How to airbrush an eagle and flames on a Harley fairing

Surface: Harley Davidson Electra Glide Fairing

Paints Used: Automotive base coat/clear coat

Instruments: Double action airbrushes, both gravity and siphon feed. Touch-up gun, spray gun, acetate masks.

Duration: I didn't keep track but I would guess 6 hours airbrushing, half-hour clear coating, one hour buffing and polishing.

Cost: $900.00, fairing provided by customer.
 

The first thing you want to do is clean the entire surface with grease and wax remover, then sand the entire surface with 600 grit wet or dry sandpaper. After you apply your base (in this case, black) you can begin airbrushing your design. I start with white base, mixed with just a touch of yellow, to lay out my eagle.

 Next I come in with a yellow mixture and paint in the areas of the eyes and the beak. Also, since I have my yellow mixture on hand, I begin to lay out the flames.

 Now I come in with a brown mixture and start filling in the details of the eyes and beak. One of the advantages to airbrushing is that you can vary the tonal range of a single color simply by adjusting the air pressure and paint volume released from your airbrush.

 I spray some candy yellow over the flames. Not pictured is the tack rag, towels and grease and wax remover that I use between candy coats in order to keep the project as clean as possible before it gets clear coated.

 I come in with a light yellow/white mixture and start adding some highlights to the eagle's face, feathers and flames.

 I then shoot some red candy over the flames.

The red is a little strong so I come in with some yellow and redefine my flames.

 Here is a shot from the other side.

I spray some candy yellow again to give the flames some depth.

 I use a white/yellow mixture to highlight the flames and add some hot spots.

 This is the fairing after clear coat.

 A close up of the face.

A little closer.

Helmet, Wolf with Flames

I painted this helmet for a gentleman from Dubai, who contacted me through my website, milwaukeeairtbrush.com.  I always have fun painting wolves and flames on helmets and this project was no exception. I took pictures throughout the process to give you an idea as to how a paint job developes.
The first thing I do is clean the surface with grease and wax remover, then I mask the areas that are to be protected from paint. Next I sand the entire surface with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper, using lots of water and making sure no spots are left un-scuffed. I then proceed to paint the wolf and flames with yellow base, adjusting the air pressure on my gun, and the volume of paint to attain a wide range of tones with a single color. I also at this time lay down the initials he requested. I do this in reverse, preserving the black base and painting around the letters, with the flames both behind and in front of them. I the use a darker paint mixture to add some details, and to bring the wolf to life. Then I highlight where necessary. Once I am satisfied with overall look of the wolf and composition of the flames I lay a coat of orange/red candy, followed by additional highlighting., and then a few more coats of candy paint - this time yellow.
The art work is then covered with four coats of urethane clear. Once the clear sets I will sand it down using 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper, and buff it to a high gloss, mirror-like finish. The purpose in buffing is to remove any imperfections int he finish, such as orange peel or dust that settles during the clear coat process. Plus, a polished piece is so much smoother than one simply cleared.

  

Cracked takes a crack at bikers

Six Things Nobody Tells You About Owning  A Motorcycle

A light look at some of the unsung realities about being a rider.

But on a serious not, those of you in cars and trucks need to keep your eyes on the fucken road, and be attentive to bikers, children and small animals. I can't tell you how many time I've had to swerve because someone merged into my lane. I for one no longer drive next to cars. I want to be as far in front of, or behind them, as possible.

My Bike

This is a little Sportster I've had for quite some years now. I started taking it apart a couple years ago when I decided to convert the front end to a wide glide. Then I thought I'd mess around with the back fender. I shaved the tail light and license plate bracket, and stretched it six inches for a long, smooth look to the back end. The gas tank is a one piece stretch from Custom Chrome (or Drag Specialties, can't remember). I fabricated a front fender as well, but it suffered some irreparable damage and now I have to start over.

The paint job is a black base with a whole lot of eagles and green and gold flames.

Publish Post

This is a firefighter helmet I painted for a competitor from South Dakota. Black base, white flames, and white skulls wearing a firefighter helmet, plus the firefighter's Maltese cross and insignia.

Evil Skulls with Flames

Here is a recent project, painted on a Harley Davidson Springer. The first thing I did was pull out the 'ol DA and started sanding away the original paint paint job, graphics and striping. Not that there's anything wrong with original Harley Davidson paint jobs, but if you want your bike to be a one of a kind master piece we're gonna have to get rid of the original paint and start from scratch.So once the old paint is removed we apply some epoxy primer by PPG, followed a surface primer, which is sanded smooth for the black base coat that is to follow. I use a pallet of three shades of brown for my skulls, and two shades of yellow for my flames, followed by two  House of Kolor tints, yellow and red.

This is what the art work looks like with just the three shades of brown, before adding any tint.
As always, if you are in the market for custom paint airbrush services, please, do not hesitate to contact me.