The Knowledge - Velocette Owners Club

mix a fresh pot of paint after giving the pot a bit of a swill with thinners, & spraying that through, you can
then get on with a frame or mudguards. The only time I give the gun a full clean, is when I start on a
fresh gallon of paint, which is quite often months or even more than a year ! I can hear the howls of the
purists now ! The fact is, stoving enamel is very easy to use, & is very forgiving ! The big plus is, that
after time in the oven, in my case an old converted vertical convection clothes dryer, the parts can be
taken out, & as soon as cool enough to handle, you can start assembling things. Any dryer has to have
the fan removed, otherwise everything is covered in dust particles & I have insulated my dryer with
insulating 'batts' & a second outer sheet metal skin. If the dryer has open strung elements, removing
the fan allows the heat to concentrate, & the elements will sag & touch, so the element box has to be
enlarged, with the length of the sides at least doubled, with a few necessary alterations. There is of
course more, but as far as I am concerned, auto enamels are for the birds, & I have never even
considered messing about with 2 PAK. & I have seen some disasters with powder coat further down the
track. From one who has been doing it regularly for 40 years, & will be painting the GS wheel hubs
,rims & spokes tomorrow ! - just a light coat to make sure that all is covered, then assembly of the
spokes, true the wheel, then several good light final coats.
L #2827 I'd like to refinish the chipped and aged paint on a cast iron engine barrel. I'd considered
the old fashioned way, but I understand HMS Mayflower no longer has a spring sailing from Plymouth,
in the new world, home to England. What more modern methods are available in the colonies?
#2843 I had mine bead blasted and stove enameled 2 years ago and all it takes is a quick wipe to
remove the oil and it looks as good as new. It was suggested that it might not allow it to cool properly
but I have had no problems.
#2852 I sandblasted and used an aerosol of heat resisting paint on the KSS. I stuffed paper into the
bore each end as a precaution when blasting. Can't say how good it is as engine not run yet. It is
Sperex VHT and claims to protect up to 700C. Instruction say cure at 121C for 15 min then at 315C for
1 hour . I cooked in the fan oven at 150 for an hour and reckon any further curing can be in service.
The finish is a matt black which should help heat transfer. The product is sold by Simoniz in UK and is
a trademark of PJH brands of USA. Mike
#2855 What hasn't been mentioned so far is that when Veloce started using cast iron barrels (initially
on the VR/VM Clubmans) they, rather sneakily, painted them silver. Was it to disguise the fact that the
barrels were no longer "Alfin" - who knows? Anyway, my 1959 VM has always had a silver painted
barrel so when the time came for a rebore I used that Sperex VHT aerosol stuff but in silver.
Surprisingly it reached right to the roots of the finning. Not having a low-bake oven I "baked" it whilst
running in. Then I got carried away and sprayed the blue/rust exhaust pipes on my Harris "Matchless"
G80. These glow red hot when the engine is running at a fast tickover if the bike is not moving. Only the
two inches nearest the exhaust port has peeled in over 3 months winter use.
L #2849 Among other pieces I was about to send off my forks to the painter/powder coater. I
didn't know about temperatures used in powder coating, or for that matter, in stoving: so, apart from
scraping off some of the expensively applied coat after getting them back, what's the answer please?
#2851 Powder coating temps will weaken or melt the solder on forks. Otherwise it is fine to use
elsewhere and I have found that the quality of finish has dramatically improved over the years.
#2853 Powder coating is also a good way to keep it looking good and shiny as well as being tough. I
did mine, but of course you must block the holes with tin can lids and a long bolt. Don’t worry about
threads as they tap out very nicely. Powder coating is efficient as it goes in to all the little places and
the part can be installed straight-away.
L #2856 The full width hubs on my 65 viper were painted black {dulux} and the front hub has 6 no.
1 inch go faster holes drilled. I know the drum has to be painted but what about the rest? do I paint like
the drum or do I polish like the engine any ideas or suggestion greatly received
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