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Posted on 13/01/24 09:22:03 AM |
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dwindt
Realism Realiser Posts: 808 Reply |
2024 polish and shine done and dusted
South African west coast summer weather is upon us. Dry, blistering hot days. Perfect for exploring back roads and off the beaten tracks, in and around the neighborhood. My beast is polished and ready to go. 1982 Honda XL500R. 8 years short of vintage. 
_________________ The grass is greener on the other side of the fence because there is more $hit there. |
Posted on 13/01/24 1:08:09 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5293 Reply  |
Re: 2024 polish and shine done and dusted
Aren't bikes of this sort supposed to be honourably mud spattered? 
That's been beautifully kept Dennis! _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 13/01/24 5:20:41 PM |
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Frank
Eager Beaver Posts: 1673 Reply  |
Re: 2024 polish and shine done and dusted
Nice condition - want some snow to check out those tires? |
Posted on 14/01/24 5:53:10 PM |
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dwindt
Realism Realiser Posts: 808 Reply |
Re: 2024 polish and shine done and dusted
Thanks David. Mud, yes, thank goodness for high pressure hoses. I have stripped it down and resprayed it. The last time wasn't as thorough as the first time, some 18 years ago. The first time was show quality. I taught myself to airbrush during that project to, and got quite good at it. Haven't airbrushed since I started shift work, 34 years ago. I'll try find a picture of the first custom job. _________________ The grass is greener on the other side of the fence because there is more $hit there. |
Posted on 14/01/24 5:56:32 PM |
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dwindt
Realism Realiser Posts: 808 Reply |
Re: 2024 polish and shine done and dusted
Wouldn't mind trying my luck in snow. Must be a lot trickier than mud. I think I would put dirt digger tires on though. _________________ The grass is greener on the other side of the fence because there is more $hit there. |
Posted on 14/01/24 6:16:37 PM |
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dwindt
Realism Realiser Posts: 808 Reply |
Re: 2024 polish and shine done and dusted
The first time I customised the bike. The signage on the tank and side covers were airbrushed broken segments that made up the writing. My helmet also had a broken segment on the back side, with a snow wolf on an ice berg, touching the water with his paw.  _________________ The grass is greener on the other side of the fence because there is more $hit there. |
Posted on 14/01/24 6:50:58 PM |
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dwindt
Realism Realiser Posts: 808 Reply |
Re: 2024 polish and shine done and dusted
During this time, the bike brought attention to the bike enthusiasts, re the airbrushing I did on my bike and I was approached to do some airbrushing on other bikes, helmets etc. Due to enamel paints being so hard on an airbrush and their intricate parts, I chose to use acrylic paint with a series of light clear coats as the layers progressed. I was worried as yellows and reds fade the quickest. I had tested these paints and process on an old imitation wine barrel pot for plants and they seemed to last the test of time, exposed to the elements of whether. Anyway, long story short, I used this technique on a custom bike job and made a great deal of cash from it. NO PRESSURE!. Well, years went by, I joined a biking enthusiast site and about 2 years ago, the same bike I airbrushed over 3 decades ago, popped up for sale...my airbrushing still intact and as crisp and bright as before. It's an American Indian peace pipe used in various rituals. 1 side was the males and the other side was the females. It was interesting reaching out to the new owner, giving him copies of what his bike originally looked like and sending him the brief and illustration for the design on his tank.  _________________ The grass is greener on the other side of the fence because there is more $hit there. |
Posted on 14/01/24 6:59:02 PM |
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dwindt
Realism Realiser Posts: 808 Reply |
Re: 2024 polish and shine done and dusted
You can't get the sense of how accurate the painting is. When I took it for inspection pre-final clear coat, the owner when to show his friend next door. When the owner returned, he was glowing even more. His friend continually rotated the tank in the light, looking for seams made from the edge of paper. He couldn't work out how I had taken a photo and got it on the tank so cleanly. The reed of the pipe, goes through the head of a Mallard and ends at the tip of the beak. The Mallard has feathers on it's head that change colour as the light angle changes. So did the feathers on my airbrushing. Although I used fine sable brush strokes of pearlescent paint to do it. The airbrushing has got an edge now. It has obviously been masked off to protect it from being ruined when the bike under went another paint job. _________________ The grass is greener on the other side of the fence because there is more $hit there. |