Finished another tank today

I just got done putting the final touches on a tank for a 700 Honda Shadow today. I wanted to keep it simple and didn't want to order the labels for it, so I just threw a little pinstiping on it. I guess it looks alright. I hope he likes it. What d'ya think? PD

 

striping looks great, wanna come do my tank

 

Looks great, I'd love to have you come stripe my tank for me

 

If you could bring me your tanks, I'd be more than happy to put some custom work on them. I like doing it. It's relaxing as riding for me. PD

 

That's some nice work Painter

 

nice!! im thinking about pin striping when i paint my bike

 

Looks great.

 

Oh Sure - and where were you 8 years ago when I was living up the road in Thunder Bay???? :wink: I even had friends in St Cloud and used to go visit.... Good offer though - you do some nice work! 8)

 

damm, thats nice

 

He'll like it,looks like you'll have some sidecovers to do now!
Nice.
Glenn

 

Well, the side covers are a different story. One is missing, so he'll have to find another one (they are kinda rare for that model) so that will be up to him if he wants to replace it or not. The other side cover is in good shape and didn't need paint, so I left it as is. Infact, he doesn't even know I painted the parts for him, so hopefully, he'll be pleasingly surprized! The tank and front fender were faded tothe point where there was no clear coat left on them (sat in the suns UV rays too long) I just figured I'd get some paint on them soit didn't start to rust.
The bike needs a battery and the carbs cleaned, so I have a way to go yet on it. PD

 

Looks good, PD. You did a real nice job.

 

That is a great job! Would love to get that done to mine in the fall! Riding season is on in TX.

 

Thank you for all the feedback!!
Yes, I do this freehand. Some days are better than others!! It's gotten better over the years believe me. When I first started, the lines weren't so smooth and it was virtually impossible to do fancy curves and circles like I do now. I took alot of practice to get as good as I am now. Every job seems to be better. Now I am finally comfortable to sit down and do a pinstriping job with confidence and most customers seem to like my work. Sometimes I get a little wild with the colors, so I just needed some feedback on just doing a single color (pretty rare for me) and see what you all thought of it. I always liked using more multiple colors.

Here's what I usually end up doing:

 

Well - I might be understated, but I think "WOW" just about sums it up

 

PainterD they all look great. Where do you get the design? You said you do it freehand but do you put any grease lines down or anything or do you just completely wing it?

 

Labelleb,
When I'm doing the top of a tank, I mark the center with a line (grease pencil) and just go to town with curved lines, connected in interesting patterns. Sometimes it looks good and some time not. It depends on on how my artistic juices are flowing. Some days are better than others. The main thing with doing the these kind of patterns is keeping the pattern symetrical (both sides even) and as close to the same as possible.
Doing the sides of the tank aren't as picky, as you don't see both sides at the same time anyways. I try to keep them as close as possible however. Sometimes the patterns get kinda complicated and I need to make little measurement marks so I get both sides as close to the same as I can.
The art of pinstriping is not so much the pattern, it's brush control that takes talent. The patterns just come to me after I start laying the scallops down and connecting lines.
The nice thing about it is I can just wipe the lines off and start over (you need to remove it right away before it start to set) Which happens most of the time. I figure if I don't like the pattern, I don't expect the customer to like it either. Thank you all for the compliments!!! PD

 

Wow, thats incredible! Lots of respect, I know how hard it is to stripe. I've done a few tanks and customer cars that wanted hand painted stripes instead of stickers, but nothing close to that. I can pull a good line but when it comes to curves and stuff forget about it. I Wouldn't even attempt that right now. I've only been doing it for a few years now and not even on a consistant basis, but hopefully I will be that good some day. Do you use One shot, and what kind of brushes are you using to do that? I'm sure you have quite the collection.

 

BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Painter, I live in WI and when I am ready to get my bike painted I would love to talk to you about it. Not only are your designs gorgeous they are unique, no one else will have one just like it.

 

as an Air Force trained graphics artist (although we did way more stuff with kroy lettering, diazo films and then computer stuff later on, there is NO WAY i could have ever done that well...

my ncoic really liked to airbrush and when he got out he did some painting for BigDog Choppers but i dont think ever did any pinstriping...

OUTSTANDING work...

 

Animlchin2,
Yes I use 1-Shot sign painters enamel thinned a bit to pull longer lines (that stuff is way too thick straight out of the can) I have a collection of brushes that I use and have experimented with several brands to find out what works the best. So far, the Mack short handled brushes (000 and 0000 sizes) seem to work the best for longer lines. However, I found that a #1-#4 fineliner works better for me when doing tighter curves and circles. The secret is thinning the paint to the right consistancy so it flows off the brush evenly. You need to "pallet" your brush (wiping it back and forth on hard surface) to get the brush loaded and shape the bristles each time you pull a line. If your lines turn out uneven or don't have sharp edges, your paint is too thin.
The patterns and designs will come to you in time, but it's important to get the brush techniques mastered first or then expand your design ideas.
It's like anything else, some have it, and some don't. I guess I have it!!!
You can get some design ideas here on the net if you do a google searc for "pinstriping designs" and that should give you enough ideas to get you going. PM me if you need any pointers!

Yamahamama,
Yes, I would be more than happy to do your parts (pinstripe your bike parts!!) if you are able to bring them to St.Cloud some time in the future. Or we could set up a meeting place so you don't have to drive so far.
If your thinking about it, just PM me with all the information and we can go from there. PD

 

Thats awesome stuff. You definately have to have a steady hand for that. I like it when the striping isn't always exactly uniform side to side and on center designs, it shows that its hand painted, and one-off.

 

Yup, and it is almost always NOT the same on both sides. I always tried to get it perfect, but it seems there are always a little difference from one side to another.
I am going to re-paint my Maxim tank today and do another "design" on it tomorrow. I am getting sick of the flames I have on it now and need a change. I'll post a photo or two when I get'r done! PD

 

How about pin-striping an S10?
8)

 

Yeah I'd like to see what you do with it. I'm going with flat black, then tribal over top of it on the tank and rear cowl in hot rod green, then a matte clear coat. In my head it looks great, but once it's done I may not like it

 

I liked that one so much....
I decided to re-do my tank and fender on the bobber. I'm getting to used to the tribal flame job on it anywho (Hey, it's a year old!) so I sanded, primed and shot the first coat of black on it this morning.
I'll wait for it to set, wet sand and throw another coat on this afternoon.
Now I don't have a clue what I'm going to do for this one as far as striping it, but it's going to be red for one of the colors for sure (to go with all the red on the other parts) but I'd like to add some other colors like orange? or lime green (just for highlites) Who the hell knows? I cross that bridge when I get the brush in my hand.

I will not go as far as I did on this one I did on my old Seca tank! (looks like some kind of indian headress or something)



This was the tail section on the old Seca:

 

Rad tanks man. Would you do tanks if they were shipped to you?

 

Yes, that can be arranged I guess. I would need to keep them for a couple days before shipping them so the paint sets good first. It would cost you to ship them (both ways) plus the cost of the painting ($50-$100 ballpark) depending on the colors and how elaborate you want me to go. Also it would be more if you need the side covers, fenders, etc. done too.
I just do the pinstriping, not a full paint job (only re-paint my own stuff right now) I am still in the learning process with painting with a gun, so I don't do that kind of work for anyone. I have been striping/lettering for about 30 years now, so that part I am good at. PD

 

Thanks. I've got a good local paint shop, but no one who can stripe. When I get all my sheet metal done I'll give you a hollar. Thanks again, and great work man!