Harley with a Samurai and a Dragon

[airbrushoptic]

Hi everyone,

I started working on a Harley project, here are the first pictures of the bike before I did any serious work on it. It has twin tanks and different designs will be painted on both sides, including a Samurai on the right side and a dragon on the left. The fenders will also be painted as requested by the owner Alpay Kalyoncu -he is the the one with shaved hair, a very keen Kendo guy, as well as being interested in several other Japanese themes ...


He wants me to paint the specially designed steel wheels, which he made them chromed previously. As the chrome started to peel off he says he decided to get them painted black, similar to what he wants as the new base color of the bike. I figure out that I have to sand and prep the surface before painting but I was just wondering has anyone painted steel wheels before. Any tips and suggestions will be useful and well appreciated at this stage....

[redanner]

Well the wheels are flames so maybe you already have a topic or a least something that goes with flames. How are you going to get that chrome off so you can paint those wheels?? The best way would be to take it back to the Chromers ask if they could reverse the process? Maybe having them sand blasted. Alls I know airbrushoptic is if that chrome is peeling then it isn't a very good base for painting even if you can get the paint to stick to it.

[Cowboy]

Hey Can, looks like a great project & a nice lookin bike. looks like he just got a bad chrome job. So Like Red said .I,d get them sand blasted. Then keep them clean & dry & get some epoxy primer on them as soon as possible . Then The uro prime . Sand & prep like normal. Unless You have access to a powder coat facility, That would be an alternative . Its much tougher than regular paint. & wont peel or damage as easy as paint when remounting the tires. Good luck on it.

[Whit]

I'll second what cowboy said !!!

[airbrushoptic]

Hi Robert, Cowboy and Whit,

Thank you all for the posts. I have very little time ahead to finish this bike and I am not sure what I can do on the wheels, but definitely will tell the options to the owner and decide accordingly...

Here are two videos showing some progress on the right and left tanks. You will see me painting two Japanese letters freehand on the right side where the samurai is, and flames coming out of the dragon on the left tank. Both sides have just their first layers completed, they need some more layering and color of course...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvrmV2C8cpo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDyOLiTGhJc

The reference for the Samurai comes from the photos taken in my studio from this Samurai figurine provided by the owner.

[Cowboy]

Videos !! Thats No Fair, Can . Just kiddin , Make sure & post a few pics also. For The few of Us that are still on a Slooooow dialup connection OK . Looking forward ta seeing it .

[Memas]

What a great bike!! You have a good project in your hands and I can asure you this bike will rock when your done!!! Keeep us posted!!!!

[airbrushoptic]

Hi Cowboy, Memas and all,

Cowboy thanks for the warning, yeah I was a bit in a hurry and couldn't add any pictures to the previous post but I'll definitely do it for this one. I am not sure why but this forum is working the slowest at my comp here, may be due to the reason that it's very rich in divisions or just its server, or the distance but it takes a bit long to open its pages...

Memas, many thanks, I really hope it does. I hope you like the progress pictures.

Here, I wanted to add some progress pictures into my thread. I added details to some areas and some color. Then decided to apply a layer of intercoat clear. Here are the pictures of the two tanks after this intercoat layer. I will continue with a light wet sanding (2000grts), then playing with my flames and adding final touches to the samurai and the dragon...

The video shows the detailing of the dragon side tank.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz21bDNVDEk

[Cowboy]

Great pics Can, Cant wait to see the updates , thanks for posting. & Its not You Nor Yer puter, Its been really slow lately, I would assume its server problems.

[airbrushoptic]

Hi Cowboy and Denise,

Thanks for the info about the server, I'm glad it's not just me:whowhere: but still wish the techicians could sort it out soon...The forum is offering wide choices and I really hope it grows more with future partcipants after it gains a bit more speed...

As it comes to the bike, I gave the chromed parts back to the owner today as he wants them powder coated after reading the comments. Next there are retouches to be done on the tanks and two fenders to finish...:cheers:

[redanner]

Can! those are some really great AB representations! I like your work and I'm sure the customer will get giddy from them also! Can't wait to see it finished.

[airbrushoptic]

Hi all,

It has been some time since I finished this one but I noticed that I didn't send the pics here. Here you will see the finished parts pictured in my back garden.

I also noticed that I didn't post any links of the videos showing several steps during the whole process. Here I add the links here for the ones interestedand patient enough to observe the whole painting process of this bike :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxif8kcI0xY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXRYvdNZne4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N2yArdq96M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD7qPoa_56c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upDPVJCMuWo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJspUp6l1rw

There are two other videos also available showing all the parts together: one, before they were mounted back and the other showing the bike after it was reassembled.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEbeG-yH-7A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nia1z1ngSg

[Cowboy]

Great pics Can, thanks for the update. I,d love ta see the videos but not much chance on slow dialup. Thanks for Sharing.

[ABD]

I'm with CB..Thanks for the update..Came out real nice Can!.....I think the Dragon is my favorite part,:thumbsup:...Thanks for showing:)

[airarts]

You do the badest dragons!!! Love them!

[sharonsstudio]

Memas that looks great you'll have one happy customer..