Building a custom bike

The beginning of controversy: the paint

Story by Bill Kresnak
Photos by Bill Andrews

Bruce Mullins lays down the first coat of the Candy Brandy Wine red in the paint booth.

By now, the Skunkworx Custom Cycle team in Columbus, Ohio, is seven weeks into its latest project—creation of a long and lean custom machine.

The team is about to paint the parts, which is the most controversial part of the entire Skunkworx/Jim Davis project bike.

Skunkworx owner, master bike builder and painter Bruce Mullins, and master bike builder Jim Davis, have decided on Candy Red for the main color. But the trim color, even at this late date, is up for debate.

The pre-paint process

Scott Popp hangs all the parts in the paint booth and wipes them all down before applying the first coat of primer.

He'll lay six coats on before he's done.

Bruce Mullins will give everything a light wet rub before stating the final paint process.

And the team is running out of time if they want to get the bike done in time to go on the custom bike show circuit, and be displayed in Daytona during Bike Week in late February and early March.

Why does so much thought and debate go into the paint?

"The paint job makes or breaks the motorcycle, period," Mullins says. "A $100,000 bike with a bad paint job is an ugly motorcycle."

Mullins and Davis decide on a tan color for the trim and the area surrounding the seat, to match the tan color of the seat.

The team is ready to paint.

Mullins has Scott Popp lay on six coats of heavy primer. Then Mullins goes in and lays down three coats of a silver base coat. He then puts down a metalflake coat before finally spraying five layers of Candy Brandy Wine red.

While Mullins is in the paint booth working his magic, Davis watches intently through a window (left).

"Until I see the red on it, I can't say how I feel about the color," Davis says.

Mullins echoes the same sentiments as he finishes up the last of the Candy Red painting.

"This is just one thing where you don't know 'til you go," Mullins says. "You've got ideas in your head, but until you lay it on a bike, you don't know if it will work.

"Trying to make a paint job that works with the bike, tailoring the paint job to fit the bike, that's the trick," he says.

Mullins and Davis are pleased with the Candy Red, and now have the pieces back on the bike and are eyeing it to figure out the graphics and trim color, which become the most controversial part of the project.

*In the paint booth*
Popp gives the frame one last going over with primer to make sure he's hit every bare surface.	Mullins then goes back and wipes everything down.	Great care is taken during this process, one dust speck could ruin the whole job.
Mullins heads into the paint-room to select the series of colors he wants to apply.	First, three layers of a silver base coat.	Metalflake is then mixed up to give the final coat a sparkle.
A final wipe before the metalflake goes on.	Mullins goes back into the paint booth to hit everything with the metalflake.	Finally, Mullins sprays the first of five layers of Candy Brandy Wine red.