Artistic Touches

Hi

With the fenders and sidecar painted, it was time to look at putting some color and pinstripes on the Invincible Jap.

Another pal (Ian) was asked to do the pinstripes as i had seen some of his work and this is highly respected.

Ian is a professional sign writer and more than capable of the task at hand as the results show.
Ian's experience and stories had us all captivated, while he worked away with his steady hand.
It was quite an experience watching a Tradesman perform the skills, and Ian who is proud of his trade was very keen to pass on as much of his knowledge as he could.
Unfortunately painting is a trade that also requires much practice along with a steady hand, as my work bench and shelves will always show i have neither, but at least now have a very good understanding of what is involved in sign writing.

The process goes somehting like this.

Select your color, then mix it, have a beer!
Then try the color, let it cure, have a beer!
Etc, Etc,

The hand gets steadier as the job progresses, and as such the lines appear straight. I am not sure of the science, but can attest for the accuracy of the straightness along with the finish. 

The brushes used are actually Squirrel hair, with special care being taken to ensure the correct brush and pressure was placed once the brush was loaded from the pallet.
The broadline (Widest) line was laied first, then this was allowed to dry (cure). The highlights (Light Green) were then layed, followed by the low lights (Black) in the center.

It has certainly transformed the fenders from where they were a few weeks ago, and I wish to thank Ian for all his patience, and skill set.

I would have no problem recommending Ian to undertake similar work, as his passion and ablity are currently under utilised.

                                                                                                                                 

The pin stripes need a few days to cure, and then they will be de-glossed as they do stand out as being fresh. This process will unfortunately take a week or so to fully cure before we can then can re-visit the pin stripes.

Thanks to Ian I'm sure that these will see the distance, and not be too knocked around come September.

With this part of the painting almost completed the bike really is beginning to take shape.