Fork painting project!!!

[Chunk]

Getting a new '05 DJ1 within the next week or so. I got a killer deal on it, but it was only available in a flat green color. Not a bad color, but not usualy found in my list of favorites. Since ill have to wait another week or so to get my wheel in, i figure ill paint the fork to make it the way i like. Taking it apart shouldnt be a problem. Im pretty good with that kind of stuff. Then ill sand down the paint to allow for better adhesion. (and yes, ill take the seals out and mask all the holes and everything very well)

Im planning on ripping off the design from the (unreleased) '07 Rock Shox Totem fork, but ill make the design a bit bigger and taller. I am pretty good with making my own masks out of masking tape (learned that from my RC car body painting days) but im curious as to what paint to use.

Im sure some are better than others, so id like to know if anyone has any experience with different paints. (we're talking about doing a rattle can job here. Not a pro job) so id like to use a flat black paint, then cover everything up with a flat clear coat. (i heard there is such a thing as flat clear coats, but ive never seen it)

This is the design i am gonna steal (kind of)
http://www.velonews.com/images/report/9586.14047.f.jpg



This is what my fork will look like.
So the "totem pole" design will be the original green, while the rest of the fork will be flat black (with a flat clear coat).
http://www.stif.co.uk/images/products/DJ2-20mm05350.jpg

I would try and figure out some way to get this on to paper (well, at least something very similar. That specific design looks like it would be hard to tranfer)
http://www.largecreations.com/totem_poles/totem_and_fish1.jpg

Im pretty handy in photo shop, so i may go that route. Im not TOO great with the program, but i think i can pull it off just fine.

Thoughts? Questions? Did i leave anything out?

[IFO]

make sure u use fineline maskin tape if u plan to do work that technical...

reg. tape doesnt have the strength at the edges to hold back paint very well..

your totem pole effect will end up "blurry" if u use reg tapes..

sand your lowers in a P400 grit paper... make sure u use a prep solvent to clean the lowers before masking... and again lightly after maskin just prior to spraying...

as far as paint types make sure u use a acrylic urethane type paint... anything else will be to "soft" after its dried and will flake/peel to easily..

lastly u should be able to find a "matted/flat" clear... but what sources u have localy to you i have no idea.. i'd try your local autobody supply houses..

such as Lordco/UAP.. or similar...

and lastly Good luk with it...

oh yeah u dotn realy have to dissaemble teh fork to be honest...u should be able to get in and around teh sliders/stanctions with the sandpaper/tape and paint... but of course taking it apart does a better job...

the question is is your final work gunna justify the result ??? only u can answer that one....

[Chunk]

make sure u use fineline maskin tape if u plan to do work that technical...

reg. tape doesnt have the strength at the edges to hold back paint very well..

your totem pole effect will end up "blurry" if u use reg tapes..

sand your lowers in a P400 grit paper... make sure u use a prep solvent to clean the lowers before masking... and again lightly after maskin just prior to spraying...

as far as paint types make sure u use a acrylic urethane type paint... anything else will be to "soft" after its dried and will flake/peel to easily..

lastly u should be able to find a "matted/flat" clear... but what sources u have localy to you i have no idea.. i'd try your local autobody supply houses..

such as Lordco/UAP.. or similar...

and lastly Good luk with it...

oh yeah u dotn realy have to dissaemble teh fork to be honest...u should be able to get in and around teh sliders/stanctions with the sandpaper/tape and paint... but of course taking it apart does a better job...

the question is is your final work gunna justify the result ??? only u can answer that one....
Thanks alot! I have the freetime, and the curiosity to see how it will turn out, and its gonna be a beater bike anyways (but i wont let that keep me from trying to do a great job) so it doesnt matter if i fuck it up.

Resources arent a problem for me. I live around Dallas Texas. Plenty of places to go around here for paint.

And like i said, i have done work with RC car painting, so i have been around masking quite a bit. Ive screwed up a couple paint jobs for the exact reason you stated. The tape wasnt the right kind.

Thanks again! You were just the person i was hoping to get an answer from.

[Straw]

Ohhhh...def show the results! I hope it looks good!

[Chunk]

Oh, hey IFO, back in my RC car days there was a product that you would actualy paint on, let dry, the use an exacto knife to peel off the coating. So it would effectivly be the same thing as using masking tape. Its just a kind of paint-on masking goup. It worked pretty good in the RC car world, not sure if it would work for my aplication though. And you could get as technical with the design as you wanted.

Have you ever heard of this stuff? I can get some at my LRCCS (local rc car shop :lol: )

If you havent heard of it, i would suggest looking into it and maybe trying it out some day since you are into this kind of thing. Could save you alot of time.

Hell, if you havent tried it, i just might. If all else fails i can just paint the whole fucking thing black.

[Chunk]

Ah, here we go.
http://www.rchobbies.org/rc-body-painting.htm

scroll down just a bit, and youll see some guy pouring some whitis goup inot an RC car body. Thats what im talking about.

Liquid Mask made by Parma

Something tells me youve heard of this stuff. What are your thoughts?

[adam45]

OK everything IFO said and the product is called Friskit. The liquid is better if your good at freehand drawing. The film can be apllied to a paper copy printed from your computer printer and then cut out and transferred from the paper to the stantions. Cool project.

Friskit liquid http://store.artcity.com/gfx-ds2.html

Friskit film http://www.currys.com/airmediums/prodinfo.asp?SubcatID=25&catID=10

and this may help with Technique :

http://www.meininger.com/Education_Center/Kids_Club/kids_activities/airbrush.cfm

http://www.goldenpaints.com/technicaldata/airtip2.php

[IFO]

yeh liguid maskign seen it at the indusrty level, cant say i like it much...

on a vehicle its so much extra work to deal with after painting... the shit never comes off 100% like they say it does...

it dries into al the little corners and u cant get the shit off easily.. and some customers freak out when they see it..

so most shops use the old paper n sheet plastic method... one quick tear off and the maskign is gone...no hassles...

8-)

but for your application, who knows it might be perfect...i have no idea how tight the stuff does a fineline edge thou...guess u'd have to use a really sharp blade..

p.s. dotn forget pics...8-)

[Chunk]

yeh liguid maskign seen it at the indusrty level, cant say i like it much...

on a vehicle its so much extra work to deal with after painting... the shit never comes off 100% like they say it does...

it dries into al the little corners and u cant get the shit off easily.. and some customers freak out when they see it..

so most shops use the old paper n sheet plastic method... one quick tear off and the maskign is gone...no hassles...

8-)

but for your application, who knows it might be perfect...i have no idea how tight the stuff does a fineline edge thou...guess u'd have to use a really sharp blade..

p.s. dotn forget pics...8-)


ive heard of plenty of people having great luck with it in the RC car world like 4 years ago, so ill try it if the price is right. Ill just do the technical work using the liquid mask then ill cover the rest in paper cuz the technical stuff wont be on a place with nooks and crannies

[Chunk]

Found my design. Ill probably simplify it a bit in photoshop, but i found this picture online and its exactly what i was looking for. I harly need to do any work at all on it.

http://www.sitkalodging.com/coloring/totem_pole_coloring.jpg

I ofund a few similar pictures, but this one was my favorite. Like i said, i haev some mods to do to it, but not many

[Chunk]

After about 20 or 30 minutes ive put a pretty big dent ito the amount of work needed. Still have alot to simplify, but its looking pretty good so far.

And after staring at it for so long, ive become attatched to this project. I dont think im gonna leav the totem pole design green. Im gonna make it a better color. I might do it exactly as pictured, or maybe chang it up a bit and make the design red, and the rest of the fork black. Havent desided yet. And im rethinking about wheather or not i want it to have a flat clear coat.

Any suggestions?

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f105/mike1205/masking1copy.jpg

Still have some serious work on the top part, and some basic work to do in the mid section. Im gonna put off doing the top section cuz as i go along i get better and better at visualizing the final product.

Ill keep updating.

[IFO]

curious how your gunan keep the totem "wings" from wrapping around and touching themsleves???...

or are u plannin on making the totem design super small ???

[*GiMpY_jR*]

are you taking the lowers and everything apart or taping the stantions up?

when i painted my boxxer i had everything removed and plugged, leaving in an old pair of seals would be best tho so it all fits right

[Chunk]

curious how your gunan keep the totem "wings" from wrapping around and touching themsleves???...

or are u plannin on making the totem design super small ???
Already did a test fit on an old shitty ass MZ comp or something i had lying around the garage. The wings wrap around yea, but they arent touching eachother. In fact, they are about 1.5cm's apart. ANd on the DJ1 im sure the fork legs are fatter so they would be even further apart. And it spans almost the entire length of the leg so its still pretty big. Kind of second guessing the whole project at this point cuz of the complexity of the design, but what i might do to simplify is just have the totem pole on one side, then make my own design on the other side that says "DJ1" somehow. Im 80% sure im gonna go through with the prject though. It sounds fun.

Ill post a pic in just a sec

[switch]

That's a lot of detail. You definitely want to take your time.

And listen to IFO - he's the jedi master of painting.

[Chunk]

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f105/mike1205/Picture109.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f105/mike1205/Picture108.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f105/mike1205/Picture110.jpg

[switch]

That could look really good. Make good choices on colour! :)

[Chunk]

That's a lot of detail. You definitely want to take your time.

And listen to IFO - he's the jedi master of painting.

oh yes, i have done my fair share of making complex designs with an exacto knife. some of the RC car graphics were pretty intense hahah!

I have an attatchment for my exacto knife that is the perfect diameter for those tiny holes. Its a blade wraped around in a perfect circle, so i just push down, and i get a perfect hole.

[Chunk]

That could look really good. Make good choices on colour! :)
honestly, im not much of a visionary so any suggestions would be awesome. I was actualy thinking of keeping it black and white, but then i was thinking maybe black and red (totem pole red, the rest of the fork black)

Im no good at color coordinating though....

It will be going on an azonic steelhead. So the frame is flat black, and most of the parts are black too. Its my budget DJ project :) and its also the rig i get to test my painting skillzzzz on!!

[adam45]

Wow man thats gonna look cool.

[Chunk]

Oh, and any suggestions what i should do on the other fork leg would be very welcome. I think i just want it to read "dirt Jumper 1" going down the side, but im not sure how i should stylize it. Cant think of any font that would match the totem pole particularly well.....

I dont think i want to do the totem pole on both sides. In fact, im sure i dont. One side is cool with me. And its alot of work, and more work means more things to fuck up.

[Trini-dad72]

Head on over to: http://www.1001fonts.com/

And check there, I am sure that you'll find a font that matches the style of the totem.

[Chunk]

Head on over to: http://www.1001fonts.com/

And check there, I am sure that you'll find a font that matches the style of the totem.

woah!! Thanks!! Looks like i have some fonts to look through

[Trini-dad72]

No sweat man! I have gotten lots of fonts from them, lots of awesome stuff in there!

[Chunk]

oh wow, looking through the "foreign imitation" fonts on that site, i have found like 4 already that would look great!!! And i havent even really been through all of them!!

[Chunk]

Last post of the day. Im kind of being a post whore but i need some help

IFO, would it be a smart idea to sand the fork down to bare metal? I know its alot more work, but if i scratch the fork, i dont want the ugly green showing through. Or would the paint not stick as well to the bare metal? Im all for doing the work, but i dont want to screw myself. I would be willing to use a primer i suppose if bare metal wouldnt work (my dads gonna pay for paint and supply cuz he likes to support my projects like this :) )

And also, how many coats of everything? Just one of everything? Ive heard more than one clear can make it chip really easily.


Edit:

Hows this font? :coo:
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f105/mike1205/font.jpg

Imagine that font on the other leg. Pretty slick eh?

Thanks Trini-dad72!! Gotta give props where props are due!!

[IFO]

use teh stock green paint...

its gunan give your paint better adhesion then takign teh fork lowers to metal..

take your time and sand and prep for paint correctly and your finish should stick pretty well... least as strong as u can expect...

if u rub the fork on concrete its gunan scrape off, nothing will survive that abuse...

[.243racer]

sand it raw and leave it.

[Chunk]

use teh stock green paint...

its gunan give your paint better adhesion then takign teh fork lowers to metal..

take your time and sand and prep for paint correctly and your finish should stick pretty well... least as strong as u can expect...

if u rub the fork on concrete its gunan scrape off, nothing will survive that abuse...

Cool.

sand it raw and leave it.

you no like totem pole? :(

[Trini-dad72]

That font looks pretty good! What I like to do is take all of the fonts that you want to use, and type out the same thing on one page in Word, then print it and look atthem all, put them up to the fork, and you'll see what looks best.

[Chair_lift_whor3]

real original design i like it, im ussally not a fan of native art but i think thi swill look good cause instead of on a peice of wood it will be on the lower of a fork:woot:

[Air Supplier]

Paint it yourself?

[Coop]

the other thing you could do, i've got it all planned out just havent sent it to the printers yet, is to make up a bunch of designs in illustrator, and get them printed as die-cut stickers, i can get a 12" x 18" piece of diecut printed in whatever colors I like, so thats about 4-6 different decals for my 888s, depending on how well i can make them intermesh on my final layout.

best part is, next time I eff up off a highway barrier, i just peel whats left off and slap a new decal on.

[heckler]

Chunk, any updates yet? How's the painting project going?

[Chunk]

My situation changed since the start of this thread. I got the fork, and was pretty much poor. So i thought i would paint it while it wasnt in use. I like projects like that. But i came accross some money alot sooner than expected and was able to finish the bike ALOT quicker. If i wanted to paint the fork now, i would have to put off riding a perfectly capable bike. Not gonna happen. I ride prety much every day and i cant stop doing that.

[adam45]

Thats the choice I'm sure most of us would have made. Have fun theres always another bike to be built next.

[Chunk]

theres always another bike to be built next.

Oh for sure :)

[blunt boy]

What a gyp. :lol:

[Trini-dad72]

No worries Chunk, that's what winter is for.

[Chunk]

No worries Chunk, that's what winter is for.

hahah! winter in texas is mild. Plus its a park bike, and i have a massive indoor skatepark withing 5 minutes of me. Ride on!!!