ok, i know i said i would give a tutorial in a month or so but i just started this tank and fender set toady and thought this might be a good place to start. the customer was on a real and i stress real limited budget so i kept it super simple. the one i plan on doing in a month or so is much more involved so consider this a warm up. i thought it would be good too since its all spi products. i will be using the black and viper red basecoat. when i do these i wont bother with the preliminary prep stuff since most of you are painters and know that stuff. on thing to remember when painting graphics and custom stuff is every job is entirely different so the steps and the exact process may not be in the same order but the basic idea is still there. with every job being different you need to think about every step you are going to be doing to reach the end result and plan each step out in a way that gets you to the end result as easy as possible. for instance on this paintjob i chose to shoot the background color first then mask and do the graphic. some you may shoot each graphic and then the background. this is where it all must start because you can easily take a simple job and turn it into a huge involved project if the process is not thought out..

ok to start this off i based the tank out with viper red and it sat overnight so it was good and dry. first thing i do to get the basic idea on the tank is take a white pastel or chalk and sketch the design right on the tank. this is to get the layout right and the basic shapes down. its much easier to tweak the design by sketching rather than laying out with tape. the sketch doesn't have to be perfect for sure but it should be in the neighborhood. you can do this right on the base but be sure it has intercoat on it to be safe. at this point i begin with my 1/8" fineline tape and start following my chalk lines. dont follow exactly, fine tuning the desing as you go. i do prefer the paper 233+ tape over the common blue vinyl stuff. the vinyl shrinks after you put it down and the corners pull up. paper stays where you put it!! the pic below shows where we are except no chalk lines.


once your design is layed out, if you have any graphics that overlap like on this design you need to take an exacto and cut those areas out as well as any tape ends that hang into the area you will be painting. shown below!!


once thats done, i masked the area that i want to be keeping red. keep in mind that even though the pics jump from one side of the tank to the other, so far i have only been explaining one side.


ok, now the real trick. on a symmetrical design, how do you get one side of the tank to exactly match the other. ok, first i get out my roll of vinyl transfer tape. this a paper with latex adhesive on one side. its used for applying sign vinyl and available from most sign supply as well as coast airbrush.


first i tear a piece off the length of the tank. using a squeege i begin putting it over my masked design. obvoiusly its going to be wrinkled since we are going over a curved surface but tru to keep most of the wrinkles off the design as much as possible. once its down i take an exacto and trim it to the edge. its very important to trim acurately as this edge is going to help you line it up on the other side. also look for anything you can use as a reference point. in other words something that may be under the tape on this side of the tank that may be in the same place on the other side. this tank doesn't have much other than the edge of the tank fill and bottom edge of the tank so i'll deal with that. now i take super soft lead pencil. i use a 9b and trace along the edge of the graphic making the lines as dark as possible. if your basecoat color is dark use a white or grey pastel pencil. i also mark the edge of the gas fill to help me line it up later.


when all done slowly peel the paper off not letting it stick to itself. since this paper has actually been formed into the shape of the tank you will be able to turn it inside out now and place it on the other side. your pencil marks sould now be on the red basecoat. ouse the edge of the paper and any other marks you made such as the gas fill to help you line it up and then tape in place. once in place take your pencil and scribble over the lines. this will transfer the pencil marks from the paper to the tank. peel it off and you have a mirror image.



at this point repeat all the masking procedures above unitl the whole tank is masked. i then spray my graphic with spi black. i let dry a couple hours. with this design i wanted to add a simple effect to the graphic. it had to be real easy because if the budget. i didn't want to just leave it black as the whole thing would look way to generic and plain. you would be surprised what a simple little affect will do for a paintjob. as seen in the pic below i took the front fender and i layed out some 3/32 green fineline tape 1/2" off the edge of the graphic. i did this on all the parts. i trimmed the points as shown.


i them mixed up some spi intercoat and mixed in some blue pearl in my airbrush. i about 3" away i began hazing in blue bearl over the tape. i didn't do it lightly. i wasn't looking for a ghosted effect but rather a stronger blue effect. once done to all the pieces i peeled the tape and all the other masking away.


once done i mixed up some real weak black in the airbrush and dropshadowed the graphics. here is a pic of the tank all shadowed.



thats enough for one day. i cleared everything with 4 coats of universal clear. tomorrow i will blocksand everything flat with 400g to burry the graphics and begin pinstriping.

to be continued tomorrow night!!


ok, i came in this morning and sanded everything smooth and wiped down to get ready for pinstriping. i mixed up a light purplish blue by mixing royal blue, lavender and white together. it compliments all the colors in the design. i went ahead and pinstriped all the edges. i didn't want just a plain stripe but didn't want to do a slash stripe either. slash looks too hairy for me so i basically did a normal pinstripe and added some accent stripes along the edges just off the graphic. makes it more interesting and less plain. once all the striping was done i wiped down the parts and upt another 4 coats of universal clear on. the pics below are the lalmost finished product. all that needs to be done is wetsand smooth and buff out.





if anything wasn't clear or anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

nice work! that should help alot of people out

This is great, I love stuff like this, You can always learn from this, even if just a little trick here and there, I really like his way of working the transfer paper and soft pencil. I always just tried my best to tape them the same on each side.. lol..

Wow........... That looks great Jim. You did a fantastic job explaining everything step by step. I'm glad you started with something simple. It makes the concepts and ideas your explaining easier to grasp for someone like myself, who's never done any graphics before.


Thanks for taking the time to write up the tutorial and post it. It very interesting and informative. You did a great job. I can't wait for the next one!!!

Mike

Now Jim if only I had someone to lay out the fine line tape everything else I could do I have the dangdist time trying to get that there tape to lay out all pretty and stuff... almost acts like you need to be artistic for the tape to put down graphics

So 1. you gotta be able to draw
2. gotta be able to trace
3. gotta have a steady hand with an exacto knife
4. gotta be able to lay down the fine line smooth not squiggly

Yeah, Im in bad shape already

Killer thread by the way brother

Really nice. I wondered how they did all that one the bikes I have seen.

There are a few of these type of tutorials on here now. One was way back about stripping a panel for epoxy in a thread I started (I was asking questions).



It would be nice if they were all moved into one area like a library and labeled as to what each of them are.

ok guys, this ones done. i edited the post and finished it up. i'm not too good a teacher so if there is something that i forgot or isn't clear let me know.

Never have nor could I do something like that, the step by step was very educational. Learn something everyday! Thanks.

believe me, i never took an art class, never used to draw....still cant and was never taught to pinstripe. i think anybody could do this, its just i do it everyday so after a few years it becomes easier. for me the painting and graphics are easy, its the pinstriping that has been the most challenging for me. i am somewhat of a perfectionist so i beat myself up on every job when i look at my striping. i have seen good striping and mine aint that good. its better than alot but it still bothers me when i look at it and its not razor perfect. its something that just takes years of refining to be super good.

Well Jim... The last art class I remember taking was back in the "Mini Skirt" days. The teacher had legt that went all the way up, and they showed. I didn't pay much attention to the class subject!

I can't even draw a straight line with a ruler!!!!
I can't help but be amazed by your stuff.

Aaron

Great Post Jim!!! That is something I've always wanted to try. You explained it pretty good cause I got it and usually I don't get it unless I see it done. Thanks for taking the time to share your talent with us. I know we all appreciate it.

John

That looks like some damn fine stripping to me!
great job.

Thank's Jim C! You are a good teacher. That looks great.

Very nice work man