Painting over decal

[1970 XLCH]

I am getting ready to paint my '34 Harley VLD ( olive green & black ) . Does anyone have any tips on clearing over the " flying diamond " decal ? Do the judges take off points for clearing over the decal ? Is there any brand of paint that is better than the others ? Is basecoat clearcoat better than single stage ? Thank you for your help .

[exeric]

I only use single stage enamel, with a hardener on vintage bikes because it can be touched up, and it is durable, and fluid resistant. Original paint on early motorcycles was put on very thin and I believe that was possible because the paint of that time had a very high pigment content. I believe you can still find high end paints like that, but they are expensive. Also, applying the paint as thinly as H-D did could take quite a bit of experimentation, and technique. In regards to decals; H-D, and everyone else used a copal varnish to seal the decals and it was generally hand brushed on. It should also be mentioned that decals of that time were very different than what is available today, meaning they were remarkably thin, applied much differently than modern waterslide decals, and the printing quality was beyond anything available today. Modern decals still look very good, and clear coating permits them to resist liquids, and wear, but they are going to be different than originals. You have to be very careful with clear coating decals. I use 2, or 3 very light clear coats on the decal and make sure the clear is dry between coats before one final heavy coat. You'll have to rub out the orange peel of the clear coat so don't worry trying to achieve a smooth clear finish.