Who says you need a fancy HVLP set up to get a killer paint job. On a budget? Don’t have a compressor? Just don’t want to sink big bucks into a paint job? Let the rattlecan guide you. No doubt there is limits to what you’ll be able to achieve, and if you want the paint job to last, you’re going to have to get it clear coated with something that will hold up to gas (urethane). Remember, killer paint jobs are all in the prep work. Spend your time and attention when you’re prepping your tins for paint and it will pay off 10 fold when you spray it. Here’s some inspiration to show you what’s been done with rattlecans.

Pics lifted from this jj thread.

The slideshow below is going to take a second to load, but well worth your time for the wild paint pics you’re going to dig into. New slideshowgallery format, just roll your mouse over the pics and click to advance - let me know if you dig it in the comments.

Pics lifted from this jj thread.

Ever wanted to see how gold leafing is done? Well thanks to our pals over at dbbp.com now you can. Watch Belgian Pinstriper El Cheapo applying gold leaf to a fueltank at the Bigtwin Bikeshow Rosmalen 2007. Three video segments in all, watch the first one above, and the remaining 2 by click on the read more link below.

Read more…

Bro… Seriously…. This fucker rips your nuts off it’s so sick. The whole bike is an ass kicker, but the custom tank and the seriously unFUCKINbelievable (yes, one word) paint job rawk it hard. Don’t be surprised if the paint on the Savage chopper is heavily inspired by this. Love it.

Photos from: Sparetime, photo rulers extraordinaire

Harpoon laying down some stripes at the Mooneyes show in Japan.
Another video thanks to dbbp.com. word.

Wild psychedelic paint schemes? Yosemite Sam Radoff has got you covered.

Go to: http://www.yosemitesams.com/ then click on Custom Paint and bikes to see some wild choppers.

groovy man, groovy.

David Mann paintings done for the Jammer catalogs.
Beyond awesome.
Anyone have anymore they want to send my way?

From a little while back by the man, the myth, the legend: Harpoon.
Pearls, candies and metalics - no flake. Awesome.

One of the cool things about working on this site is coming into contact with folks I wouldn’t have otherwise met. This is especially exciting when its talented guys like Nik Coole. Nik dropped me a line after finding the site via the plug that Ryan at the Jockey Journal gave us. Along with his email he included a bunch of images of his illustration and paint work. Once I caught a glipse of his paintings I was 10 types of stoked. His paintings of classic motorcycle racers Victor Horsman and Tazio Nuvolari are phenomenal - they struck a chord with me through their emotion and depiction of an era, scene and purity that I have a deep rooted affection for. Nik also sent along some images of other kustom kulture pieces he’s done, as well as some examples of the paint work he’s done on a couple of bikes. Cool stuff all around, Nik has boat loads of talent and I can’t wait to see more work from him in the future.

Click thumbnails for bigger.

A small sampling of photos of the French Kiss Kustoms setup at the Smokeout this year.
The lime bike is still one of my absolute favorite bikes around, and it looks even better in person than the pics I had seen.