Kickflippin
XS650 Enthusiast
Thought I would share my experience learning to stencil on my stock xs tank. I don't really see stock tanks with chopper type paintjobs (probably for good reason, oh well...) but I had to do it. I started with a chewed up stock tank from my '78.
Sanded, applied bondo to dings, sanded again (and again, and again....) finally got the tank smoothed out to my liking.
Lightly coated with filling primer and sanded again with 600 grit. Painted with Duplicolor prefect match from the auto store. Almost black, metallic, more like a charcoal. Barely had enough to cover with those little cans!
Bought some thin masking material from a local auto pain supplier. made a basic panel pattern. Patience was the key here, especially on the 90 degree bends. All about finessing the lines and NOT STRETCHING the material. Several re-dos later I ended up happy enough.
Masked around the panels and shot with Rusto metallic blue. Tried duplicolor metal specks green first but it was a bit too Leprechaun-ey for my taste.
Then the real fun began. Bought some lace from the fabric store. The first stuff I bought didn't work. You have to make sure it is the real thin, sort of coarse lace. I bought some heavier, softer stuff and the paint went right through and smeared. Even borrowing my buddy's airbrush. Got the right stuff, taped it as flat as i could, said hail mary and shot. A couple funky spots but not bad for a first time.
Attempted fish scales with a piece of card stock and some "good job" circle stickers. It was hard to keep the airbrush thickness consistent bent over a 5 gallon bucket in a freezing shop but it's all good learning.
Still need some pinstriping around the panels (leaving the thin masking on till then). but I like the muted color scheme. I think it will work well with my build without looking to gaudy.
I plan on lining in silver and covering with Spraymax 2K. Fingers crossed! I'll update when progress is made. Thanks to this great forum and others for all the education.
Sanded, applied bondo to dings, sanded again (and again, and again....) finally got the tank smoothed out to my liking.
Lightly coated with filling primer and sanded again with 600 grit. Painted with Duplicolor prefect match from the auto store. Almost black, metallic, more like a charcoal. Barely had enough to cover with those little cans!
Bought some thin masking material from a local auto pain supplier. made a basic panel pattern. Patience was the key here, especially on the 90 degree bends. All about finessing the lines and NOT STRETCHING the material. Several re-dos later I ended up happy enough.
Masked around the panels and shot with Rusto metallic blue. Tried duplicolor metal specks green first but it was a bit too Leprechaun-ey for my taste.
Then the real fun began. Bought some lace from the fabric store. The first stuff I bought didn't work. You have to make sure it is the real thin, sort of coarse lace. I bought some heavier, softer stuff and the paint went right through and smeared. Even borrowing my buddy's airbrush. Got the right stuff, taped it as flat as i could, said hail mary and shot. A couple funky spots but not bad for a first time.
Attempted fish scales with a piece of card stock and some "good job" circle stickers. It was hard to keep the airbrush thickness consistent bent over a 5 gallon bucket in a freezing shop but it's all good learning.
Still need some pinstriping around the panels (leaving the thin masking on till then). but I like the muted color scheme. I think it will work well with my build without looking to gaudy.
I plan on lining in silver and covering with Spraymax 2K. Fingers crossed! I'll update when progress is made. Thanks to this great forum and others for all the education.
