Custom Painted Harley Davidson Bagger by Eye Kandi

This a Harley Davidson Bagger that we did a while back. It sports dual overlay flames in black and two shades of candy apple red over a silver metallic base, with two shades of a blue pinstripe.   It takes flames and two toning to another level.  Our focus was to make the flames flow with the bike as they came off the front fairing , they swoop down to the tank, from there they swoop down to the side covers, then onto the bags.



Custom Christmas

It's funny to sit back and watch all the people, for hours, in the cold, waiting for the stores to open and the non-stop traffic pouring in. Everyone is out for a great deal. Everyone is rude,tired, hungry, pushy, and the list goes on. What's even more amusing is on Christmas day everyone is handing out gifts. Some you win, sometimes you find out everyone got the same thing, but maybe in a different color or size, so the whole family is "dressed like twins." What about the custom world? Why not, this Christmas, let everyone win. Most people think "custom paint" is for their motorcycle,car,helmet or "airbrushing" is only for people that want to customise a t-shirt,tailgate,or hood mural. You know someone that has a game room or a bar in their home? Or a business setting with a bit of edge? Hard to shop for them? Question is what do you get someone who is hard to buy for or someone who has everything?

Bet they don't have a custom painted guitar as a piece of art, by mixing together custom paint and using the guitar as an nontraditional canvas you create a three dimensional piece of artwork. The nice thing about custom paint is its used for expression. Most people who have something that is custom painted, it usually expresses their taste,character,or personality.

Imagine a flashy custom painted guitar hanging on a wall in your living room,game room, bar, with track lighting centered on the piece. Or businesses, sometimes in bars, restaurants,offices, pool halls,etc. you will see artistic decorations, such as a custom painted marlin. You can have the custom painted guitar hanging there as a conversation piece, which has a good story behind it, since you had it professionally done specifically for you,a friend, business colleague,or family member. As a bonus it's a true playable guitar. So you don't have to be a guitar enthusiast, or guitar professional to enjoy a custom painted guitar. These guitars don't have to be hung, you could also purchase a free standing guitar stand. Another great idea would be a guitar in its own lighted glass display cabinet.

What about a half of a tank blank custom painted for that special some one, for their home or office? Or a custom painted bowling pin. Even a skateboard deck as an art canvas. These are great gift ideas that are one of a kind and last a lifetime! Plus, they are customized to fit that person in your life, you know "the hard to buy for type."

Although, it takes anywhere from 2 - 6 weeks to complete your tank blank, bowling pin or guitar piece, timing is everything! If your thinking of this new found gift idea time is of the essence The half motorcycle tank blanks and guitars can even be made into a clock. These are ideas as starters, just about anything with a hard surface can be custom painted and airbrushed. Take for instance a sewing machine for the sewing enthusiast or lap top lid/ computer tower for the techno nut! How about a tool box for the mechanic or handy man. Even a wooden table top could be airbrushed with a logo or portrait of Marlyn Monroe. Possibilities are endless.
The inexpensive beginner guitar, tank blank, skateboard deck, or bowling pin used as a canvas can be purchased directly through us. Which makes it easier because all you need is the idea for the piece.





Custom Reversed Zebra Stripped Guitar Project

This Custom Painted Guitar project started with a good existing black paint job.  Since the paint was in new condition, we actual did this in a reverse process from what we would normally do it in.  Which makes it a bit more complicated & tedious.  Also on this project we did a reverse zebra design, meaning normally the tapered stripes would be painted a dark color like black & the connected stripe would be a lighter color.

 Before anything could be done to the guitar, it when into disassembly.  After it was disassembled it was wiped down with detergent & h2o,  then wiped down with a solvent degreaser as well as an alcohol based cleaner to ensure there were no contaminants. Then the guitar went into prep, where it was sanded down with superfine materials so we could give the guitar a good tooth for the paint to bite into for proper adhesion as well as remove any minor flaws.  Also, the superfine materials allowed us to do so with out harming the existing color since we were still going to us it as a finished color on the final design.

We wanted the design to stay somewhat centered on the guitar, so we started by finding the center point & worked outward from there.

Once the design was laid out, it was time to mask the design so only the parts that we wanted painted would be exposed.  Here it is getting an adhesive paper mask treatment on the face, then the entire body was masked.

Below is the body masked & ready for some color.

Since we were planning on some big glamour blue flake, we wanted to put a good base down for it.  Most just use a black base color but we prefer a similar color, usually in a smaller metallic or pearl for added sparkle.  We decided on a True Blue Pearl base. Below photo shows it sprayed on in multiple coats.

Time for some Big Glam flake,  the flake is too large to spray out of a conventional gun so we used a dry on wet application.

Below is a closer look at the guitar with all the flake applied. 

At this point we have to unmask the design,  this is tedious since we did a dry on wet clear application. The clear is still wet & tacky.   Unmasking it is a bit time consuming because it doesn't take much to mess it up.

Below photo shows all of the mask taken off except the original fine line tape used to lay out the design.  This tape gives us a somewhat idea of what the design may look like with the lighter color pinstripe around it.

Now all the tape that needed to be removed is gone.

Now its ready for more clear work that is need to protect & bury the rough flake & zebra pattern.  The black looks similar to a chalk board until clear, which then will become a nice rich deep black. 

This photo below shows what the guitar looks like after clear coat the guitar numerous times.

Still more to come.  From here the guitar will get resanded, receive some light gray hand laid pinstriping,  then back into clear.  Many coats will be needed  in order bury the flake & edges, then it will get sanded down, buffed & polished to a smooth as glass shine.

We will be posting more photos on this project as we get it closer to completion.  So please check back & check out our website at   http://www.ek13.com/













Projects...

 This is one of the project Eye Kandi was working on today. It will be a magenta purple pearl edge flame graphic.

Some airbrushing.     

               

 

This is before it is clear coated.  Once we clear coat it, the black will be a rich deep black.

  

Grinch Project..

Having a good day at Eye Kandi! Here if the James Hefield "Grinch" replica in clear. As you can see the client wanted us to incorperate the grinch face on the head stock for a more personal touch. Now off to a buff,polish,&assembly! Check back for the finshed product.

Couple of current Projects now happening at Eye Kandi

Here are a couple of projects, out of many, that are currently being done at EyeKandi. One of the guitars is actually our second Kirk Hammett "Mummy" guitar replica that we are doing for a cent in New York.

The other is a replica of James Hetfield  "Grinch" guitar we are doing for a client out of Arizona. The owner of the Grinch guitar wanted us to add a little personal touch of his own. He had us incorporate a small Grinch face in the flame design on the headstock. This picture was taken before the guitars were cleared.



Violet Purple Skulls on Split Tanks

Violet Purple Skulls on Split Tanks

This paint job was a business-to-business job that we we had done for another paint shop's client. The client, really liked a pair of side covers we had previously painted, with some airbrushed violet skulls. The client wanted red eyes in the skulls to match the red accents already on the Harley Davidson Motorcycle.

Eye Kandi took the idea & told the client that they would change it up a bit to make it more personalized for his bike. The split tanks sport a black base with a violet pearl mid coat which gives a black look, but a purple hue when the sun hits it. After the artwork was finished Eye Kandi returned the tanks to the paint shop who finished off clearing them. The client was ecstatic how Eye Kandi completed the layout & colors on the Harley Davidson split tanks.

Battle of Heaven & Hell Project

Battle of Heaven & Hell Project

We were commissioned by a client from New Mexico, who knew exactly what they wanted. The theme was the Battle of Heaven & Hell. They had previously picked out the color for the sheet metal, which was a Candy Brandywine. They also sent Eye Kandi a lot of different photos of elements that they wanted Incorporated in their theme.

Eye Kandi took their reference photos & colors to create the whole layout & design to fit the FXRS Harley Davidson tins. While in the process of creating the layout, it was decided that the original tank would not be a good candidate for the design. Considering it had a factory dash that ran down the top center. Eye Kandi suggested a custom stretched chopper style tank with a pop-up cap would be perfect, allowing them to fully airbrush their complete design on the entire top of the tank.

After the art work was finished, it was time for clear & finish work. The owners were stoked on heir new custom paint set, which really changed the look of the old ride.

The color "army green" has been used in militaries since World War II, perhaps before.

There are so many custom paint designs floating about with army themes, Eye Kandi finished one unique custom airbrushing job. On these Harley Davidson FXST soft tail motorcycle tins, there is a lot more detail than the photo portrays. In its simple design, you will notice with the airbrush work how the riveted panels overlap. The rough cut edges, airbrushed textures & staining it has a more weathered & abused look.

Harley Davidson Sportster Side Covers: Cemetery Theme

It's been a couple years, but this photo you see here, are side covers for a Harley Davidson Sportster. A client  from Chicago,IL called upon Eye Kandi to take his stock side covers and do some custom paint & airbrushing work to them. His sportster had an existing custom painted cemetery theme done by another artist. He wanted the art work on the side covers to tie in with the rest of the bike.  It was up to Eye Kandi to create a design & layout for the two new pieces of metal canvas. After the owner happily approved the initial sketches the final airbrush work was executed. After the clear & finish work was completed the blown away owner, received his new custom painted side covers in the mail and couldn't wait to get them on his bike.