Painting basic graphics...

[Rody]

Interested in seeing the process for creating and applying basic bicycle graphics?

While Kalten was home from school and we were fabbing up a replacement frame and fork for his retired/broken Bridgestone, I had him shoot part of the paint process to share...

[Eric Estlund]

Fun video- thanks, Rody!

PS- Nice use of "palpate". Your health care experience is trickling out on your painting. =)

[Craig Ryan]

Cool Rody! For anyone who hasn't figured it out, Rody knows his shit!

[Rody]

Craig, as a painter, you know this...

painting forces you to learn every day, always more "shit" to know ;)

Hopefully by sharing we can reduce the learning curve for others.

rody

[EnginCycles]

Rody,
I think (not positive) that Todd uses tooth picks to remove the masking on the base coat as it is less likely to scar. Have you tried this and prefer the xacto?

[Rody]

Yep,

Todd uses a film that is a bit less tacky, so it pushes the edge with more ease.

The film I use is a bit more robust, so that I can use it through the entire process from blaster to booth, so it needs to be lifted from the edge, requiring a more precise tool.

r

[seankanary]

Rody, If you were to do a full liquid paint job, how long would you let the base dry or flash before masking your graphics?

Sean Hendrix

[Rody]

Sean,

When working in liquid, you want to insure that all of your base paint is completed and an intermediate layer of clear is laid down, this allows you to lock down your base work and provide a platform for the graphics that is protected if you have errors that need to be corrected without affecting the base layers.

Understanding that, you will want the intermediate layer of clear to be gassed off so that it does not react with the adhesive of the masking. This means about an hour in the bake box or at least 24 hours of passive curing. Knock down the clear with some 600 grit wet/dry paper, blow off with compressed air, wipe with a dust nib cloth and begin your graphic work.

Let me know if you have more questions...

rody

[seankanary]

Thanks for the response Rody. Wow. Lots of fun work involved when doing multiple colors/layers.

[Rody]

Yep, just remember to keep layers thin and adhere to time parameters for layering. Keep moving on base work, once locked under an intermediate clear, you can sit and relax for a bit

r