Author |
Message |
Coyote_xb12s
| Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 07:44 pm: |
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I finalized some details on the graphics: Also added the Drummer "Loud" and race ECM. Matching Helmet:
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Nsbuell
| Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 07:47 pm: |
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Very nice!! Love the colours. |
Az_m2
| Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 09:04 pm: |
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wow . . . very nice ! |
Cataract2
| Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 09:08 pm: |
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Very very very nice! |
Pwnzor
| Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 09:30 pm: |
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That is one of the finer things I've ever seen. Very bold yet tasteful, and in the colors of the flag. |
Rubberdown
| Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 09:43 pm: |
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That's cool! |
Whodom
| Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 09:47 pm: |
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Man, that is cool! |
Buellin_ri
| Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 10:34 pm: |
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That is a one of a kind job. Not flashy but very stylish. Awesome job!
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Tq_freak
| Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 11:29 pm: |
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that is one slick bike, I cant get over how well it all looks together, if your not careful Erik will make one of thouse special body kits of that scheme |
Coyote_xb12s
| Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 12:03 am: |
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Thanks for the compliments, it makes it all worth while. Especially since it's not easily duplicated. Here's another side of the helmet: And the under tail:
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Djcrysler
| Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 12:20 am: |
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That's one sweet ride. DC. |
Tattdbueller
| Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 09:13 am: |
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nice job. |
Jandj_davis
| Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 09:22 am: |
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Coyote - That is a sweet paint job. Did you design it yourself? |
Coyote_xb12s
| Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 09:31 am: |
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Jand- It's actually vinyl, at least the orange and white part of it. I did design it myself, as well as the helmet. |
Jandj_davis
| Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 09:40 am: |
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Vinyl, wow. It looks really great. What company did you go through to get it printed & put on? Don't tell me you did either of those yourself too! If you don't mind my asking, how much did a job like this cost you? |
Ratyson
| Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 09:45 am: |
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Coyote, That is swwwweeet. Erik Buell would be proud! I bet it wasn't easy getting the vinyl cut correctly to match the contours. A buddy of mine in Atlanta does really good vinyl work and paint. I am getting ready to send him my XB plastics to pain for me. I have tried to drum up interest in a trade (my cityx blue for xb black), but no takers, so... OFF TO THE PAINT BOOTH. I am thinking of gloss black with flat black racing stripes. But you may have caught my eye for maybe a simple orange/white racing stripe, off center. |
Coyote_xb12s
| Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 10:52 am: |
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I cut the design free hand and then lay it down over a semi-wet surface. I use a spray gun with a soap water solution, plastic (putty) scraper and a blow dryer. Oh yeah, lots and lots of patience!! I normally buy the roll of vinyl from a sign supply store by the yard. Cost for this stuff was around $40- $45. The expensive part is usually the labor. I would say it was around 8-10 hours or so for me to finally get it to look the way I wanted to . The helmet's about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, depending on how crazy the design is or how big the piece. For example, the racing orange stripe that opens into the tribal flames is one piece. On the bike, the tank and the seat cowl took the longest than anything else. It would be nice to be able to paint, but I haven't mastered that yet. Besides, paint is sooo permanent- with this, if I ever decide I want to go all black or choose a different color combination, I just pull up the vinyl and start over! |
Jandj_davis
| Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 11:04 am: |
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Did you buy colored vinyl, or was it on a paper back and printed on? I can't believe you did that yourself. Have you ever considered going into business for yourself, charging parts and labor? I have heard of vinyl custom shops that get a lot of press from the speed channel and such. I agree with your thoughts that it is a better alternative to paint. The non-permanent nature makes it more appealing in my mind. If the painter does a bad job, you either have to live with it or pay to get it done again. If the vinyl guy does a bad job, he peels it off and puts it on again. |
Coyote_xb12s
| Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 11:16 am: |
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You can buy from a rainbow of colors. Printing color could get expensive as it has to be laser printed to be permanent. Have thought about doing it for money, but haven't yet. I could be talked into it I guess... |
Gowindward
| Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 11:35 am: |
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AWESOME!!! job |
Bcordb3
| Posted on Friday, November 25, 2005 - 05:54 pm: |
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Sick, very sick. Man, am I jealous! |
Jasonxb12s
| Posted on Friday, November 25, 2005 - 07:23 pm: |
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very nice dude... |
Brad_buell
| Posted on Friday, November 25, 2005 - 11:18 pm: |
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Your bike looks awesome........ |
Stou
| Posted on Saturday, November 26, 2005 - 07:19 am: |
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Very nice job! Is it hard to have the vinyl to get irregular shapes like on the chin cowl? |
Ralf
| Posted on Saturday, November 26, 2005 - 09:57 am: |
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OK so I've had this crazy idea for a while, does anybody make vinyl that looks like carbon fiber? I was going to try and print some up. Cheaper than paint or real carbon fiber..... ralf |
Stou
| Posted on Saturday, November 26, 2005 - 10:09 am: |
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Ralf, there's CF looking vinyl I have some at home. I was thinking of doing my XB9SX frame with CF looking vinyl. That's the purpose of my question about applying vinyl over irregular shapes |
Rocketman
| Posted on Saturday, November 26, 2005 - 10:57 am: |
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You could always have the carbon look printed onto a vinyl roll of your choice then cut it using a vinyl profile cutter. Rocket |
Coyote_xb12s
| Posted on Saturday, November 26, 2005 - 06:39 pm: |
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Tapeworks carries some carbon look vinyl, they sell it in squares. It is a challenge to do the curved sections like the chin and the air scoop. You have to warm it with a heat gun or blow dryer while you stretch and smooth it out. It would be tough to keep the lines in the carbon look to go straight. |
Stou
| Posted on Saturday, November 26, 2005 - 06:55 pm: |
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It would be tough to keep the lines in the carbon look to go straight.\ I see the problem. With }vinyl with a design on it, the stretching will damage the design. Same thing if we print or paint the vinyl. It can be use on simple shapes parts but not for too complex parts. Thanks for the tip Coyote! |
Signguyxb12
| Posted on Saturday, November 26, 2005 - 07:39 pm: |
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you can use enamel receptive vinyl lay it down with a heat gun...spray it black let it get tacky (almost dry)so it won't put up .. lay some cheese cloth down, spray gray... presto.. carbon fiber it takes a little practice bit for 5 bucks you get it |
Ratyson
| Posted on Saturday, November 26, 2005 - 07:47 pm: |
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My buddy in Atlanta did the Chevy emblem for someone on the lift gate of his truck. It was done with vinyl that looked like diamond plate steel. He did it with a 3d looking shadow that made it look like it was floating. It looked VERY cool. I thought that this diamond plate vinyl would look really cool on the frame as well. But as has been said, it may be difficult to keep the original lines in the pattern looking correct around the profiles of the frame. But I may try it anyhoo.. heck, if it doesn't look good, I can just peel it off. |
Rocketman
| Posted on Saturday, November 26, 2005 - 10:11 pm: |
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If you use a vinyl cutter, and an operator that knows his way around the computer program it interfaces with, most anything is possible. Even complex shapes. Personally I don't think the frame of an XB is that complicated to do what you're thinking about BUT it could well be less expensive to buy the real deal. Carbon fiber covers. Rocket |
Superbee24
| Posted on Sunday, November 27, 2005 - 05:47 pm: |
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I have a vinyl graphics business as a side job from firefighting....The diamond plate vinyl looks good but does not take well to shaping around irregular objects. REGULAR vinyl can be heated with a heat gun and it will do great around shapes but the diamond plate will not. I covered the "black" airbox on my Hero Blue CityX with the diamond plate and although it looks pretty cool ( looks like a hologram paint job ) it was a royal pain in the behind. |
Stou
| Posted on Sunday, November 27, 2005 - 06:14 pm: |
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Superbee24, any pictures? |