A Little Bling

Masked, Clean and Ready For Paint

Primed with PPG DP50LF
Epoxy Primer 

A word about masking tape. The masking tape you get at Home Depot, even if it has a name brand like 3M sucks (IMHO). it may work fine when you buy it, but let it sit for a few months and if it hasn't become a gooey mess, then it is almost impossible to pull a clean piece off the roll without it prematurely tearing. I used to suffer through this thinking that this was just the way masking tape (the less charismatic brother of duck tape) had become since all tape production must have moved to china by now. I never used to buy tape from the auto body supply I bought paint from, thinking that it was just the same thing as Home Depot at three times the price. Not that I used that much of it anyway but I guess I was just being cheap. One day years ago, when I was actually making a living by custom painting motorcycle parts (I have never, nor will I ever,  airbrush a unicorn or nekid woman on a motorcycle tank), I was placing an order for paint and supplies, and being too busy to go to Home Depot for rags, tape and sundries I just tacked them on to the order to be delivered. What a difference! The tape the supply houses carry is very different than the crap that you get at the hardware store. It may in fact be the exact same brand but it is made to a much higher standard. It pulls evenly, is sticky but does not have an excess of adhesive, and  most importantly for me doesn't go bad if not used immediately. The reason this is relevant is that I decided that now that the front rim is machined, it should be painted. That way I can call it done and do the final assembly on the front HUB thereby having something nice to look at. After cleaning it first with a bath of Marine Clean degreaser, and giving it the once over with lacquer thinner, I needed to mask off the machined surfaces. I must have had an old roll of Home Depot Masking tape in with the good stuff because it was Gooey and tearing inches from the start so I binned it immediately and picked up a roll of the good stuff. I was instantly reminded of my historical experiences with bad masking tape and likewise inspired to write this warning. Life is short, tape is cheap, buy the good stuff from a real auto body supply.

Sparkles don't come through well in Pics

First The Metalic Green

Then The lime Gold Candy

Finished With Clear. Beautiful!!