Monday, May 12, 2008

Tech. Tip #4. It's all in the details

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Tech Tip #4. It's all in the details is kind of a continuation of tech tip #1. Hiding or making the gas tank mount brackets blend in, is an important detail to me. This is part of making a bike look clean.
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Another way to look at the little details, or better yet, not notice them is by blacking out, and silvering out nuts, bolts, & wires. You can do this with a simple can of spray paint in black, and one in silver, and a cheap brush.
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Flat paints work best. Simply spray a puddle into a plastic cap, aluminum can bottom, or onto a piece of cardboard.
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Apply to the nut or bolt head, wire, or what ever it is that you are trying to make blend in.
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Keep in mind I recently had work done to my bike, so some of the nuts, bolts, etc. that I had blacked out, got damaged, during repairs, so I needed to re-do them. I have a couple of before and after shots below that show you examples. And some additional shots of afters. Some are wires, some are hose clamps, etc. But you get the point.
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Before:
After:
Before: Notice the gas tank mount bolt head, and the side to side gas tank hose clamps.

After:

After:
After:
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This makes a very subtle difference, but it's sometimes what you don't see, or don't notice that makes a difference. The object is to get things that should not stand out to blend into the back ground.
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This is a simple detailing trick that anyone can use, and anyone can do it themselves.
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Mr. Motorcycle