Dirks race frame...

A pretty straight forward 29er race build...steel frame, direct mount front derailleur, full length down tube cable routing and a chainstay mounted disc mount.  I've been slammed for time, juggling a number of projects in the shop as well as working 80 hours at the FD this week, so the pics are lacking some steps, but there is enough for those of you who enjoy watching the process...

The frame, done in fab, ready for media blasting...

The frame was primered with two sanded layers of DP40 and the colors sorted.  Dirk is young and has a lot of energy, so we went with some bright, racy colors with a silver pinstripe.  This paint took a lot of masking, wrapping, un wrapping, re masking, etc...  As this is a sponsored frame, I tried some new tapes and techniques...some worked well, others not so much.  Better to play now than with a customers piece  :)

I've already laid down a two part green on the rear end, a base silver, and now have the frame masked for a grandeur blue candy...

 Blue candy on, getting ready to mask for the orange glow...

 Starting to take off the masking...all the colors are separated by a silver metallic pinstripe...

 The 3m tape I normally use; very defined lines and good edge to the color breaks...

 The base colors all in place.  I used some Kustom House tape on the rear...pulled and left some edges in the corner transitions open to over spray.  Gonna have to clean them up a tad cause I know it's there.

 First coat of clear on...

12 hours into the paint thus far with a couple more coats of clear to go.  She looks fast, so Dirk will need to rider her that way too  ;)

Grumpy Disclaimer:  Hear me now, believe me later...this is the LAST sponsored frame to come out of the Groovy shop.  As much as I believe in supporting grass roots racing, the time required to keep wheels under a team and to participate in running 10 races a year is just too much, taking away from my opportunities to meet my obligations to my customers.  So a big thanks to all those who've rode for us through the years, you're family and we luv ya. Good luck to Carey, Dirk, and Kalten this season as they rip up the single track.

That said, next post will show more work on Martin's frame...today I played with some rolled Ti tubing for the seat tube and top tube, trying to define what direction aesthetically I want to take.  Pics tomorrow.

cheers,

rody