Sidecar paint and primer

[JSB55]

QUESTION: Did HD ever use blue as a primer?

DETAILS: 1966 HD sidecar, always garage kept or in storage, so in really nice condition and has a very clear 66 XXXXXX number on the frame.

It's a semi-gloss Burgundy color, which I suspect it is probably an "aged" version of Sparkling Burgundy (a 1966 color). I noticed a few scars in the paint, however, which reveal a blue tone very much like a subdued Hi Fi Blue (robins egg blue?, sky blue?) under the Burgundy on the exterior. There is also some of the same blue visible under the chipped black on the Support Rod that attaches to the leaf springs and serves as an anchor point for the back of the sidecar body.

There is red overspray on the "spiders" and nuts that secure the windshield, which I assumed was because somebody carelessly touched up the interior paint. Now that I've found the blue, however, I am inclined to think it's a repaint; more than once, perhaps, since Blue wasn't a 1966 color. On the other hand, my el cheapo Amazon paint depth gauge indicates most of the body paint is quite thin ... .10 mm or less, to be exact.

Did HD sometimes use Blue, or any other color on hand, as a primer coat? OR ???

Any info appreciated, even from the Peanut Gallery ...

John

[exeric]

Just my opinion; I believe custom car painters have been tinting their primer for years, but that didn't become an industry option for many years. Not justifiable for manufacturing production, and hard to add the extra cost to a customer for a paint & body shop. H-D did high quality paint jobs from the factory and they used a 'Bonderizing' process in place of primer on production products. It's my understanding that H-D did not do custom paint work, or unusual chrome plating on new motorcycles (except police, fleet orders) and referred that to the dealer where the request came from. Every town has a P&B shop and that may explain the anomalies on your sidecar.