(unless you're a graffiti artist).Ian

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

I never have any trouble with rattle cans Ian, but perhaps that's my miss-spent youth?

I find stuff I have had done by my sign-writer with his proper paint is not effected by petrol. If I am spraying my own stencils, I buy 'Pasticote' rattle cans in mat white from B&Q........But I try to avoid petrol spills if I can. So far I have got away with quickly wiping any spill away immediately. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Thanks chaps,
I simply wiped off the remaining stencilling last night with a petrol soaked rag after about 30 seconds of pre-soaking the stencils, far too easy so I would advise NEVER using acrylic paint again.
It's all very well to talk about "rattle cans" but what is the chemical base of the paint? cellulose, acrylic, enamel etc? The matt lacquer idea is interesting - I may use that as back up!
I also spoke to Dave at Axholme who gave me what seems to be some BRILLIANT advice of using a mini foam paint roller; easy, controllable application of any sort of paint with minimal masking and no overspray issues.
I'm going to do it that way but I just need to get to the bottom of the petrol resistance issue, time for some good old fashioned research... watch this space...
K

I use Smoothrite white paint, made by Hammerite. It is petrol resistant and available in a spray can or a tin of paint. I brushed it on through the stencil as I wanted it to look hand painted but a roller is a good idea.
I've used the Smoothrite gloss black on lots of bike parts, even frames. You don't need a primer and the finish it excellent. If they did a matt green I would have used it on the 16H

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

You can get an Ethanol proof varnish from model aircraft shops as well...Model aircaft run on Methanol. Paint over the numbers so the varnish just comes over the outside edge to seal them...Ian

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

I bought some black Hammerite the other day and it was rubbish, may as well have been kids water paint! It just didn't seem to cover very well and took three coats where it should have taken just one. Have the makers done something to it? Nothing seems to work as well as it used to?

Bill, I've worked in automotive & industrial coatings (oil rigs & off shore generators) so I use industrial 2 packs as I'm familiar with them ..... Hammerite on the other hand is heavily aimed at the DIY market so its never been a great product but it should have been better than that, as mentioned, it can give good visual results & goes on without complicated equipment .
...BUT ... there is a scam that occurs in big DIY stores. less scrupulous people will pay £10 or £20 for a tin of paint, carefully open it & decant half of it or enough for the job, top the can back up with thinner/white spirit & return the tin "unopened" for a refund, which staff will happily do.
I would recommend returning it & maybe compare it with another ... obviously this is assuming that you stirred it enough in the first place (joke) : D

That's exactly what this paint was like, it was as if it was half strength and had been 'watered down'. No matter how much I stirred it, I couldn't get it to go on any better. I think I will take your advice and see what the retail has to say about it.

Hmm - that Hammerite scam sounds annoying Cycle Fred. I always used to find hammerite was good thick "gloop". I'll watch out for that!
I've just done some good research and found the answer to petrol resistant paint; as Cycle Fred suggests the answer is 2 pack BUT I initially rang a respected industrial paint suppliers to be told that there is no way you can roll 2 pack on as it sets too quickly. This turned out to be hogwash! I have just been to Taunton Auto Colours and collected 3 small tins of 2 pack paint complete with a "medium" hardener, surface preparatio solvent and roller kit. Them in the know often roll on 2 pack - it just depends on the type of hardener you use (and ambient temperature to an extent).
So, this weekend I will do my prep, carefully roll on my 2 pack paint and see how she looks... and if it's any good I'll pop a piccy up on the forum.

I think the "magic ingredient" in Hammerite has gone ?
There used to be stringent rules around applying the second coat; which are no longer there.

I too found the latest can to not be up to much.

email (option): madoc500@hotmail.com

I'm very surprised to hear the comments about Hammerite, are you talking about the Smooth straight to metal? It was called Smoothrite. I've used loads of cans of black without any problem and the tin of white I used for my tank number I even mixed on a palet with thinners on the brush to make it brushable as it was so thick. I took the stencil off before it completely dried and it's been petrol resistant. It even says you can thin it down to spray it.

http://www.hammerite.co.uk/guide/direct_to_rust_metal_paint_smooth_finish.jsp

I've just looked on the Hammerite tech sheet and it says "Resists splashing by dilute acids/alkalis (10% max), petrol, diesel and all common building materials when fully cured".

http://www.alvinkeyclamp.co.uk/datafiles/Hammerite_Metal_Paint_Max_2_2006.pdf

2 pack will do the job just fine though

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

Each to their own, I know, but my suggestion is to reclaim your lives and stop getting in a knot about the cosmetics of WD paint finishes. IMHO, a "proper" WD motorcycle looks far better, much more interesting and more authentic when in "in service" state. Not ratty - just looking well used. So while I don't advocate splashing petrol over the bike to achieve patina, I suggest that smears and smudges are part of life and why worry? If it gets too bad, then just re-do the numbers or insignia - that's what would have been done in service life. I really do admire the superb museum quality finish some people achieve on their WD bikes - beyond my skills and patience, but if the bikes ever had that standard as released from the factory (I doubt!) then they sure as heck did not look like that in Army use! If you want to preserve a pristine finish, then either open a museum or indulge in a lifetime of work and worry. My perspective only - no insults intended!

I think you can take the used look a bit too far, my M20 was made late in 1942 and was less than 3 years old when the war finished, so I feel it has a bit too much patina at the moment and will be getting a new coat of paint very soon.

But as you say each to their own.

Rob

email (option): robmiller11@yahoo.co.uk

I agree that these bikes don't want to look too perfect, they should be used and looked after, but not wrapped in cotton wool. However, there's a world of difference between a nice bit of gentle patina and all the paint stripped off one side of the tank if you don't get a cloth to the spillage quickly enough?

Absolutely Bill. We're trying (presumably ?) to create a period impression here and not only was 1940s paint pretty impervious to the worst effects of solvents, 'Pool' petrol had hardly any in it.

I badged mine up using Humbrol modelling enamels (some of which had been in my parents' loft for thirty years !) and the markings are more resistant to fuel than the bloody expensive iso-free 2-pack that the bike is painted in. I wish that I'd painted the whole thing in Humbrol now...How many tins though ?

email (option): 79x100@gmail.com