Question about tank decals

[ozzybud]

If the decals are quality vinyl and applied correctly they should never peel . I have never seen a factory decal fail.

[Piki]

Hi Piki and everyone for their advice, I am looking for the tank and side panel decals for a Honda cb 400 four in Parakeet Yellow see photo attached.
The bike I am restoring was originally Antares Red but I decided to change it to the yellow during the rebuilt.
The paint finish was done by a friend at work on the company spray shop and the finish had a slight orange peel but my friend said I could flatten it by using a 3000 grit paper and then polish so that’s what I am going to do.
I wanted to add the lacquer for added protection but if the group think this is not necessary then I won’t bother.

Perfect, send me a private message and we'll talk. In any case, I always advise lacquering the stickers, no matter how good they are, it adds protection against possible scratches, scuffs, etc., I think they have many more advantages than disadvantages.

[Piki]

I can't see why anyone wouldn't clear coat over the tank decals. If, over time, they started lifting, a new set of decals would be needed, so it's a false economy not to apply lacquer in the first place.

Totally agree

[Piki]

There is no reason to put clear over your decals on your 400 four. The factory did not do it and most of them look great 50 years later.
Pic of mine I refinished earlier this year.
When striping the original tank and side covers the decals came off intact with a heat gun.

I had this debate before but my Varnish Blue tank is original and never repainted and the decals are cleared over. That's possibly why they are not listed as a separate part in all of the Parts Books I have ever seen. Different story with the side panel decals which were not cleared over and were listed in the parts book.

In the 1980's I did buy some genuine tank decals with Honda ---377---- part numbers from Fowlers of Bristol but lost the part number as it was written in back of my diary for 1986, which is long gone. Honda must have introduced them as painters would need them to fix damaged tanks.

Personally, with modern fuel I would always clear over decals with fuel resistant 2K clear. I painted another CB400F tank  earlier this year and used Piki's decals and they were spot on.

That's something curious, it is very difficult to find original Honda stickers for their Four models, I am always searching the internet and I have never found any except for the ones on the side covers......However, it is quite "easy" to find stickers originals of other legendary models such as Kawa Triples, Yamaha RD... I don't know why it is not possible to find original stickers for the Honda Four models....

[Bryanj]

Dont know about originals but a well known US firm was stopped from advertising Honda decals by Honda US, they are still on the website if you know where to look just not easily visible, i asked Honda UK years ago if i could scan manuals for sale to owners like us and was told at the time that if its out of print and we cant supply a photocopy no problem

[ozzybud]

Hi Piki and everyone for their advice, I am looking for the tank and side panel decals for a Honda cb 400 four in Parakeet Yellow see photo attached.
The bike I am restoring was originally Antares Red but I decided to change it to the yellow during the rebuilt.
The paint finish was done by a friend at work on the company spray shop and the finish had a slight orange peel but my friend said I could flatten it by using a 3000 grit paper and then polish so that’s what I am going to do.
I wanted to add the lacquer for added protection but if the group think this is not necessary then I won’t bother.

Perfect, send me a private message and we'll talk. In any case, I always advise lacquering the stickers, no matter how good they are, it adds protection against possible scratches, scuffs, etc., I think they have many more advantages than disadvantages.

Are you spraying Laquer over the entire tank?
I am a little confused on why we are choosing Laquer?
I could see putting a couple coats of polyurethane  enamel to sandwich in the decals. 
Please clarity this application

[Piki]

Dont know about originals but a well known US firm was stopped from advertising Honda decals by Honda US, they are still on the website if you know where to look just not easily visible, i asked Honda UK years ago if i could scan manuals for sale to owners like us and was told at the time that if its out of print and we cant supply a photocopy no problem

I know the company and I know the history and indeed, years ago Honda also wanted to sue me if I did not remove the advertisements where either the logo or the word Honda appeared (which is what they have registered) for that reason I do not advertise the Honda Stencils ...

[Piki]

Hi Piki and everyone for their advice, I am looking for the tank and side panel decals for a Honda cb 400 four in Parakeet Yellow see photo attached.
The bike I am restoring was originally Antares Red but I decided to change it to the yellow during the rebuilt.
The paint finish was done by a friend at work on the company spray shop and the finish had a slight orange peel but my friend said I could flatten it by using a 3000 grit paper and then polish so that’s what I am going to do.
I wanted to add the lacquer for added protection but if the group think this is not necessary then I won’t bother.

A more professional finish is to apply a layer of lacquer to the stickers, in addition to enhancing the colors, they add extra protection, as is logical. If you are a purist and do not want to lacquer them there would be no problem BUT logically the life of the stickers and their colors would be shorter. However, I can apply a "protection" layer, there is no problem with that, but I recommend lacquering them to have peace of mind.


Perfect, send me a private message and we'll talk. In any case, I always advise lacquering the stickers, no matter how good they are, it adds protection against possible scratches, scuffs, etc., I think they have many more advantages than disadvantages.

Are you spraying Laquer over the entire tank?
I am a little confused on why we are choosing Laquer?
I could see putting a couple coats of polyurethane  enamel to sandwich in the decals. 
Please clarity this application

[Seabeowner]

Hi Piki and everyone for their advice, I am looking for the tank and side panel decals for a Honda cb 400 four in Parakeet Yellow see photo attached.
The bike I am restoring was originally Antares Red but I decided to change it to the yellow during the rebuilt.
The paint finish was done by a friend at work on the company spray shop and the finish had a slight orange peel but my friend said I could flatten it by using a 3000 grit paper and then polish so that’s what I am going to do.
I wanted to add the lacquer for added protection but if the group think this is not necessary then I won’t bother.

Perfect, send me a private message and we'll talk. In any case, I always advise lacquering the stickers, no matter how good they are, it adds protection against possible scratches, scuffs, etc., I think they have many more advantages than disadvantages.

Are you spraying Laquer over the entire tank?
I am a little confused on why we are choosing Laquer?
I could see putting a couple coats of polyurethane  enamel to sandwich in the decals. 
Please clarity this application

Maybe this is a language problem. By lacquer, we just mean clear coat.

[Menno]

Originally Honda clear coated all their tanks over the decals.
The clear is however often very thin. If you don't know what to look for you might miss it.

[AshimotoK0]

Originally Honda clear coated all their tanks over the decals.
The clear is however often very thin. If you don't know what to look for you might miss it.

I agree Menno ... I don't think they cleared over the 'Preserve Nature always wear a safety helmet' decal though.

[ozzybud]

Originally Honda clear coated all their tanks over the decals.
The clear is however often very thin. If you don't know what to look for you might miss it.

The 76 super sport  decals have sharp edges an there is no clear over them.

[ozzybud]

Definitely on the 75 550k graphics there is clear over these. You can see the outline about 3mm out. Where that clear stops.

[Ken4004]

Hi Ozzybud

How many bikes have you got in your garage and do you ride them all  ?  If so do you have an insurance policy that covered all your bikes ?

[Nurse Julie]

Hi Ozzybud

How many bikes have you got in your garage and do you ride them all  ?  If so do you have an insurance policy that covered all your bikes ?

He lives in Australia Ken 😁😁😁, so maybe insurances are a bit different there.
There are plenty of UK based companies offering multi bike policies though, if that's what you are enquiring about.