# Painted my First Tank !



## 53Phantom (Aug 4, 2010)

I finally found an original tank for my '46 Schwinn Liberty and finally finished painting it today. It came to me in really nice condition although it was painted in gray primer. It was dent free and no rust at all. I found some pictures on the net of the paint scheme and spent 3 solid days painting it. I used 3M green pinstripe masking tape , 1/2" green msasking tape, and some hand pinstriping with a brush. People do not realize how much work goes into the restoration of these bikes. It was allot of work. I used a base coat/clear coat automotive paint. First, I primed and painted the entire tank in its base maroon color. After 2 coats of clear coat, I taped off and painted the ivory color. 2 more coats of clear and then I used the pinstiping tape as a guide for the painted pinstriping.  Finished off with 2 more coats of clear. My Liberty decals are enroute : ). Here are some pix. Its not perfect but, it is probably close to what the factory was putting out back then.Thanks


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## Strings-n-Spokes (Aug 4, 2010)

It looks good! Probably a much higher quality job than original.  I thought that the Maroon was painted after the Ivory @ the factory.  Then instead of pinstriping the lines and stuff in, it was masked and left ivory, does that make sense? It has to be better than original  they probably spent three minutes painting them in Chicago not three days.  Great work


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## 53Phantom (Aug 4, 2010)

Thanks Shane. You are right,. They were originally painted Ivory first, then maroon and if you use stencils, that would be the process as well. I dont guess it really matters but, I figured it would be easier to paint with the maroon painted first because of less taping.


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## 53Phantom (Aug 4, 2010)

Here is a tip if you are trying to match the original marron paint that may be faded like mine is. I mixed some red primer with the marroon paint until I got a good match to the frame. The maroon has a tendecy to fade to a brownish tint and the red primer has that brownish color as well. I painted the rear rack and chainguard this way and it is a real close match to the paint on the frame. I also found that Sante Fe tan is a good match to the original Schwinn ivory color. Its a good color if you are trying to match original white paint that has yellowed/aged . C


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## HIGGINSFOREVER (Aug 5, 2010)

You say you painted the entire tank maroon then 2  coats clear then painted the ivory then 2 more coats of clear.Did you sand between coats? Why not do your maroon then your ivory then do your clear coat.


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## 53Phantom (Aug 5, 2010)

Gene, the reason I did it was to seal the base coat incase the masking tape left a residue, tried to pull the base coat paint up, or there was overspray,etc. The clear coat would give me something to wet-sand to remove any imperfections between colors. Kind of a safety net.


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## HIGGINSFOREVER (Aug 5, 2010)

Thanks for the info.my problem is the masking tape pulling the paint off after i try to 2 tone.the way you did it the clear seals the paint.do i owe you anything if i steal your ideal


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## 53Phantom (Aug 5, 2010)

Go for it Gene! Take the tape off within about 10 minutes of spraying the final color coat too.  Too soon and it will leave a fuzzy edge. Too late and it will tend to lift the paint on the edges.


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## SirMike1983 (Aug 5, 2010)

Perfect actually isn't right. I saw the Columbia factory video from the early 1950s awhile back, and most of the detailing was still done by hand. There were women with thin brushes and wheels "hand roll painting" the pinstripes onto the fenders. A very close examination of my Columbia reveals that the fenders do have some small variations in the detailing, where the brush widened or thinned out a bit. It was all part of the game in a working factory turning out bikes for profit.


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## DonChristie (Aug 12, 2010)

Nice job! Unreal you taped it!


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## 53Phantom (Aug 12, 2010)

Thanks doggy ! In a few days, I will be posting a thread with pictures of the finished bike. I'm waiting on a couple of decals to get here.


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## Santee (Jan 2, 2011)

Great job!


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