Custom painted hood..the good, bad and the ugly

[Rucky]

I've airbrushed a few things and finding someone that can lay a nice clearcoat has been a challenge. I had guys that say they can only to find out after that they really can't.

One of the things to look for when trying to find someone who lays down nice clear is make sure they have a proper paint booth, and that it is kept clean. Particulant in the air can really fawk up the clear. And also, the imperfections show up considerably more on black and white. That is something to keep in mind.

 

[medler]

With a sled I wouldn't expect shops to warranty it anyways... Things get wrecked too easily for them to deal with warranty. Looks like spray bomb clear, yes... or someone who is half blind that painted it in the middle of a construction site.

They will warranty it for peeling or other problems ONLY if there is no damage to the hood or whatever is painted.

 

[Cartel]

There are some things that can be done to allow for a sled to have a paint job last longer. flex additives can be added to paint when it is mixed up to be sprayed, but is very expensive, also paint used on the corvettes can be used as they have a flex additive in them already.

I have been getting into airbrushing and been doing it for about a year now, still learning but I have a few good helmets and such sprayed up. and would like to soon have the skill to start doing hoods and such for others.
but I can tell you that who ever painted that does not have any flow control, and that clear is deff spray bombed, i have tried a few in the past on simple things and have had the same results, lesson learned there and I don't cheap out anymore.
that can be wet sanded to make it look a bit better, but not all that much. best thing to do if you are still not happy would be to find someone who is willing to fix someone elses mistake. it also looks like he took a very wrong approach on the ghost effect, it seems like he skipped a few steps between the silver and the clear. the silver would be a good base to start with, but a few more layers would have to be added to get a true ghost effect.

Just my two cents

 

[Rucky]

They will warranty it for peeling or other problems ONLY if there is no damage to the hood or whatever is painted.

That's basically what I was getting at... Maybe Cartel could fix that up for you real nice?

 

[Cartel]

To be honest, I am trying real hard to bring myself to the level where I can start doing paint for other people, and it wont be long. I just want to do a paint job that will meet and exceed what the person is looking for and nothing less, I wouldn't feel good about doing paint for someone and not have it turn out like they wanted, or the quality that they were looking for.
I will post up some pic's of a helmet that I am doing now, I am making it look like it is made out of a bunch of patches of sheet metal with rivits, its coming along, but I am still not completly happy with the front jaw piece on the Mx style helmet, it is such a small area and looks too cluttered.
I will keep you guys updated

Cartel

 

[Uturn]

Cartel, if you want to practice on a bigger canvas, just let me know. Any work you did would be an improvement!!!!!

 

[cooper]

You could fix that your self in 2 hours and get a better job than that.get a how to paint book and never worry about painting stuff any more its reallllly easy.

 

[Cartel]

Haha yeah which is very true, I will have to check into how many free weekends I have between now and Jan 12th, after that I will be leaving to country for quite some time.
Are you still wanting the tribal ghost flames??
and is the base color black??

 

[162SKIDOO]

So I took a gamble on painting the King Cat hood. Went with a guy off Kijiji who has painted flames and showed me pics of some real nice work. I though someone who does permanent ink on a body would have a high standard of quality.

I wanted some subtle tribal looking ghost flames similiar to a M1000 posted in Powder Puffs green pics. What I wanted was circled in red in this picture.

This is one sweet cat!!!!!

So I sent the picture to the guy and discuss what I wanted and he quotes a reasonable price including clear coat. I meet him by West Ed (half way for both of us) and explain the layout I want and he says no problem. About 2 weeks later when I pick it up it is wrapped in plastic. I'm in a hurry to get back to work, so I take a quick peak and it's a bit dusty, but not bad, so I pay the guy(I know my fault) Not quite what I wanted but close. Next morning after I get off work, I unwrap it and this is what I found.

Flames are not as "ghostly" as I would have liked, but the clear coat is horrible. Takes a few days to get a hold of Tex, but when I do he says he had a buddy spray the clear and he will redo it. Takes about 3 weeks to get back, and I'm thinking I might not get it back as he has become very hard to get a hold of. When I finally get it, the clear coat is better, but still not right. Not as much junk in the clear, but still very textured.
He doesn't seem to care too much.

The clear coat is already flaking off, so it won't last long. He obviously didn't know what he was doing. I am a dummy for paying in full without inspecting, but lesson learned, the next person won't find me as trusting. Surprise, surprise, he won't return my e-mails now, so here is my warning.

Beware of a tattoo artist from the Spruce Grove/Stony Plain area if you are looking for some paint work. I wouldn't want any ink done by him either.

THAT IS NASTY......Looks like whatever clear he used was horrible under reduced and had severe lack of pressure when sprayed. Hopefully the clear and paint he used wasnt an endura plastic produc because its very tuff and hard to make corrections on. If you need a hand with it you PM me i'll come out and have a look.

 

[162SKIDOO]

Just a note on getting warranty from shops for peeling . The plastic or lexan hoods are almost impossible to get warranty on because they are so flexable and dont crack as easy. Even with flex agents in the plastic bonding primers and paint ,the paint will get damaged and peel or flake when you hit something without leaving damage to the hood itself. Graphite hoods are usually never painted because graphite is silicon based and nothing sticks to them really good. There are a few products outon the market that do work alittle but beware.
One of the problems with paint on plastic is that if all the layers dont have the equal amount of flex agents in them you also get harder and softer layers which helps them crack too---plus its still plastic !!
This old hood had been in the bush logging for 2 seasons. On the front you can see the damage the rev hood took after a collision with a big tree. The impact was hard enough to bend the pipe and alot of other parts. All in all not so bad when the job is done right .

 

[SLEDBUNNYRACING]

Nice hood there Mark.

 

[162SKIDOO]

Nice hood there Mark.

old old hood....new ones getting done as we speak....gunna be perdy !!!:d

 

[162SKIDOO]

how clear is suppose to look

 

[beeonaplug]

These hoods have three years paint on them with no cracks and rode hard. Prepping and paint quality is everything.

 

[canuck5]

New Hood:d

 

[162SKIDOO]

New Hood:d

very nice....dont bump it ...lol

 

[canuck5]

very nice....dont bump it ...lol

Thanks, I'll have to get some pics before the first ride to make sure!!

 

[Scuba]

I think that i puked in my mouth a little after seeing that AC hood.......wow.

canuck5.......did you get your hood painted up in fort mac????

 

[DV8ED Digger]

I would contact The Paint Druid in Drayton Valley, he did mine and Im very happy. That probably will have to be stripped right off too.

I have seen Paint Druid's work on motorcycles. He did an oilpatch theme on a custom chopper that was kick a$$. I would highly recommend him as well.