Painting is an area that I elected not to tackle. The finish
of a vehicle makes or breaks its value. Not only do I have limited skills in
this area I am not interested in investing the time and money necessary to be successful in it. I enjoy the mechanical aspects of
restoration and will stick to that. Precision Motorcycle Painting in South Bend
Indiana advertises with the International Norton Owners Association which I
have been a member of since 1989. I have had good luck using sources that work
with my fellow Norton club members and thought I would give them a try. The
work on their web page looked good too.
The Hornet was purchased from a family of very successful
demolition derby car drivers. They won events all over the mid west and
dominated our local fair 18 out of the 20 years in which they participated in
it. The reason this is brought up is that the bike must have been in the barn
where they sprayed their cars. It had a tint of many colors with gold, green
and blue being the most prevalent. I
cleaned all of the oil off of the painted parts and sandblasted those that
needed fixing. Most parts were still painted when taken to Precision Motorcycle
Painting. They sandblasted, primed, and then sprayed all parts with three coats of paint. Overall I am very
pleased with the paint work. It looks as good as or better than new. The Hornet
has matching numbers and the frame number is visible through the paint. One of
the reasons I elected not to powder coat the bike was that I did not want to
cover up the number as I figured this would reduce the final value of the
bike. People who have gone the powder coating rout also told me it is difficult
to touch up. They also said not to go the powder coating rout if you are after an authentic restoration. Painted parts are on the shelf and ready for
reassembly this fall.
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