QUESTION about LEAF and PAINT

TurboFarviknugn

TurboFarviknugn

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I am going to use one of the leafs gold, copper or silver. I like the look of the engine turned gold leaf but prefer the color of the copper, BUT looking at my bike and enjoying a beer while lementing this decision i realized I have nothing of either color on my bike so am now leaning towards the SILVER LEAF. Question #1 is can one do the engine turning with SILVER ? Question #2 What do you use to achieve the swirl look without destroying the leaf its self ?

ANY sample pics you care to post up OE A WHOLE TUTORIAL would be COOL !:thumbsup:

I am fixing to mask and HOPEFULLY spray today my second color, and can add pics of the trials and tribulations with the leaf I WILL encounter. :laugh:

Come on Visimpact share the knoweldege with us oh wise one !!! :D
 
I just responded to ur pm but here is what I said in case anyone else wants some info. I'm no expert but I've done enough leaf to be decent at it.
TurboFarviknugn said:
I am going to use one of the leafs gold, copper or silver. I like the look of the engine turned gold leaf ( i.e. Wicked Soul )but prefer the color of the copper, BUT looking at my bike and enjoying a beer while lementing this decision i realized I have nothing of either color on my bike so am now leaning towards the SILVER LEAF. Question #1 is can one do the engine turning with SILVER ? Question #2 What do you use to achieve the swirl look without destroying the leaf its self ?

I am going to start a thread you can answer there this way maybe someone else may have a Q answered in the future.

THANKS !!!
Click to expand...
Yes u can spin silver leaf. You can buy a tool to spin the leaf or you can make a tool. Just get a piece of velvet and put some cotton balls in it and wrap it up with a rubber band on the back to hold it all together. Make half turns overlapping evenly(note the overlap most people do in their spins and stay very consistant).It's best to practice on some scrap. U need to learn when the best time to lay the leaf is and when to turn it etc. there is fast and slow size(thats the glue)and both have different dry times and leaf windows. There are many videos on how to do it out there that are good. It takes a little practice to get it down. It's fun to learn. I'm still learning , you can always learn something not to do every time u do it.
 
How about some INPUT here.

I was originally going to go with gold leaf, but there is nothing else gold on the bike so kinda thinking naaaaa. I have brushed all the aluminum on my bike as I HATE polishing it so I was thinking of going with silver leaf and doing the engine turning to it. Here is a pic of the color combo as of tonight as I layed down the second color today just waiting till tomorrow to get the leaf which ever color I go with then clear.

Help a brother out making a choice !!!

paint detail d.jpg

paint detail e.jpg

:D
 
I've done some engine turning with a soft cotton polishing wheel for a drill.. nice and soft. Biggest thing is waiting. Like mentioned wait for the size to be almost dried befor even laying your leaf down and then let it dry a while longer and do your turning.
 
A whole day is too long.. Guide lines I use for my size was to apply the size, wait atleast 45mins, then test a hidden area to see how tacky it is you basically want it no more tacky then say a lint brush. Humidity, type of size, and you coverage will determine how long you will have to wait before leafing.

Lay your leaf down.. then using a soft brush, brush your excess away. Here is why you want to wait, at this point if your size isn't dried enough and it still too wet you can get rips and tears in the leaf you put down. What happens is the size will stick to your leaf but hasn't settled down yet and will move all over the place causing tears and rips in your leaf, giving you creases. So thats why the just right tackiness is essential.

After your able to brush away excess leaf, I usually wait another 10 mins depending again on conditions. Test a small area before you start your turning. You don't want the size to be COMPLETELY dried, you want a little bit of movement and rigidity from the size to hold your turn pattern.

I also suggest if your doing a big enough area or piece work out your turn direction and even pattern ahead of time so that you achieve a uniform look. Sounds silly but I've it done it on a couple pieces before and turned the opposite direction in the middle of it.
 
thelowlife said:
A whole day is too long.. Guide lines I use for my size was to apply the size, wait atleast 45mins, then test a hidden area to see how tacky it is you basically want it no more tacky then say a lint brush. Humidity, type of size, and you coverage will determine how long you will have to wait before leafing.

Lay your leaf down.. then using a soft brush, brush your excess away. Here is why you want to wait, at this point if your size isn't dried enough and it still too wet you can get rips and tears in the leaf you put down. What happens is the size will stick to your leaf but hasn't settled down yet and will move all over the place causing tears and rips in your leaf, giving you creases. So thats why the just right tackiness is essential.

After your able to brush away excess leaf, I usually wait another 10 mins depending again on conditions. Test a small area before you start your turning. You don't want the size to be COMPLETELY dried, you want a little bit of movement and rigidity from the size to hold your turn pattern.

I also suggest if your doing a big enough area or piece work out your turn direction and even pattern ahead of time so that you achieve a uniform look. Sounds silly but I've it done it on a couple pieces before and turned the opposite direction in the middle of it.
Click to expand...

All great advice as well. I would suggest you clear all your parts when you are done deciding what you are going to do. Sand everything down and then do the leaf work you want to do. This allows for a few things. If you screw up laying out your size you can fix it very easy and if you decide you dont like what you did you can sand it right off and start over. Also the parts can sit around till you feel confortable to do the leaf work on them after practicing. Also your paint job will look way nicer anyway with multiple rounds of clear coat and sanding between rounds. Its the way to a beaauutiful paint job. Have fun with the leaf. Practice on scrap a lot before going to the real parts.
 
That sounds like sound advise right there and was actually wondering IF that was a pissible way to do things since I hardly do things right the FIRST time.

I went today and got my leaf supplies, I went with silver leaf DAYM GOLD LEAF IS EXPENSIVE right now !!!
 
You think gold LEAF is expensive... try buying the whole damn tree!!! :laugh:

[advertisement: Good used wife for sale... plenty of mileage left on her. Nothing down, take over payments!]
 
meanstreakmark said:
You think gold LEAF is expensive... try buying the whole damn tree!!! :laugh:

:D
Yeah real gold leaf is some bucks, silver usually runs a few as well. You can always use variegated gold and silver leaf for just normal leaf projects that u aren't going to engine turn. That stuff is much cheaper.
Click to expand...
 
Actually evded up getting aluminum leaf for $9.00 a pkg of 25 sheets, gives me plenty to pratice with. Also picked up a few more one shot colors for pinstriping. Got to wait for the weather to cooperate to shoot clear. Going to pratice a bit on my pratice striping panels. I will post some pics of my pratice.
 
Awesome post em up. Let me edit that... There s real silver leaf pure silver. It can actually tarnish under the clear coat. I wouldn't recommend that stuff. There is also white gold leaf. Looks silver but made with some gold. Expensive but really nice stuff. Then u have alum like you got. It's thicker then the pure stuff and usually a little easier to work with.
 
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When u clear over one shot it can sometimes lift or craze. Just add some hardener in with the one shot. A little bit of clear hardener from the clear u plan to use and it will be good to go. If u don't add hardener in the one shot make sure u give it ample dry time a day or so and when u clear it dust ur first coat on, don't pound it on. Dusting ur first coat will help keep it from lifting. A few med coats after that and ur good to go.
 
OK, got out ing the garage and sprayed clear on my fenders and tank, set them outsidr in the sun all day to cure up really good. Tonight I did a coloesand with 1000 geir wet dry.

Figure this and be a how to for leaf and colorsanding and polishing too boot.

you will notice the clear looks pretty good UNTIL iI hit it with the 1000 then the orange peel comes aparent.

Those who have never done any of this, basically I start with a small bucket of cold water with a few drops of dish washing liquid to help with washing away the clear coat that gets sanded off. many paper towels are used to dry the part to keep from saning any further than necessary. Sand slowly with light to medium after soaking paper for several minutes, the goal is to achieve an even dullness with minimum shiney spots. I will be applying the silver leaf after this part. here are some pics to show what I am talking about. Keep in mind for a change you start out shiney and go what appears to be backwards toward dullness, cause if this was a typical colorsand you would buff after this phase and GLASS SMOOTH would be the outcome (as will mine just have extra steps to get there)

paint detail f.jpg

paint detail g.jpg

paint detail h.jpg

paint detail i.jpg

paint detail k.jpg

paint detail j.jpg
 
paint detail l.jpg

paint detail m.jpg

This is where I am at at this point, I will update as I progress. :thumbsup:

Any suggestions feel free as NO ONE can know it all, hey Visi what do you think about clearing after the leaf then again after thi pinstripe, as pinstriping is WAY easier when you can WIPE AWAY your mistakes which would not really be an option on the raw leaf.
 
I'm glad you've signed up here. You've done a really good job documenting your build, and I know people are getting a lot out of it. Thanks for taking the time. :)

John
 
Yes, A lot of times I will do it in levels like that. Leaf then clear that, then sand, stripe and reclear. You dont have to but if you arent great at pinstripes then it once again allows room for mistakes being wiped right off with wax and grease remover. One thing to be very careful of is when you sand it after clearing over the silver leaf, do not sand to aggressive over the leaf or you will break right thru. Clear does not really bond well to leaf believe it or not. Ive been told by a friend that has been doing leaf for 50 years plus on firetrucks that it really just locks it down and doesnt bond the actual leaf at all but more to the area around it. I would suspect it must chemically bond a little to the surface though.
Once anyone has gone thru the process of doing a paint job like what you are doing, they start to understand why paint can be expensive. Its super time consuming to do it the right way. Keep up the good work!
 
Well did my silver leaf tonight, just finished cleaning up the MESS!! that was an experience ! Sorry to say i couldnt get the turning design to turn out for beans, speny about 4 hrs experimenting then gave up on it. I REALLY LIKE THE WAY IT TURNED OUT THOUGH. I did do a FULL step by step but that will have to wait until tomorrow and yes there are lots of pics. That leaf sticks to EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN !!!
 
As for the orange peeled clear, what CFM are you getting at the gun? I have had nothing but orange peel with anything under the guns recommended CFM. Most compressors just can't get the job done. Even the expensive ones at Craftsmen. Make sure the CFM is up to par or higher than par. Also, using a faster activator might help as well. All depends on condition.

Those tips are just from my experience and may not apply to your specific situation. Just trying to toss in some help. :cheers:
 

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