Ariel Owners Motorcycle Club

Just got my 1951 KH500 fully dismantled for restoration and found that beneath the black paint on parts appear to be a deep blue colour such as the ammeter/light switch casing, wheel rims and brake lever. Is this likely to be original or done by past owners? I thought this machine which I am told came out the factory on 19/11/1951 was all black apart from the tank and centres of the wheel rims. Any ideas if this is correct?

The blue will almost certainly be the work of a previous owner. Ariel didn't use blue between the late 1920s and 1953. 1953 saw the use of Wedgewood Blue for the coronation year but the colour is nothing like the blue colour of Wedgewood crockery. It is much more like battleship grey so cannot be described as a deep blue.
If your bike had been painted blue by special request to the factory, this would be noted in the factory Despatch Book. If you PM the engine and frame numbers to me I can check for you.

Errrrmmm...

If it was a non-standard colour when it left the factory I think that might have already been remarked on?
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13170

SG

1952 models did not have chrome on the tank, which was dropped in February 1951, supposedly due to the lack of nickle caused by the Korean war which was, what would now be called false news. There is no mention of colour in the despatch books, looks like a Dulux colour!

Would the rims have been chrome or painted black? They are black painted at present, I scraped a bit back and came to a grey primer colour, no sign of chrome.