about 1917 harley paint + stripping + color

[E Castells]

hello,

I would like to know if somebody can help me. I am restoring a 1917 Harley, and it is in this moment ready to start with the stripping work.

I don´t know which size must have the stripping lines. I have read that the bike must be painted in olive, and the petrol tank + tool box + mudguards must be striped in gold + coach green + silver + coach green + gold. In the web site www.harley-memories.com/restorer.htm the wide of them must be 1 mm + 5 mm + 1 mm + 5 mm + 1 mm, but probably this information is wrong as after painting the mudguard ribs, it looks very narrow.
In the web site of my spanish friends and harley restorers www.oldharleyrestoration.com, you can see that they used wider stripes. They told me that the correct must be 2.54 mm (0.1") + 8.25 mm (0.325") + 1.27 mm (0.05") + 8.25 mm (0.325") + 2.54 mm (0.1") = 21.59 mm (= 0.85") for. Another friend sent me a that it must be 1.25 mm to 1.5 mm + 6.7 mm + 0.75 mm + 6.7 mm + 1.5 mm. Which are the correct strip wide for my model?

Another question is about the petrol tank: the upper flange of the petrol tank, where it is drilled for the nuts to fix the tank to the frame, must be painted with the same stripes or must be it painted in olive like most of the petrol tank? i have seen an original petrol tank that was for sale time ago in ebay, and the flange was painted in a dark paint.

The last question is about the fork: must be it stripped like the 1916 model or not? which stripe color? gold? silver? coach green?

do you have some pictures about this model that you could send me? thank you a lot for your help. my email is e_castells@yahoo.es

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Enrique Castells from Spain

[Eric]

Hello Enrique. Fo my web site harley-memories.com I took the dimensions of an original machine.Maybe has it been repainted at the time. Eric

[Tommo]

I've put this page from the October 1st 1919 published HD Accessories catalogue up once before.
If you read it you will find it gives all the details you require.
The section on brushes gives you the widths of the lines.

[exeric]

Thanks for that Peter. I was wondering; at the bottom of the page it mentions aluminum bronze, and gold bronze per package. I've heard that gold and silver striping was done by striping a white line and then dusting it while still wet with silver or gold powder. Is this true?

[Tommo]

That's how I understand it was done.
An old family friend and signwriter, now long deceased, who did a lot of that type of work in this area used that method to do gold lines.

[exeric]

Thanks Peter; good to hear that confirmed.

[E Castells]

orig 1.jpghdarchives01.jpgthank you a lot for the page of the catalogue, Peter, it is great and helps me a lot.
but it is not clear at all for me. i was trying to know the wide of the stripe made done withe a nº2 and nº4 sword striper. i have found a web site of a brush seller, www.mackbrush.com/original2.htm. do you know the correct wide that this kind of sword striper can do?
about the quill brush, i suposse that after painting in olive the tanks, with the help of a metal tube brush must be painted the broad stripe, about 3/4" (19 mm) wide. after painting it, with the sword brush nº2 must be painted the center stripe in aluminium, and with the nº4 the border stripes in gold. the total wide is 3/4" or the total wide is 3/4" + the wide of the 2 border gold stripes, done with the nº4 sword striper brush?
the centrel rib of the petrol tank, in the upper side, must be broad painted too, as attached picture? and the fork, must be paint with the striper brush in gold or green, as attached picture?
about the broad line, in 1917 the correct color was pullman coach green or brewster green?
i would appreciate a lot any help
Enrique

[E Castells]

Hello Enrique. Fo my web site harley-memories.com I took the dimensions of an original machine.Maybe has it been repainted at the time. Eric

don´t worry Eric, perhaps it was repainted or perhaps the size changes during the years...