Finish on 56 K Oil Tank Mount

Production K Models

Finish on 56 K Oil Tank Mount

Postby wz507 » Tue Feb 28, 2017 2:00 pm

Curious about the correct finish on the oil tank mount for a ’56 K model. Some believe it to be a black painted part and others believe it to be a Parkerized part. Regardless, I thought I would begin by stripping my bracket and Parkerizing it which would either be the finished part if parkerizing is the correct finish, or a corrosion-free part that would be in perfect condition to receive paint if that were the correct finish.

I’m eager to hear from the readership as to what they perceive to be the correct finish. I believe there are some original 56K bikes out there, so if you have one, please take a peak and let us know what you see.

Rather than helping to clarify the issue of finish on the subject part, I am going to offer some confusing information instead. As noted above I wanted to Parkerize my oil tank mount so stripped it in a glass bead blaster, and was astonished to find a large amount of copper plating on the bracket! As I was stripping, it was clear that there was black paint and a gray primer coat involved. Thus I suspect it was not a factory finish because 1) I have a devil of a time removing the factory finish in my glass bead blaster,and this came off relatively easily, and 2) the factory finish would be just the baked enamel with no primer.

So I am not about to parkerize this copper plated part (can’t be done as it is nonferrous) but thought it was bizarre that it would be plated in the first place. I believe over the years I’ve seen battery covers for 6 volt Harleys that were painted black, but were in fact copper-plated beneath. I always suspected this was to provide improved corrosion resistance in this tender area of the bike. As above eager to hear if others have seen such items or if they have any additional comments on this subject of copper plated parts in the vicinity of 6 volt batteries.

Copper plated oil tank mount.jpg
Copper plated oil tank mount.jpg (71.26 KiB) Viewed 8768 times


Copper plated oil tank mount-1.jpg
Copper plated oil tank mount-1.jpg (84.22 KiB) Viewed 8768 times
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Re: Finish on 56 K Oil Tank Mount

Postby sportsterpaul » Tue Feb 28, 2017 9:26 pm

Most likely this was chrome plated at one point. Triple-plated show chrome starts with a thick layer of copper. That gets buffed and prettied, and then a layer of nickel, and finally a layer of chrome. So either a previous owner had the chrome and nickel stripped, well most of it, or you have discovered some great process where your bead blaster removed the hard metals and left the soft copper.

You can send the part to a plater to remove the bit of nickel and all the copper. Since I really doubt that the factory would have such a large part parkerized, especially a part that is near the battery where acid fumes out, I suspect the correct finish is painted. So I would just primer and paint the thing, unless you want to buy an Eastman kit and powder coat the thing. That is a great finish, but once again, not correct. I would use Rustoleum primer and enamel paint, videos on YouTube show guys painting entire cars and a couple of them say Rustoleum works best. If you paint over the copper you will have a correct finish and a great corrosion protection, even if the paint has pinholes.

I have your later bracket that I will be selling on eBay soon, and I am sure they come up quite often.
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Re: Finish on 56 K Oil Tank Mount

Postby EKHKHK56 » Tue Feb 28, 2017 11:50 pm

Back to black. Mine are all painted with the std 80% gloss black I've seen on many parts. I think the Krylon Rust Tough Commercial Grade #K00779 Semi gloss Black is a close match for rattle cans.
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Re: Finish on 56 K Oil Tank Mount

Postby fiftysevenXL » Sat Mar 11, 2017 11:18 am

Sorry to take so long to get this posted; just got around to digging out my oil tank parts. I have (2) 47371-52 oil tank brackets, both latest style with the extra ribs. One is still mounted on a 62507-52A tank, other is NOS. Both are Parkerized finish. I have seen black painted ones at swap meets but have no idea if they were ever painted from the factory.
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Re: Finish on 56 K Oil Tank Mount

Postby fiftysevenXL » Sun Mar 12, 2017 11:51 am

Mistake in my last post; the used oil tank bracket (Parkerized) is on a 62507-(56)A oil tank.
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