The frame is media blasted to give an even tooth for proper adhesion and then prepped for paint using a degreasing solvent...then she gets hung in the booth.
I use two layers of sanded primer on each frame to insure a nice balanced base that will protect the underlying base material well. This shot shows the grey/green primer's first application.
After the primer comes the base color. In this job, it's a Midnight Blue metallic. It looks kind of bland right now, that's because I spray it on fairly dry in multiple coats, usually 3, to insure even coverage without excess build as I do not sand my color coats.
Next up is the first layer of clear, sprayed cool and fairly heavy...I'll sand this coat to prep for the airbrush work and decals so the "orange peel" is not of much concern.
As you can see, even outside, the color does not really jump out at you yet...just wait ;)
Here's a shot of the first sanded coat. The entire frame is knocked down with 600 grit dry paper to even out the coat and prepare for what follows. It feels a bit funny working so meticously to get a good finish just to sand it into what looks like oblivion, but it'll be worth it.
I've airbrushed on the lightning bolts using a metallic silver with a hint of transleusant black.
Then I layered 5 different shades of clouds starting with transleucent white and getting darker and adding a bit of purple for the ionization effect that lightning has. The NOS decals are super pricey and are quite fragile (they are 20+ years old). Ready for the next layer of clear!
Two layers of clear and a good run in the bake box, and the frame is finished. I added some prismatic to the clear to really let the metallic colors pop...it came out really nice.
Wish I could figure out how to post larger pics as these just do not do it justice. After it sits a bit, I'll face the HT and BB and tap out the threads. Then it's a pack and ship job headed for Cali for a new lease on life :)
cheers,
rody
3 comments:
Hey Rody,
but you know that they never put signature and flag on a Monster, right?! So I guess your customer asked for it, right?
Au contraire my friend...if there is one thing to learn about Fat's work, there is no consistency. I've had Monsters through with only the headbadge and downtube, with the whole assortment, and even one with both flags. So, knowing fat's is much more than checking out pics in old catalogues, it's knowing the folks who worked there and their whims :)
Rody, I hate to be a pest and hell, my native language is Dutch so I should probably hold my mouth shut (but I can't, I'm Dutch...), but AFAIK the shine-through property of paint or other non-opaque materials is written as "translucent" . I don't want to demotivate you, because your writing style, as your craftsmanship, is excellent, but I do have to admit that your somewhat awkward spelling of this word distracts my attention from the great works of art you display on your blog... bla... bla... bla (OK, I'll shut up now...)
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