Goin' German and Italian for a change

[pete]

Absolutely fantastic Larry, they're looking awesome! So very jealous of that booth

[nvr2old]

Today was decal and pinstripe day. 7 hrs. of layout, masking..10 minutes of spraying. My brain hurts.

This is always been the most stressful part of painting bikes for me..the decals..you only get one shot at it. Careful layout and positioning with masking tape markers. The Guzzi tank came out nice..whew.



Having this special decal application solution helps a lot. Way better then soapy water. It lets the decal slide a bit and there are no bubbles or residue. A quality hard squeegee is nice to have, too.



The decals for the BMW side covers were like refrigerator magnets.. Won't be able to totally bury them in clear, it would take a quart..but still better then factory which didn't have any clear on them at all. The red, white and gold colors on the Guzzi is a nice contrast..pure Italian.



On to the BMW tank. In all the years I've been doing this, these may be the hardest pin stripes I've ever laid out..and they look so simple. One side took 2 hrs. the other side 4 hrs. to match the first. Insane.





I had the tank all masked up and ready to spray when I noticed the stripes were a bit different from side to side..so off the masking came, only to have to redo the front half again..argh. It's hard to tell until it's masked.

The pin stripes are 1/16" and 3/16" with a 1/16th in between.



Literally 10 minutes to spray them.



I only wait about 20 minutes to unmask. You wanna do it while the paint is still flexible.





Turned out pretty nice. I'm happy with it. I didn't have time to do the fenders. You want to mask and shoot..mask and shoot so the tape stays put. I'll try to get them done tomorrow then the clear coats start.



Thanks for looking.

[dorkburger]

Quietly following in awe.... Your reflection looks rather pleased in the picture of the BMW tank.

[nvr2old]

Thanks dorkburger. Yeah, it's always pleasing to see the results when they turn out right..not so much when they don't.. So far so good....so far..

[pete]

Fantastic as always Larry, looking forward to see the finished product all cleared over and shiny

I had enough fun with the Suzuki decals on the Kat, and they were just vinyl stickers on top of the clear, so I can only guess how awkward it is making sure those decals sat on right enough so you're happy to do the clear.

[nvr2old]

Thanks, Pete. There's only one problem. I knew that although it looked pretty good after I unmasked it..it didn't look quite right. Dammit. The 1/16th inch black between the 2 white stripes was too narrow. After talking with Tobin, I realized that I had just plain made a mistake. Sooo..back into masking mode to widen it out just a bit which narrowed the wider stripe just a little, but needed to be done. It, too, can be a little skinnier and still look right.







The results are subtle..but better. A pain going backwards, but it would've never set right with me or Tobin whose very meticulous about them, as he should be. Hopefully now I can get the fenders striped..correctly, and get ready to shoot some clear.

[pete]

Bugger it wasn't quite right Larry, but definitely the time to fix it now, and if you don't, yeah you'll be kicking yourself every time you look at it even if noone else notices...

[nvr2old]

Yesterday the booth at the shop was in use, so today I went in and striped the BMW fenders and started the clear coats.

Another 2 hrs. of trying to get the front fender as close to factory as possible. Learned my lesson last week on what should be the correct widths.





The stripes end at the forks and have a slash cut on them.



The rear fender a bit easier with no hump down the middle to deal with.





Back in the booth they go.



Five coats of clear later..

[nvr2old]

Really happy that the tape laid down and stayed put. No blow outs around them at all. This is why this kind of 1/16" and 1/8" Fine Line tape costs $16 a roll..worth every penny.





I didn't forget the V7 Sport..







I'm pretty sure all the parts that don't have decals have enough clear on them. I'll block sand the parts that have decals with some 600 and give them 3 more coats to bury them a bit more. There's finally a light at the end of what has been a very long tunnel.

Thanks again for the interest.

[steve murdoch]

Wow!
There should be a NSFW warning at the start of your paint threads.

[nvr2old]

Too funny, Steve. Thanks, man.

[Nessism]

I'm pretty sure all the parts that don't have decals have enough clear on them. I'll block sand the parts that have decals with some 600 and give them 3 more coats to bury them a bit more.

You're nuts. I'd denib them and hand the parts back to the owner. They look more than acceptable now and a little smig of orange peel matches the original look better (although I seriously doubt the parts ever looked that good.)

[pete]

You've excelled yourself yet again Larry, absolutely fantastic!

Gotta say I'm with Ed there, they look spot on just as they are, but I do know you like to make sure everything is up to scratch so I get why you want to lay a few more coats on.

I also understand the $16 tape too... good masking tape makes a huge difference to the clarity of those masking lines!

[nvr2old]

Thanks for the kind words, guys. The finish as is, turned out really creamy. I can thank the baking process for helping out. Not a spec of dirt on any of the parts. Have I mentioned in the last 10 minutes how much I love this booth.. It'll make the cut and buff a breeze. The decal parts will sand back quickly with 600. It's the only way I know how to do it.

[pete]

Hahaha I have serious booth envy Larry! Can't wait to see how the bits all look out in some natural light too!