We can now offer 1974 Ducati 750SS green frame genuine factory paint which will yellow over time and is exactly the same paint that the factory used back in 1974. In September 2023 we worked with Gundula Tutt a classic vehicle paint expert on the Amelia Island green frame. We were very lucky to acquire her services as she works with collectors all over the world to enhance their classic cars, and now this motorcycle, to ensure they are as original as possible. Her work is regularly appreciated at Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance on cars with extremely high values. She came from the art restoration world and moved to classic vehicles nearly twenty years ago due to demand for her services. You can see three interviews with her on our Youtube channel here with more to come in the future.
Original paint was analysed
A few carefully selected samples were taken and the original paint was analysed in a laboratory and the original paint has now been identified. What we can tell you is that Ducati did not use cellulose for the green frame, as incorrectly claimed by some restorers and we’re not saying what was used as we have invested so much in this research. We are now able to have this remade for us so we can paint entire 1974 Ducati 750SS green frames in identical paint to that which the factory used back in 1974. There is no difference in what we can now have manufactured to pots of NOS factory paint, if any existed, except for the container. The frame was in fact blue, not green, as you can see in this recent article we have published. The frame was sprayed with the correct primer, then with a blue paint and then with a clear coat of the same type of paint as the blue. The fibreglass bodywork was prepared and then sprayed silver with the blue frame paint laid over the silver to create the blue line on the bodywork. After that, the same clear coat as used on the frame is sprayed over the silver and blue bodywork.
This paint will yellow and age
This paint will yellow and age in UV light over time in exactly the same way that the original paint did back in 1974. This paint will offer green frame owners the chance to really enjoy authenticity from their Ducati green frame restoration never offered before. The colour match is perfect to the original but it is not as hard wearing as modern 2K paint, but these machines are never exposed to harsh conditions now so the paint will hold up very well indeed. If owners want their green frames finished in modern 2K paint in the identical colour, we can offer that as well. Our colours are perfectly matched to an unrestored example, but the modern paint won’t yellow with age. The finish of the original factory paint can also be recreated with modern paint, so your green frame will look just like a new one in the showroom back in 1974.
1974 Ducati 750SS green frame restoration
1974 Ducati 750SS green frame restoration has historically been a bit of a shot in the dark, as all of the unrestored examples have been held tightly in private collections. This never gave anyone the chance to match the colours or analyse the paint. Matching the paint took over four hundred attempts for the blue and the silver. These colours don’t scan and scanners just send painters down rabbit holes when it comes to these early 1970s metallics. The analysis of the original paint in a laboratory has never been done until now. We knew the fairing had been repainted prior to the auction for this machine, which was quite difficult to tell from the photos as whoever painted it had tried to age it. The front mudguard had also been repainted. When we removed these and started to strip the paint, it turned out that these two components had been repainted five different times with a different colour each time. This meant that the original paint was still in tact on large areas of these components, but it couldn’t be saved. This offered us some great original paint to remove for the analysis.
The owner of this green frame
The owner of this green frame wishes to remain anonymous and has done such an incredible service to all green frame restorations from now on. Their generosity cannot be over estimated and his machine will increase in value as this is the original unrestored machine which now dictates green frame colours. Before this incredible research, and the owner’s generosity, we now have 1974 Ducati 750SS green frame factory paint and perfect colour matches. Before now, all of the restorations I’d seen were just a shot in the dark and were considerably wide of the mark. If you want us to repaint your 1974 Ducati 750SS green frame in re-manufactured paint that Ducati used, contact The Motorcycle Broker.
- 1974 Ducati 750SS green frame genuine factory paint - March 21, 2024
- Unicorn rare 1972 Kawasaki Z900 coming to auction - March 21, 2024
- Ducati green frame is not green it’s blue - March 20, 2024
Leave a Reply