Did the rd400 originally have clear coat over the tank decal

[rd400greenhorn]

Anyone knows if it did?
Before i send My fuel tank and covers of for paint, do I just go colour and clear and then put on the decal My self
Or does He put it before clear and then several coats of clear 🤔

[SoCal250]

I believe OEM had clear over the tank decals. If you're repainting you definitely want to clear over the decals.

[Organicjedi]

They did not have clear over the decals from the factory. I opted to have mine cleared over when my body work was refinished. It looks better and the decals will stay looking nice with the extra protection.

Some people are not keen on it because they feel the decal can lift under the clear. A good painter should be able to avoid that problem.

You can also just have them stuck on after the finish is laid like it was from the factory. It'll be fine that way too.

No matter what, I'd have the painter put them on.

[rd400greenhorn]

Gotcha!
Thanks guys

[forexer]

I was told that the original tank decals were definitely covered with a clear coat however the side cover decals were not

also if your planning on having this done may I suggest that after you have the tank painted and cleared use an edge sealer around the fill hole because this eliminates any possible fuel from entering in between your paint and clear coat.

[DesmoDrew]

the original tank decals were definitely covered with a clear coat however the side cover decals were not

   This is correct

[Organicjedi]

the original tank decals were definitely covered with a clear coat however the side cover decals were not

   This is correct

Here is a picture of my 100% stock RD400 tank with the decal stuck on the clear. Maybe there was some lacquer over it? Looks like it's just stuck on vs being buried in a clear coat.

https://imgur.com/gallery/cZezaqX

THIS is clear over the decals. https://imgur.com/gallery/xlDaCZh

[1976RD400C]

I have a oem tank too. Also have one I painted and put the decal on with no clearcoat over it. If you take your fingernail you can tell the oem does have like one coat of clearcoat on it. Without clearcoat your fingernail will catch on the decal. Anyway, the painted one with no clearcoat has been fine for 10 years and the decal is holding up fine.

[Jspooner]

For what it's worth..................any 250/350 with original paint that I've seen has clear over the decals, not to the point where the edge of the decal disappears to the feel but they definitely have clear over them. They would never stand up to the test of time if they didn't. So with that being said, I can't imagine the 400s wouldn't be cleared over but then again I haven't seen enough original paint 400s to be able to say for sure.

[Organicjedi]

After checking, I found they had a thin coat of lacquer over them out of the factory.

[SoCal250]

the original tank decals were definitely covered with a clear coat however the side cover decals were not

   This is correct

[RattlecanResto]

Kinda hard to tell, but on my original RD400 tank there does seem to be a light amount of clear over everything