AIRBRUSH - Badger SOTAR & Air gun
PAINT - Auto Air candy & semi-opaque
PRESSURE - 30 - 50 psi
As one of my future goals is to paint motorcycles and crash helmets (to name but a few) I thought that I should practice on my own bike! Not wanting to ruin it, I bought a used panel from eBay, and got cracking.
I had no real idea of the exact design and just made it up as I went along! I did want bright and I wanted sparkle!! The rest was open to change!
PAINT - Auto Air candy & semi-opaque
PRESSURE - 30 - 50 psi
As one of my future goals is to paint motorcycles and crash helmets (to name but a few) I thought that I should practice on my own bike! Not wanting to ruin it, I bought a used panel from eBay, and got cracking.
I had no real idea of the exact design and just made it up as I went along! I did want bright and I wanted sparkle!! The rest was open to change!
Just normal prep work here: Clean with hot, soapy water. Fully sand with wet & dry (600 grit) followed by a fresh water rinse, degrease and then finally apply primer. I use tinned acrylic primer.
Here I applied Auto Air candy orange.
I had to spray many very fine mist coats. Anything heavier just beaded on the surface.
(I absolutely love this colour!)
I had to spray many very fine mist coats. Anything heavier just beaded on the surface.
(I absolutely love this colour!)
One of the great things with Auto Air is that it dries so quickly, especially when using a heat gun to heat-set the paint. I applied a (Auto Air) clear coat after this just to protect the orange.
After getting an orange from the fruit bowl I noticed the netting would make a good template for a snake skin/Dragon skin effect, so messed around with it before sticking it to the panel
I wanted to see if I could create an effect that would look as though the panel was 'open' at the top with the snake skin below, so I masked up the sides.
I realised at this point that snake skin would have the diamond 'frame work' darker than the scales. Obviously for me that framework would be bright orange so I wanted to lighten the 'scales'.
This I did with a mixture of AutoAir semi-opaque white with blues/greens and reds added
This I did with a mixture of AutoAir semi-opaque white with blues/greens and reds added
I got so carried away adding colour that I made the scales darker than the frame work!
I wanted to add metallic flakes that I got a while ago but I didn't want it on the snake skin so had to mask up. (I didn't want it on the 'frame work' which is why I applied the flake now)
I really wanted to add an edge to the Orange sides to give it a 3d look but I began to get impatient and wanted to get it cleared and on my bike, so here's the clear...and the disaster!
The day I did this I got myself a silent compressor from eBay, which I collected, but didn't wait for the oil to settle and used it straight away.
There was a tiny bit of oil in the line and this happened
There was a tiny bit of oil in the line and this happened
This was taken after sanding back the Orange peel with wet 1200 grit.
I was totally gutted!
I imagine the only way to recover would be to sand the clear all the way back to the paint, which would risk taking the paint off. I couldn't bring myself to do that just in case, so I put on quite a few coats of clear, sanding smooth in between coats.
After the final coat I let it dry over night.
After sanding with wet and dry, building up to 2000grit, I used a polishing machine to really put a shine on it (need to perfect this process as my garage is now covered in paste and polish splatters!)
I imagine the only way to recover would be to sand the clear all the way back to the paint, which would risk taking the paint off. I couldn't bring myself to do that just in case, so I put on quite a few coats of clear, sanding smooth in between coats.
After the final coat I let it dry over night.
After sanding with wet and dry, building up to 2000grit, I used a polishing machine to really put a shine on it (need to perfect this process as my garage is now covered in paste and polish splatters!)
And here it is in situ...
So there it is.
I wanted something bright/in your face, with something other than just plain/single colour. I think off the bike it looks okay, but I'm not sure it looks quite right on the bike?
Obviously it is flawed as the pitting is still visible (up close).
My intention was to paint the rear hugger in the same style. Maybe if I do it will look better?
Regardless, it was always a test piece so I'm not too gutted, but for such a simple mistake I am a little hacked off with myself!
A learning curve none the less.
I love the way the sun really brings the orange colour out! It's hard to capture on camera but the sparkles are a 'rainbow' type and the whole surface sparkles a myriad of colour - exactly what I wanted!
I wanted something bright/in your face, with something other than just plain/single colour. I think off the bike it looks okay, but I'm not sure it looks quite right on the bike?
Obviously it is flawed as the pitting is still visible (up close).
My intention was to paint the rear hugger in the same style. Maybe if I do it will look better?
Regardless, it was always a test piece so I'm not too gutted, but for such a simple mistake I am a little hacked off with myself!
A learning curve none the less.
I love the way the sun really brings the orange colour out! It's hard to capture on camera but the sparkles are a 'rainbow' type and the whole surface sparkles a myriad of colour - exactly what I wanted!
I've recently joined an airbrush forum (link to follow) and I posted these pics for all to see and pass comment. It's the first time I have gone public with anything I've painted (except for here) and I felt slightly nervous. I'm my own worst critic, but no matter how many friends and family I show my work to, I always get the same comments: 'Wow! That looks great' & 'Amazing work' etc. These comments are really good, but don't you think family/friends have an obligation to be positive about everything you do, regardless of how crap you really are?
At least on the forum nobody knows me. No one is going to protect my feelings by being anything but 100% honest. It feels liberating, but I feel strangely vulnerable?! Don't get me wrong - I don't expect people would be rude, just honest, and most of all, constructively critical. And that's why I did it, and to a degree why I'm doing this website (although as I write this I haven't actually gone 'live' yet).
Anyway, the results are back and all comments I've received so far have been positive!
I rock! :o)
At least on the forum nobody knows me. No one is going to protect my feelings by being anything but 100% honest. It feels liberating, but I feel strangely vulnerable?! Don't get me wrong - I don't expect people would be rude, just honest, and most of all, constructively critical. And that's why I did it, and to a degree why I'm doing this website (although as I write this I haven't actually gone 'live' yet).
Anyway, the results are back and all comments I've received so far have been positive!
I rock! :o)