Brush Paint Finish..?

[ctbrunt]

Hey Gang,

Ok, this'll sound odd but I'm more into the details of the motorcycle culture of the 1930s and 1940s than the just the parts/details. You know- doing things like they did, if I can. So I'm after the experiences of these men more than anything else.

One thing I've always thought epitomized the period was the do-it-yourself mentalilty- from the homebrew slant jobs to shed tuners. Well, we've all seen the images VLs re-painted and/or re-badge into newer looking jobs. And of course the Harley (or Indian) catalogs selling touch up paint, laquer, new emblems, etc catered to this mentality.

So, like the do-it-yourself (cash strapped guy of 1940-41), as I work on my "Schnucklehead" I'd enjoy painting the tanks and fenders by brush and wet sanding each coat both to save money as well as just to do it (think Ford). I don't have a paint booth or spraying set so spraying is out.

Has anyone tried this before? Could anyone give me a few pointers??

Thanks,
Clint

[Rubone]

ctbrunt,
One of the things that always surprises me reading vintage British bike publications is the number of people who use brush on finishes. Many of them have multiple coats which are then buffed to a finish closely resembling original sprayed finishes. I say go for it!
Robbie

[1776J]

Brush finishes.... here's what I know regarding history...

Auburn and even Cord did brushed finishes. However, the paint was applied with a VERY fine haired brush, the likes of a sable haired brush would have been used. Then in between EACH coat, there was a watery mixture they would hand buff the coat with with was pretty much a fine pumice in a liquid they would mix up and apply, rub and apply yet again. Of course as you can imagine this took a while, but there were more than one person doing it!

Other than that,.... yes, as I've mentioned to you in the past when we talked paint, right from the fellows that were there (in the 1930s and 40s) you used what you had on hand. rarely did anyone have an air compressor and a paint gun! if you were lucky enough to have a friend with that combination of tools, then, yes, you'd try your hand at spraying the finish. Buffing between each layer,..(hand rubbing). Though most fellows could only afford primer, or primer and a color coat. They did what they could as best they could with the materials at hand. This info comes from two fellows in California that were hot rodders in the mid to late 1930s. One is 92 and the other is 89 years old.

[Paps]

Horse hair is what they used. Expensive to buy those brushes now though. But absolutely !! It it can and has been done very professionally. I myself have put bruch paint on and no one could tell the difference between it compared to spray. It is all in the brush and the direction of the strokes. You got to stroke it in all directions to get a smooth finish. Very light strokes. Paps

[Paquette]

Paps is quite correct. Before I got into doing what I do now, I used to make custom made furniture and cabinets and the finishing techniques were quite simular,as a matter of fact H-D sold paint in cans to be brushed on. As Paps states, the quality of the brush makes all the difference.--Michael--6671

[exeric]

Early motorcycles were brush painted but they rubbed and buffed the final finish. I rub and buff all my paint jobs because I hate orange peel. You should have no trouble wet sanding brush strokes out and then buffing back a high shine.

[Paps]

I agree Eric. If brushed on correctly...rubbing it out is a breeze job. What ever you all do...don't use a cheapy brush ! You will find brush bristles in your tedious work, if you do. The brush technic involves very fine pattern strokes. Think of the brush strokes as cylinder type cross hatch honing. Better yet....along with the previous thought of brushing....think of emery grit sizes, Coarse then fine..... Paps

[Greg H]

ctbrunt,
One of the things that always surprises me reading vintage British bike publications is the number of people who use brush on finishes. Many of them have multiple coats which are then buffed to a finish closely resembling original sprayed finishes. I say go for it!
Robbie

Tekaloid (coach enamel) is/was the Brits favorite brushing paint, done correctly exellent results for the backyard restorer.
Makeup of it seems to have changed & strangley not available in US, interesting site all the same.

http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk/

[micmac]

I found this several years ago on an old Chevy Truck forum I frequent as besides Indians, 60-66 Chevy trucks are a habit...er hobby of mine. I showed this to my buddy Mike and he painted his 55 Pan using this method, came out great. Keep in mind theat Tremclad is Canuck for Rustoleum. This is offered in the spirit of the post, I know all of you guys have unlimited resources and would never need to take steps to save money!

http://rollyourcar.com/default.aspx

[1776J]

Horse hair is what they used. Expensive to buy those brushes now though. But absolutely !! It it can and has been done very professionally. I myself have put bruch paint on and no one could tell the difference between it compared to spray. It is all in the brush and the direction of the strokes. You got to stroke it in all directions to get a smooth finish. Very light strokes. Paps

Horse hair?
I'm surprised, as I know sable hair is the finest you can find to paint with, thus giving you the smallest amount of brush strokes left in the paint? Then again, horse hair was much more prevalent than sable!

Where can I find and read about the techniques used and the use of horse hair? I'd like to read more on that. Thanks.

[exeric]

I've used sable hair brushes and they are indeed the finest brushes on the planet. They are also the most expensive. The last '0' size sable brush I bought cost $15 and that had to be 10 years ago. I have a friend that is a professional water color artist and he has a larger sable hair brush that cost over $200 and they go up from there. If I was going to brush paint a bike I wouldn't buy a sable hair brush but I would look at synthetic fiber brushes at a good art supply store.

[T. Cotten]

NOT a PAINTER I!

So years ago I bought cheap Krylon in the can and slopped it on with a loosehair brush, and then wetsanded and buffed it to a delightful deep gloss. *Sigh*

But then the gasoline changed.

It seems that only isocyanate urethanes (akin to Imron) endure the injector cleaners and oxygenators that digest other finishes, and even some quality powdercoatings.
But they don't "rub out",

Or so I'm told.....?

....Cotten

[1776J]

NOT a PAINTER I!

So years ago I bought cheap Krylon in the can and slopped it on with a loosehair brush, and then wetsanded and buffed it to a delightful deep gloss. *Sigh*

But then the gasoline changed.

It seems that only isocyanate urethanes (akin to Imron) endure the injector cleaners and oxygenators that digest other finishes, and even some quality powdercoatings.
But they don't "rub out",

Or so I'm told.....?

....Cotten

Yep,... Thank you EPA!

Protecting the environment, hmmm, maybe.. OR,... safty-ing us to DEATH!

I think the latter.....

Maybe China's still producing good 'ol lead-based oil paints and lacquers these days? Though with the genius of the ethanol additive among others, that good 'ol lacquer would just dissolve away quicker than you could say, "what the??!!"

[exeric]

I've rubbed out Imron with excellent results. It's just a lot harder to sand and I'm coping. . coping. . . coping with the nerve damage.

[1776J]

Paint on frames and front ends, etc.....??

So fellas, let me ask you, what are you using to paint your front ends and frames?

I'm ready to throw something on the front end I have (as its blasted clean now) and I'm up in the air between using a PPG urethane primer and a single stage or base coat/clear coat finish on it, as well as the frame.

Part of me would like to go really traditional and do a lacquer job, but I'm on the fence about it.
I know using either the lacquer or enamel would certainly be "period correct". I do need to make sure its durable and I still need to re-rivet the fender tabs as one rivet is loose and there is a little bot of gunk trapped in the nooks and crannies behind the tabs as I used a pick to get out all I could, so I figured I'd just take out the rivets and thoroughly clean it,... hence I'd like to throw primer on it so I can still handle it and work on it before paint.

What do you fellas use?? What's your plan of attack?

Thanks guys