Pitch White?

[wz507]

Pitch White - a descriptor used by a childhood friend, at that time, to describe a white color he observed - that still leaves me pondering to this day.

Have a question about HD birch white. Here on the site in the color section reference is made to both “white” and “birch white”.

http://www.harleykmodel.com/technical/colors/index.html

I suspect that for a ‘56K where pepper red (base) and white (flash) are referenced that the white in this case refers to birch white, but below Dave H has suggested otherwise as has John Pierce of Colorwrite. Was wondering if all the references to white here on the site, circa 1952-1969, all refer to birch white or if there were other white colors used by HD in this era?

As others have previously noted here on the forum, birch white is not a brilliant appliance or polar white, but rather, has a distinctive warm or beige tint to it. On good authority I received the suggestion that Ford's color, Wimbledon white, is a very good match to the vintage birch white. I recall seeing this color in my youth on a variety of Ford vehicles in the ‘60s, and recall it as clearly being a very warm white color. I recently bought a spray can of Duplicolor Wimbledon white and indeed it is certainly a warm white color.

Fast forward several decades and I note that a HD paint code is now available for a birch white color used in the 1990s. The code I see referenced most often is PPG’s paint code 90303, which an autobody paint supply shop can mix for you. Does anybody know if this 1990s HD birch white color is the same as the vintage ’50-60s birch white color or something all together different? Thank you.

Red text is edited by author for consistency with Dave H in 5th post of topic.

[starcain]

I don't know about the birch white but back in 1983 when I was starting the restoration on my 1954 KH I wanted to paint it Daytona Ivory. I got a Daytona Ivory paint chip from Antique Cycle Supply and my painter matched that up to Ford's Wimbledon White. It was also a rather warm white with a hint of beige in it. Was it a 100% match to Daytona Ivory, I don't know for sure but it sure looked good. My 1954 KH is in the gallery section if you want to get some idea what Wimbledon White looks like. Keep in mind that the color picture was scanned off the cover of The Antique Motorcycle magazine and may not be a 100% rendition of the true color but you can get a pretty good idea.That color was really hard to get a true accurate match in a picture. With almost any amount of light it would wash out and just look white. It would loose that hint of beige. The last two color pictures in the photo set are like that and are not what it actually looked like. Stan

[Mike]

Beautiful 54, Stan! Great job!
Mike

[DaveC]

The 67 I restored which is in the gallery section has a birch white gas tank panel. It actuary is Wimbledon white and matched nicely to a OEM Birch White fender I have.

[hennesse]

Here's "paintref" on Wimbledon White

But what about 1956? Over at John Pierce's website, we find this Flamboyant Green and White bike. Put your mouse over the word "Flamboyant Green" and you'll see John's notes for the White.

[wz507]

Here's "paintref" on Wimbledon White

But what about 1956? Over at John Pierce's website, we find this Flamboyant Green and White bike. Put your mouse over the word "Flamboyant Green" and you'll see John's notes for the White.

Apologies for suggesting false information above regarding Birch White being a 1956 color, when, as suggested above, it may not have existed at that time. I have edited my original post to reflect the incongruency.

So I feel like I (we?) am back to square 1 with respect to the color of the white tank flash on a 1956 K model. I have many more questions than answers at this juncture, e.g, …..

Is 1956 HD white a polar/appliance bright white?
Is 1956 HD white a creamy white like Wimbledon white or HD’s Daytona white?
Is 1956 HD white and the HD 1957 Birch white the same color?
Is 1956 HD white the same as HD 1990’s birch white?

From the comments others provided in this thread it seems that we can make a couple educated guesses regarding a few of the above questions.

From Stan D’s paint chip color matching we would conclude that Daytona ivory is equivalent to Wimbledon white, so we know Daytona ivory to be a creamy white.

From Dave C's visual matching of an OEM Birch White fender with Wimbledon white, we know Birch White to be a creamy white also.

These 2 findings would lead us to conclude the following.

Wimbledon white = HD Ivory White = HD Birch White. Does this make sense and pass the smell test?

Even if the above equivalency is true, it does nothing to address my basic question regarding the hue of HD 1956 white? As always hoping our knowledgeable readership can bring clarity to this murky subject. Thank you.

[starcain]

wz507, Attached are pictures of Jim Garrett's original paint 1954 KH ( In the Gallery) and Roger Meinke's former original paint 1956KHK. The picture of Jim's bike is a much better picture and thus a better example of Daytona Ivory then the picture of my bike. The way it looks in the picture is just what the Wimbledon White looked like on my '54 KH. They both have some age on the paint but it's about the same, 63 years for the '54 and 61 years for the '56. Not sure how much different they may have looked when they were brand new but I would suspect not that much. The lighting in both pictures is pretty good so I would have to say that they are both a pretty good example of both paint colors. Also attached is a side by side version for easier comparison. I hope some of this helps. Stan