Greg's Bigwheel in Brook Trout motif...

Ok, so I thought I'd document most of the steps involved in painting up Greg's Bigwheel.  He is an avid fly fisherman and wanted a paint job that mimics his favorite little fishy...the Brook Trout.

The colors of nature always amaze me, they are so vibrant.  That being said, it is soooo difficult to paint such a scheme on small round bicycle tubing, as the bicycle frame does not lend it's self well to giving enough surface area to truly represent the medium.  So, I need to pick out details that catch the eye and give the illusion of the real thing.

In the above pic, the orange belly with the hint of gold transition stands out. So too do the red and yellow spots that fade into a darker top skin.  The fish does not have defined scales, but definitely does have a texture to it.  Let's grab ahold of those traits and go for it.

I'll start off with the primer layers...

 

Each of the four layers are sprayed, flashed off in the bake box, then sanded smooth with 600 grit.

 

The last primer layer should be very smooth and texture free, so we'll touch up the surface with a extra fine Scotch Brite pad to give a little tooth for the color layers to adhere.

The last preparation is the to wipe the frame with a tack cloth, insuring a dust free surface.

We'll be beginning with a metallic sterling silver base.  I mix the base with reducer so that the paint runs free from the spoon but leaves an even, slightly translucent covering.  Just right for even application.

A single coat of silver in place...we'll let it flash off and then start the colors.

To provide a visual texture, I stippled a burnt orange onto the frame in the area that the vibrant orange will be sprayed.

A little orange glow candy...

and faded onto the frame...

Grab an airbrush and begin fading in a little golden yellow on the superior boarder of the orange.

Next up, it's time to add the red and gold spots to the downtube and the underside of the top tube and seat stays...

and begin airbrushing in some candy metallic sea foam green...

Next I mixed up some custom darker green, reminiscent of the color of stream water flowing over mossy rocks.  To provide consistency in visual texture, I stippled in a darker moonstone, mixing the darker streaks from the fishes dorsal spine with a pebbled look of the stream bottom.

a little artistic license, but it flows nice around the tubes...

With all the colors in place, it's on to the decals.  I printed up the down tube pieces, weeded them out, put on the transfer paper, and am ready to apply.

Clear all mixed up and ready to shoot...

The first coats of clear on and looking spiffy...

Should look killer once the frame is all built up.