English French German Italian Spanish

1935 ES2 Panel Tank Paint

Submitted by andrew_jarrett on Thu, 28/04/2016
Forums
Singles

Hi All,

This question has probably been asked before but I am starting to restore a 1935 ES2 and I am trying to confirm the tank paint and lines for the panel tank.

I have read the Roy Bacon singles book and he says from 1935-1938 that the red line was on the outside of the black, is this correct as it seems most pictures of restorations I have seen show the other way with the red line inside the black.Is this just the preferred way that people do it?

Another thing I have noticed is the color of the panel which I generally paint silver on the later tanks that I have restored, but some of the photos I have seen of original 1930's bikes show the panel color more of a lighter shade looks nearly cream/white on some photos but this could be more to do with the era.

Does anybody have a photo or an original untouched panel tank that I could use for reference.

Basically I am trying to get the correct side panel shape and colors. Also on the top of the tank it has a black line following the panel shape but I am not sure if their was also meant to have a red line following as well.

Looking foward to any help you can give.

Regards

Andy

Submitted by david_cooper on Thu, 28/04/2016

Permalink

Roger Deadman is probably the best person here to ask.Bacon seems to be correct re: red outside black at that period. There are some pictures on 'vintage norton' web site. My guess is that they put the red outside and on top of the chrome for a few years, but perhaps it tended to rub off too easily because they could not prepare the chrome for the line. So they put the line back inside on top of the silver.Tank top is a mystery to me. It has been discussed here before - with pictures I think.

Submitted by tony_baxter on Thu, 28/04/2016

Permalink

From what I have read on this and other sites in the last couple of years, the guys who actually did the lining sometimes varied from what was 'right' for whatever reason.

And as far as colour goes, take a look at the collection of tanks in a picture on George Cohen's site. If I remember correctly, there are something like 8 or 9 tanks, all apparently in their original factory paint, and all slightly different in shade !

Plus, as we all know, manufacturers always tell you to buy paint from the same batch, due to possible inconsistencies in the mixing process. Even the guys putting the paint on in the Norton factory were at the mercy of what the actual paint supplier mixed back in HIS factory. And again if you were to look at an original tank, it's had 70+ years of sunlight to age it.

I have a pre-war Triumph that is painted in a 1970's Triumph car colour, (Damson), it's amazing how many people are convinced it's original 1930's Amaranth red :)

Submitted by david_cooper on Thu, 28/04/2016

Permalink

Here (almost at the bottom of the web page) is a good picture - albeit 16H - in 1937.http://www.vintagenorton.com/search/label/Model%2016H%20Saddle%20TankRed line outside silver panel.And here (a few pictures down the page) is a 1936 CJ with tank top also visible.http://www.vintagenorton.com/search/label/Model%20CJBut just because it looks old - it might have been re-done more than once in 77 years

 


Norton Owners Club Website by 2Toucans