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Magneto Drive Case. Colour Puzzle

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  • Magneto Drive Case. Colour Puzzle

    I was cleaning up a couple of magneto drive cases this afternoon, freeing and removing the frozen intermediate gears and the oil pump drive worms, and putting the cases through a degreasing bath, One of these cases was the 17/18 to early 22 type, with the early style of worm gear in place and drilled for the cast aluminium cover/oiler fixing screws. As I scrubbed off the hard mix of oil and road dirt on the back, the near-black colour of what looked like old Brewster Green paint started to appear. I deduced, therefore, that the cover must be off an early 1922 machine, before the pressed steel cover, with the different pattern of holes for the fixing screws, became standard later in the production run,

    But as I kept scrubbing, patches of old olive paint appeared underneath the dark green, The case had originally been olive. and was subsequently overpainted.

    P1030616 (2).JPG

    The aggressive cleaning solvents I was using have turned the green paint a bluish colour but, when first revealed, the colour was more like the dark patches at the top, and the same as the remnants of Brewster Green I've seen on other castings. It's always possible that, at some stage of the motorcycle's life, an owner had it repainted. But I wonder if the factory had plenty of the old type magneto cases in olive paint in stock and, after an over-paint, used them up on the early 1922 motorcycles which were enamelled in Brewster Green,

    It's all speculative and I suppose it doesn't matter much. But I'm intrigued by these small mysteries about the history of our old machines which crop up from time to time. Perhaps I should just get out more often!




  • #2
    It could be either. I have a number of NOS parts that were originally painted the gray color used until very early 1917 and then repainted at the factory with the new olive green color.
    Mark Masa
    Mark Masa
    www.linkcycles.com

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    • #3
      Thanks for sharing that picture, Mike. Along the lines as Mark was saying, I have a 1916 left side J tank that is vintage Olive with the H-D decal, but gray on the back. I've always thought Brewster Green was one of H-Ds best colors. Again, nice picture.
      Eric Smith
      AMCA #886

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      • #4
        Thank you both for the information and comments. There's always something to learn. I wonder what the AMCA judging team might say if someone fronted with an original paint, Brewster Green, 1922 motorcycle with patches of olive paint on the magneto/generator drive case. That can't be correct?

        Modern interpretations of both the early (Renault?) pale grey and the short-lived Brewster Green seem to vary a lot, at least in photos of restored machines I've seen. I very much like the grey but it is sometimes interpreted as almost a pale blue shade. Years ago I read in an article about the development of automotive paint that traditional Brewster Green was principally black enamel with yellow pigments added. Over time both sunlight and chemical reactions could degrade the yellow and the finish became blacker in appearance. Black and white photos of new machines in Brewster Green certainly show it as a dark shade, but just how dark seems to be open to interpretation.

        I suppose we should remember that 100 years ago paint was mixed in bulk lots: so many pounds of white lead, so many pounds of lamp black' so many gallons of mineral spirits; so many gallons of driers; etc And at every stage there was scope for variation in batches, from the quality of the chemicals to the care with which they were mixed. So perhaps we can't always be too pedantic about what is "correct".

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        • #5
          I agree, Mike. Color perception is such a subjective human sense. We generally agree that red is red, and yellow is yellow but opinions about mixtures in between, or shades, and hues is sure to start an argument. In regards to old motorcycle colors, we have to deal with decades of age, sun exposure, pollution and ultimately, someone else's opinion of what color is correct
          Eric Smith
          AMCA #886

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