1947 Hobbs of Barbican Clubweight Build and many other old builds

Splendid work sir. Exquisite taste and sympathetic restoration.
To add my tuppence to the shellac debate, I bought some white cotton tape from Dave Marsh last year for my Eroica bike
Being a grubby type it soon stopped looking neat and tidy so I shellac'd it very heavily and it came up a lovely honey colour.
L'Eroica it can be relatively heavy on the hands so a bit of flex and a better grip might prove a good idea.
You need to do plenty of it as Vello said, and if you do, do't be in too much of a rush and let it dry properly between coats or it tends to subside!!
In my case it started out all nice spongy and shiny...
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/72712370/ISOMETRIC.jpg

A few thousand miles later it's a different story as I didn't let it harden up properly - still quite nice in a "shroud of Turin" kind of way
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/72712370/2012-11-29%2009.08.18.jpg

Thanks Rik,
Very kind works. I missed your build as I wasn't active on the site then but it has made brilliant early morning reading this morning. The finished product looks great and that first pic of yours is how I really want my tape to turn out. I hope to be able to provide some similar 'chalk dust' covered pics next year.

I take it you've considered H.Lloyd they've got plenty of Hobbs and I can seriously vouch for them. Top notch

I'd use H.Lloyd too as have read good things about them but ave no personal experience.

yes, excellent condition and period correct.

Now hurry up and get some 'honking rubbers' to me. Do you think black would look good with the shallac'd white tape as per Rik's first pic?