That blue job, you cant pick up the flames to well in the pic. Zoom in a little. When that bike passed by it looked like a blue sparkly paint job. Until the light hit it just right. Then you do a double take. Was that just flames i saw???
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Daamn Nice!
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Very clean. Iāll show some. I have to be careful. Give me a minute. I have stuff posted everywhere. I do old cars.
I see the ghost flames. My stuff is more old-school retro. The pinstriping by hand and stuff like that. Some super street modifications. Iām not a big time person. But I have been around.
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I can see them, very nice work, most people go to heavy on the ghost flames, and it loses that wtf its got flames on it lol.
I like the crackle job as well, I had a play with crackle finish on a helmet that came out quite well. I used it for a demo piece at shows, and gave it away, for a ride for the cure auction, about 5 years ago.
Looks good, nice depth to the flames. I would lose 75% of my job inquiries, people seem to think I like spending 40 hours, plus materials, painting a bike for $300 lmao. Most people will spend more on getting a Tat than what they want to pay for some nice artwork on their bike.
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One of the main reasons for me quitting it. A $1500 paint job costs $1500. Sorry. And you donāt wanna undercut everyone else. You then become the whoāre of the industry and you get jobs but you can not possibly give a guy a $1500 paint job for $300. You just canāt. Hell it will cost you over $300 in prep work if you do it right.
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Thanks for sharing. Yes paint is expensive. I can remember when $100 went a long way. Now youāre lucky to get a few paint strainers mixing cups and some tack rags for that price. When waterborne first come out it was cheap the containers were big they noticed that you didnāt have to use as much paint. So they went up on the price. Those candy colors house of colors gzzzzz The money that is spent on that stuff.
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But thatās what they want they see it on YouTube they donāt understand when you have to repaint a vehicle just to turn the booth on if itās heated that is $300.
And to repaint something because of something that was out of your control that is heartbreaking. So I know Iāve been there I have messed up Iāve had to repaint vehicles I have had runs trash fish eyes. People sabotage my work. Spray armor all outside of the booth. Or put stuff in the clear. I donāt understand people sometimes
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i donāt know if it was on here or instagram where i saw it, but frenchy cannoli (that hash guy) has passed away.
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Sad to hear. One Love.
My daughters boyfriend wanted to get his nissan car re painted, he asked me how much did I think a good paint job would cost him. I said your looking at about $6,000 if its done properly so it lasts. Then explained it would need to be stripped back to bare metal and any rust under the paint he cant see atm needs rectifying.
A week later he says I have a buddy who works in a paint shop, if I buy the paint and clear he will do it for $1200, I said is he stripping it to the bare metal? I think so he says. I said if he doesnāt that paint will start to bubble up after 6 months from rust or contamination from the old paint. I think it will be OK he knows what he is doing he says.
He was back to the guy in 2 weeks, with bubbles appearing all over the place lol.
I had a customer ask me to paint his bike, a Yamaha cruiser. I quoted him 1500 for full strip down, primer, base coat, clear and art work. About 6 months later he calls and says can you do it for me now. I said, no problem, take all the bits off the bike and clean them and bring them to me.
He shows up the next day and the tank has now got a dent and the front fender has gravel rash all down the front side edge. I said, thatās going to cost more to repair the damage, he started bitchin at how he couldnāt afford more, and I should stick to my quotes and leaves in a huff. The job was a steal for him at $1700.
A week later he calls and says, he has a buddy who is going to do the prep work and repair, then base and clear. I asked him if his buddy does custom stuff or basic base and clear. He said, I dont know. So I explained that after the primer base and clear, I will colour sand it put the artwork on, and his buddy will need to give another 3 coats of clear wet sand back to remove the ridges and lines created by the artwork and then another 3 coats of clear, sand and polish. He says, yeah thatās no problem. Can I do it for $500 his buddy wants $1000 to do the rest. Great I thought $500 bucks for just the artwork and I dont have to do the horrible shit lol.
So I get the tins with clear on, he did a good job of the repair but there are runs and sags everywhere in the clear, which I have to waste a couple of hours or so sanding back. Put on the artwork, and say off you go, make sure your buddy does the 2 lots of clear with sanding in between or its going to look crap, and I dont want my artwork out on the street covered in runs and sags lol.
A week later he calls me and says his buddy didnāt understand he had to clear it twice and then cut and polish, thought it was just a couple of coats of clear going over the artwork.
So I said, I would have done what your buddy did for $500 not $1000, as the most time consuming bit is the last couple of coats of clear and the cut and polish. I said how much have you got for me to finish it properly, he said I can scrape together another couple of hundred. I said, I am going to do you a big favour, I will do it for the $200 only because I dont want people looking at a shit show thinking I did it.
Never again will I do half a job, lesson learned lol.
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Some places are wanting $10,000 for an all over paint job. It is unreal. Then they do such a crappy job the paint starts peeling. And then when you take it back they just burn it in.
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Thatās why Iām done with it. Lol. To much time and the trash talk afterwards. I had people wanting me to buff other people paint jobs. And you can tell where the clear is light. You canāt buff that. I would tell take it back I donāt want anything to do with it.
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Now I was talking motorcycles only. Never did a car. $1500 for a custom paint job on a bike is a good deal. Nobody wanted to pay for it. And nowadays with the cost of paint and supplies, I probly would not even look at doing a bike for $1500.
I remember one of the last guys I painted for argued the price tag. He said the supplies were not THAT expensive. I broke it down and showed him the costs and he goes, thatās not even close to what youāre charging me. I said what about my time? Cuz, frankly, I like you, but I donāt owe you anything. My time is worth something. I said. Whatās YOUR time worth? Cuz I know I have at least 40 hours wrapped up in that job, start to finish. I said heāll, man, at $15 an hour weāre already talking $600. Again, whatās YOUR time worth. He shut up and paid.
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The biggest problem I have Mike is telling someone no. But I have learned to keep my mouth shut if you know what I mean. I did a few motorcycles nothing like what you got going on. Pretty much kept things original some pinstriping that was about it some Harley Davidsonās and some street rockets. I was doing some hubcaps for this guy and he ask me about a car I was working on I told him I wouldnāt make enough money but I was trying to help he made it real clear to me about good intentions.
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Man, I feel like shit today. Iāve had a cough coming on for a few days. This is my first cold since covid happened. I went and got a covid test, even though Iām vaccinated, just to be safe (negative btw). I must have picked it up at the game on Saturday.
After tigers won!
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I hate hearing that . Because I can do that with no problem. I wouldnāt want to do tearing down. For what I see. You should have more work than you need at those prices. Not just that Mike the quality is A+. From what I see. Just basic stuff for me. I would ask that price. 1500. The paint isnāt cheap. Canāt standā-///////:,?));ā¦ lol Iām being nice. That sucks. You know that our trade is almost over with.
It does take the fun out of it. One mistake and your out of pocket.
I had been working in construction from 2006 to 2015 until I fell and fucked up my left hand and ruptured 6 discs in my neck, now I only paint occasionally for family and close friends. Usually Christmas and birthday presents. I just do canvases and T-shirts now, I donāt have the trigger control anymore for hard surfaces, unless I take forever. My last bike job took 9 months, luckily it was a spare bike the guy inherited from his dad, so he was really patient and just wanted it perfect. Sometimes I could not touch it for a couple of weeks at a time, until the shakes in my hands calmed down.
My last year in construction one of my colleagues asked if I could paint a full face helmet for his sons birthday. I said sure if its in good condition and depending on what he wants, it would be 250-300.
He was like no, work buddies dont charge work buddies for things. He was serious as well.
So I said, Okay I need my 1 acre of lawn cut every two weeks, I have a push along mower, you can cut my grass for the summer.
He didnāt like that idea lmao.
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Speed, quality, and cheap. You can pick 2 of 3.
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I have used that one as well lol.
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