| Author | Message | ||
     Coyote_xb12s |
I finalized some details on the graphics:   Also added the Drummer "Loud" and race ECM. Matching Helmet:  | ||
| Nsbuell |
Very nice!! Love the colours. | ||
| Az_m2 |
wow . . . very nice ! | ||
| Cataract2 |
Very very very nice! | ||
| Pwnzor |
That is one of the finer things I've ever seen. Very bold yet tasteful, and in the colors of the flag.  | ||
| Rubberdown |
That's cool! | ||
| Whodom |
Man, that is cool! | ||
| Buellin_ri |
That is a one of a kind job. Not flashy but very stylish. Awesome job!  | ||
| Tq_freak |
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 |
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:  | ||
| Djcrysler |
That's one sweet ride. DC. | ||
| Tattdbueller |
nice job. | ||
| Jandj_davis |
Coyote - That is a sweet paint job. Did you design it yourself? | ||
| Coyote_xb12s |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
AWESOME!!! job | ||
| Bcordb3 |
Sick, very sick. Man, am I jealous! | ||
| Jasonxb12s |
very nice dude... | ||
| Brad_buell |
Your bike looks awesome........ | ||
| Stou |
Very nice job! Is it hard to have the vinyl to get irregular shapes like on the chin cowl? | ||
| Ralf |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
Superbee24, any pictures? |
