Underside Fender Paint

[40 Nuck]

Anyone know if there was a standard fender undercoat for the underside of the harley fenders? Flat black? Primer beneath the same as top surfaces? I guess is someone knew the process at the factory ... e.g., prime the entire fender, paint the underside, then apply body color paint to the "show" surfaces? If that's the case, there may have been some overspray? Thanks.

[40 Nuck]

Noticed that a couple of purported original paint fenders on ebay seemed to have the same color underneath fenders (wheel-well) as the outside. The fenders did, in fact, look original, and had a 1938 paint scheme/color combination. Can anyone verify? Thanks.

[46WL]

Their sheetmetal was parkerized before painting. No primer. The underside is also painted, but it's more of an overspray (so it's not as thick of paint). I suppose it depends on the painter.

[silentgreyfello]

My understanding is that the knuckles and pans were primed first with reddish brown primer (top/bottom) and then painted, even under the fenders. I have a buddy that has two orig paint bikes that I will check out this weekend.

[Carl Olsen]

The fenders did not have primer and were indeed parkerized, we spray the undersides of the fenders with undercoating and then spray body color over the whole fender, top and bottom. This prevents those little star cracks in the tops of the fender and helps prevent small dents. Everyone who knows us will tell you that we ride them, and not always on paved roads. I hope this helps you out.
Carl

[40 Nuck]

Thanks everyone for the info. It seems I have seen purported original paint bikes with the red-brown primer (tanks only, maybe ??? were they handled differently ?), and have also heard of the parkerized-only approach. Was there possibly a change in the way this was done over the years? Maybe parkerized around the war period? By the way, my bike is a 1940 EL. Carl, thanks for your info. I assume that the undercoating you apply is for riding, and you are not suggesting that this matches the original factory process ... is that right? Although, it may be a good way to go ... I would like to show my bike some, but will also be putting a lot of miles on it.

[silentgreyfello]

Carl, You mention that the fenders were parkerized... Were the tanks as well? I looked at a friend's orig paint 38UL and it sure looks like reddish-brown primer under the tanks... the chips in the fenders look darker.

[bmh]

I had thought the stuff was parkerized then painted also. Untill at Oley last week, someone pointed out to me spots where the black layer was worn through also, wich revealed a rusty brown primer at the very bottom. This was shown to me on sveral bikes, spaning the late 40's to the late 50's. So I wonder exactly what the black layer is?
Brian

[Chris Haynes]

I have a set of NOS 1941-1946 Knuck tanks. They were Parkerized then Red Oxide primered. I am sure painted tanks received the same treatment. Frames were also parkerized, at least in the '50's and early '60's.

[Chris Haynes]

As for the fender underside. This photo tell it all.