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Thanks @clubman, high praise! I have decided to have another go at it though, I think one more attempt and I will have it how I want it. Either that or chuff it up from not being able to stop fiddling.
Yours looks great too, really in keeping with the bike / age of it. Did you go for the 'art deco' Duckett decals?
veloham-
Duckett Transfers
When I got this bike there were a few fragments of the original finish remaining, including a corner of the seat tube transfer. I took the style of the transfer and tried to recreate what might have been the original. I must admit I'm not sure that there ever were downtube transfers, but if there were they might have looked like my effort.
These 'transfers' were made by using computer cut vinyl stencils and spraying with stoving paint - metallic gold works well for this since it covers well and looks ok without too much build up. This method is time consuming and certainly not commercially viable.
The result may well be 'over restoration' and is reminiscent of that artist's impression of a large dinosaur created from a small fragment of tooth (a Dubiosaurus).
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An afterthought.
Here's the complete bike as I used it to ride over the old Bath Road 100 course. Obviously there's a fair amount of non original kit here, but 100 miles is a fair way to cover without a little help!
clubman
I'm afraid I only know about stove enamel, which is really just paint cured in an oven. A finish which 'flows out' when cured sounds like vitreous enamel, which I don't think was ever used for these badges.
The photo below shows my attempt at restoring a brass badge. I polished the brass, stoved it black, flatted off the paint on the high points and then gave it a coat of stoving lacquer.
I think Veloham's result is better than mine.
Incidentally, this Duckett frame is thought to be the only known pre-war solo example of the marque, although there is a tandem. Mine is probably 1920's and is the only 'lightweight' I've seen which came with Westwood rims. The firm advertised in the fifties and sixties with the slogan 'Wise men in the East go to Ducketts for their wheels'