R75/5 Tail Light Paint?

[lmo1131]

Forgot to add that my 12/72 build date "1973" LWB R75/5 had a glossy finish tail light housing.

Will also confirm that the interior of it is a "natural" tan-ish nylon-like color. For what it's worth, "co-molding" one color of plastic over another was not available in 1973, so it must have been painted.

[JIMMYLEE]

Right!,...mine has gouges from many years of stuff strapped to a package rack digging into it. It appears to be "made that way" as Dennis and Kent explain. Apart from finding N.O.S. or a pristine replacement, what is a person to do to replicate the appearance?

BTW, I'd never touch the one on my bike, which is original and un-restored.

Let me tell you what I did with mine.

Mine was't too bad, mostly just old looking - the plastic doesn't weather well!

I sanded it with 240 wet or dry, and then dried it thoroughly by putting in over a heating floor vent and letting it set there for several hours. Mine originally was a sort of black matt finish, so I went to my local hardware and purchased a can of Krylon Satin black spray - had a built in primer. I also, for those little nicks in the plastic, I filled with good fresh bondo, and then resanded. Then I put the plastic body on a stick, and then painted with a decent coat. I then let it dry for a day, near the heating floor vent. Then, I resanded - this time with 400 wet or dry - doing it wet with warm water. Let it dry as before for several hours, and repainted.

I am telling you - it looks brand new, and the satin actually looks better than the original matt finish. I did my turn signal housings as well.