Painting Hinged Fenders

[theknucklehead]

I'm painting a set of 1941 fenders this week. As Chris stated the fenders were painted by the "Factory" all together with the nuts, bolts, lockwashers all in place. To start with, I un-rivet the fender from the braces for several reasons. First I straighten the baces and relieve any and all stress from them. After being on a bike for 60+ years they get pushed around alot and put stress on the fender causing metal fatigue, cracks in the metal and that warped side skirt of the fender look. When the braces are straight they should lie inside of the fender without any pounding and should touch all of the mating surfaces evenly. Next, I metal finish the fender itself. The side skirts should be straight when viewed from the front and not look like they will take off if you go fast. If the hinge is not perfect take it off. Now is the time to fix it and make it perfect. If you don't it will be a pain in the butt as long as you own the bike. When the fenders are done I carefully bolt the braces on and tighten them up. Then I bolt them to the bike and fully tighten everything up and check for fit, (make sure you use EVERY bolt that holds the rear fender on). If they don't fit correctly I un-rivet the braces and get the fender straight on the bike, clamp the braces together and replace the rivets. This is very time consuming and on my '41 I put the rear fender on the bike and took it off 12 times before it was perfect. When everything fits it's time to rivet the fender to the braces. I have some friends that repair airplanes and I have them do the riveting.
It's time consuming but well worth the effort.

[bobdo]

Everyone,
I realize this is an old thread now, but I want to thank all who contributed their experience & advice. I finally had a full week of perfect Ohio weather, not humid or wet. So I set up a tent in the back yard & "got 'er done". After a wait & some rubbing I will have all my painting completed, finally. I ended up priming DP90, with Dupont Centari black on the undersides & overlap areas disassembled. Then assembled & painted the top side of the rear fender. I have black enamel on the overlaps & the hinge area opens fine. We will see how it holds up.
I appreciate the knowledge of what is factory correct, & this is not. My bike ended up being a somewhat overrestored rider. I'll happily live with that.
Have a great Autumn, sure is pretty & the bikes like it.
Bob

[Robert Luland]

There are a couple of thing I want to add here. I prime the fender and the brace before riveting it in. Just added protection from that nasty guy rust. You know, like a 70s jeep were they put the door hinges on and then dipped it. They didn’t last long. The other thing that I came across last week was just like Chris said about the rear fender being painted bolt and all. I pulled out and OEM NOS springer brake backing plate I got from Bill’s a couple of years ago. Just like the rear fender every thing was painted. Including the grease fittings. So if you get away with cad grease fittings. Technically it’s wrong. Bob L

[Chris Haynes]

In all fairness it should be noted that the first time a grease gun is attached to the zerks the paint is mostly gone.