A lot of people dont realise just how much work goes into a custom paint job. It isnt just a case of getting my airbrush and spraying, there is a lot of prep work involved and even more once the paintwork is complete and lacqured.

The item must be prepped to take the water based automotive paints i use which in most cases involves sanding the item down to remove any shine and to give the surface a roughness so the paint has something to cling on to. Then it must be fully degreased and primed with a basecoat sealer.

Once that is done it is time to start the artwork, again using water based automotive paints.

When the artwork is complete it is time for the lacquer. I use a local bodyshop for this as the clear is something that should be used in a propper spray booth with the right air filtration system. You can do yourself and others harm with this stuff if you are careless with it.

Upon completion of the clearing/baking by the bodyshop, I go pick the item up and take it back to my workshop where I then start the wet sanding/polishing process. This involves me using a very fine grade of wet & dry paper to gently sand out any imperfections in the clear which can take hours and a lot of elbow grease. Once I am happy that the clear is as smooth as it can possibly be I use a polishing compound to buff the clear back to a mirror-like finish. This again can take hours and really make your arm ache :)

Once that is done it is time for one last polish and then the item is off back to the customer.