Thank you Joe, actually I did clear coat over the whole tank, then used a Matte clear for the black stripe, the jet black paint shows right through the matte clear to make it look like I used flat black for the wide textured stripe. Normally, I would have applied the decal on the jet black base coat and then clear coated over the whole tank and decal at the same time, then painted the matte black stripe on last.. But, I wanted to take my time laying out the decal in the proper location without rushing so I just clear coated my jet black paint job about 45 minutes after the jet black was sprayed on. Actually with this simple style of a decal it was very easy to mask off and blend the clear coat over the decal and on to the existing clear coat. If it was a more intricate decal then yes, I would have stopped and applied the decal on first then shot the clear over everything at once. One advantage to the way I did it was, if I ever wanted to change the decal all I have to do it wet sand through the decal clear coat and remove the decal without disturbing the paint job and the clear coat behind the decal.. if that makes sense. In other words the decal and the clear I shot over it is not baked into the actual paint job and clear coat. Actually the factory original was nothing more than a sticker you could peal off like many original owners did back in the day.

Thank you Big Ed, I really appreciate you watching. I’m looking forward to seeing your next video. I hope all is well with you. Take care!

Thank you for your comment, it’s great to hear your experience pertaining to the original 1968 paint scheme. Our experience is very similar because my older brother bought his 1968 XLCH soon as he returned home from Vietnam in 1971. His was the sparkling burgundy color with the original factory “stickers” That many people would just peal off. They had no clear coat. The base color for the “sparkling” colors such as blue was actually silver, then the color top coat was added last for the translucent effect. In fact I plan on reproducing these original factory colors when time permits. I really appreciate you commenting on this topic.

@@Michael-st1hlI have a Sparkling (HiFi?) Blue 1969 XLCH. The original paint was long gone on the sheet metal but not long after that an original paint (blue) gas tank popped up EBay. Then I found an NOS (yes, still in the wrapper!) front fender in (you guessed it!) blue. I did have the rear fender painted to match (gray primer, silver base then candy blue until it matches). Motorcycle sat like that for a couple years then I found a used, original paint blue front fender (which matched the tank perfectly) and that’s on the bike. Fortunately, even though I had the NOS front bolted on the bike I never had the heart to remove the old Harley-Davidson wrapping paper. Not sure what I’ll do with it now.

@@johnkelly6942 That’s a great dilemma to be in having a factory original still in its original packaging. I’m like you, it wouldn’t be easy to expose such a wonderful piece like that! It’s good the original paint codes are still available so we can at least reproduce these great paint schemes.

No, the factory actually used a sticker over the paint job. Many new owners peeled them off back in the day. My reason for not clear coating the decal and tank at the same time was because I did not want to stop in the middle of my paint job and lay out the decal in the perfect position because it takes so much time. I usually spray my base coat color and give it about 45 minutes to set up, then shoot the clear right away. Since this is a very simple decal I knew I could easily mask it off and shoot clear over it at my leisure. If it was a more intricate style decal, then yes, I would have stopped after my base color coat to apply the decal and then shoot clear over the whole thing, but you have to wait 3 days for the decal to dry first which I explained in the video. I just wanted to finish the paint and clear coat the same day. One advantage is, if the decal ever was damaged, all I would do is wet sand through the clear coat, remove the decal for a replacement without ever touching the paint and clear coat under the decal. In the end, it turned out very nice and technically the factory never clear coated over their “sticker” I used to ride this same bike when it was fairly new back in the day so I know exactly how the paint scheme was layed out and the sticker as well. I really appreciate your question, I hope you subscribe and follow along as I go forward with these vintage iron heads. I plan on filming riding my vintage Sportsters down Route 66 this summer. Take care!