Custom paint repairs

Another recent project that I worked on was a repair to a gas tank, and a cracked fender weld. Blending into existing custom paint.

Click on the image below to watch YouTube Video with step by step photos.

One of my latest projects.

I know I've been absent as of late, and to those who might actually enjoy my ramblings, jokes, pictures, etc. I apologize. I've been swamped with the usual everyday life things, and then trying to accomplish three projects simultaneously. Here is one of the three. The rest will follow when completed, and I find time to breathe and post them.

This was a bike that the owner bought a custom racing kit for, and then bought a used gas tank and wanted the graphics custom painted to seamlessly tie in with the existing. I had some pretty shoddy photos of the original racing bike to work with, but It turned out just like the original.

Here she is. Click on the photo below to watch video of start to finish.

I've come a long way

I was rummaging through some photos, and saw a picture of a motorcycle tank and fenders that I painted when I was at Tech school for auto body, and paint way back in 1991.

I did my very first Harley Davidson custom paint job for a guy who was going through the heavy equipment mechanics class next door to the Auto Body Shop class. He had a 1200 Sportster that he got a new tank for, and wanted a color change on tank and fenders to match "with a twist" of something not completely stock looking. This is what I gave him for I think about $300.00, which included materials.



Most of you who follow my blog regularly have already seen pictures of my bike, but for those who have not, for comparison sake, I posted a couple of pics of my most recent custom paint job which is on my bike. What a difference 17 1/2 years can make. I think if I would have stuck with this professionally I'd be better, but I would hate it, or at least my love for doing a custom paint job would be reduced to "it's a job". At least it's a decent paying hobby this way. I got no complaints.

Tech. tip #6....Saving your scratched paint.

Before you spend money on a paint job for a minor scrape or scratch, have a shop look at it to see if they can wet sand and buff out the scratch on the paint. Don’t be afraid to try wet sanding and buffing before paying for that new paint that someone is trying to sell you. You have nothing to loose.

When I used to work in a body shop, I did wet sanding and buffing all the time to get rid of scrapes and scratches. Plus, I usually did it for free. I was honest about it if I thought I could get out the scrape or scratch without burning through the clear coat. This was a great future sales technique, because a satisfied customer would always come back when they done F’d up their vehicle good in an accident. It was an almost guaranteed comeback to have their collision work done at the shop.

Try a detail shop if you don’t trust the body shop to be honest. The detail shop has nothing to gain by burning through the clear, as you would not have to pay for the job, or shouldn’t anyway if they did burn through your clear coat, where as the body shop does have something to gain, a paint job. However, I know lots of body shop guys who do the same thing I did when I was in the shops still. They too solicit free work on small jobs to gain a bigger future sale. Sometimes the small scratch wet sand and buff job isn’t even worth their paperwork, as it can take only a few minutes to get them out. You just have to feel the shop out, and go with your instincts to see if they are going to really try to help you, and not try to get a sale for paint by burning through the clear coat deliberately. Just like anything, there are honest shops, and not so honest shops.

Sometimes the scratches are just too deep, and that can’t always be found out without trying to wet sand and buff out the scratch. So if you find an honest shop and they try, they’ll be up front with you and let you know it is a 50/50 shot.

Motorcycle blogging off the beaten path

I call this post Motorcycle blogging off the beaten path, because it has multiple meanings to me.

.

1st is that sometimes you have to veer away from the same things you always do to find something new.

.

2nd, In the world of motorcycle riding the (winding road or off the beaten path) is like a siren calling to the sailors at sea.

.

3rd. This blog post is not entirely about motorcles. I'll try to tie in in for ya though.

.

Keeping in mind that I do not custom paint for a living any more, but do still take on side jobs, I've ventured into another carrer many years ago. The new carrer has guaranteed me a steady salary where I can count on a certain dollar amount each week to put food on my family's table. I still love to custom paint motorcycles, helmets, wave runners, snowmobiles, etc. on the side for cash, and for hobby, and I do love my full time carrer as well. It can be a bit stressfull with the high volume this time of year, but I get to drive around quite a bit and meet with my companies clients on a face to face basis quite frequently. This is the most satisfying part of my job.

.

In doing so today, I met some of the nicest folks I've ever run into. They were extremely hospitable, and we hit it off right away. We have things in common, such as Ali likes cool cars, and motorcycles. He owns a 1930 Ford Model A. that is pretty cool, and Mary Ellen and I have art in common. Have I ever mentioned that I do more art than just custom painting? Mary Ellen has several art degrees, and If I recall per our conversation, she used to illustrate for the medical community. She has now focused on creating porcelain art. She has four kilns, and a beautiful art studio on her home's property that she teaches classes out of. She's got several published art books, and I got an autographed copy. In case anyone near Minnesota is interested in taking porcelain art lessons, or wants more information about this artform, you can e-mail her at haggertystudio@msn.com . She has also traveled worldwide to teach her techniques.

.

Back to the motorcycle things. We got along so well, and shared stories, and laughs. They said to feel free and stop by somtine when passing through or when ever. Just to shoot the breeze, or have a beer. Ironicly, when I was driving my car to their home, I realized that I had travelled part of the paved roads to their house in the past. It is a nice ride from my house, but not too far away. I think I'll take my motorcycle for a ride sometime soon and say hi. I'll take them up on their beer too while I'm at it.

.

I'll jabber at you all later.

Thanks for reading .

.

Mr. Motorcycle

I got my bike "Kenny" back on the road.

I did a Flickr flash badge called (My bike “Kenny” with his new paint job) on the right side of my blog page that shows the bike re-assembled with a new custom paint job. I even got to ride a bit on Saturday. Boy was it nice, and It felt great, since this was the first real ride I got to take since last Halloween when I broke the belt, and started the rebuild. See post from Tuesday, March 11th, 2008, The foot bone is connected to the ankle bone,.... is connected to my wallet. This explains the rebuild. I’m sure many of you can relate. http://01mrmotorcycle.blogspot.com/2008/03/foot-bone-is-connected-to-ankle-bone.html#links

For anyone wondering why I named my motorcycle “Kenny”…..
I was inspired by Beach, from Custom Motorcycle Talk by BeachCruiser. http://www.thebeachcruiser.com/blog/ . His blog post Archie 2 from April 3rd, 2008, gave me inspiration to name my motorcycle. None of my bikes had ever had names before. Both my mother and father are alive and kicking & I wanted to honor them while they are still with me, rather than doing so in remembrance of them. I can’t call my bike Ken and Shirley after both my parents. That would sound stupid. People would want to put me in a mental institution if I ran around referring to my bike that way. Since I think the bike is a masculine thing, I chose to give it a Male name rather than a female name. My mother understands. I honor both of them. Since Ken sounds a little too serious, I named the bike Kenny. I felt since the bike rebuild project was now complete, and Beach so inspired me, this was the time to name it. Thanks for all you do Mom & Dad.

Mr. Motorcycle

Sneak preview of my new paint

On my right side banner area, I did some Flickr flash photos of my new paint job. One set is showing the tins still in taped out phase, and one unmasked. There are two pics in the unmasked set where it show the tins actually clear coated. These pics don't do justice as they are close ups of ghost. They show the ghost flames change from charcoal on black to black ghost flames on charcoal racing stripe. Hope you like. I'm getting really stoked to put them back on my bike and ride. Just gotta wait for that weather now.



Mr. Motorcycle

What do you call a brand new motorcycle? .........A starter kit!

The above 3 cartoon pictures are from: The ORIGINAL Illustrated Catalog Of ACME Products http://home.nc.rr.com/tuco/looney/acme/acme.html

If you are planning on buying a bike and want something custom, and you are planning on making it that way yourself, why buy a new bike?
It doesn’t make much sense to me to spend the money on brand new stock parts to turn around and discard them for brand new custom parts. I started my favorite bike project on a low budget.

I had to sell my pick up truck to drive a used "paid for" Saturn for a while to help me afford the economy Harley to begin with. I drove My used stock Harley for about a year before I could start the customization process. Even with a used bike, Cursing Mama could not understand why I needed to take off perfectly good stock parts and exchange them for new custom parts. If you understand biking, no explanation needed. I believe after seeing what I'v created, from what I started with, She sees the picture. If you read my post from March 11th, you'll see I'm in the process of doing my bike yet "again". I've included a sneak preview picture of the gas tank in process. It is taped out here. There is more to it than it looks like in this photo. The real magic will happen when it is cleared. More will pop out that you cannot see in the photo. When it is all done, and bike is put back together, I'll share more.