Pages

Friday, June 10, 2011

They Call Me Mister Lucky

 That's the first line from one of my favorite John Lee Hooker songs, and I've always felt that it applied to me.  So, when I decided to custom-paint a helmet to go along with my bike, that was my theme.

I started with a flat black Bell Custom 500 open-faced helmet...


 ...seen here being modeled by the Great Gazoo.

It took a few steps to get it done:

I did the numbers first.  Lucky 13!  I outlined them in gold, to reflect the lettering on the side covers of the bike.
Then, I masked the letters and the field around them, and sprayed it.

 After that, I spent a few hours adding the skulls with a paint pen.  I wanted a design that looked almost like paisley, from a distance, which would be quite different up close.  I'm pretty happy with it.



Once I sprayed the clear coat on it, the flat black became glossy.  And, the thing became very hard to photograph.  You can see the horizon reflected in the helmet, no matter what I do.  (I'm not much of a photographer.)

Now I look as lucky as I feel.

x

7 comments:

  1. Very clever. I would not have guessed that approach would come out looking so good. You must have a great ability to see it in your mind.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous6:24 AM

    Steve and I are amazed. His comment was, "Man, he can do stuff!" Kyle and Sean aren't up yet (summer vacation), but I can't wait to show them - it will probably give Sean ideas for a new summer project to work on!

    --Joy

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice! Really dig that helmet. It turned out really well, and looks like it was done at a custom paint shop. *high five*!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous9:18 AM

    love Joy's comment"man he can do stuff!"Anyway great job Jon it looks really nice.

    --Frankenbiker

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very nice,
    I am always impressed with people that personalize things.
    Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Woah, how'd I miss this post before? Great job!

    ReplyDelete

Sorry about the word verification. I know you hate it...I hate it, too. But, the Spambots are suddenly coming out of the woodwork, and this is my first line of defense against them.

Anonymous comments are still gladly accepted.

So, all humans are welcome. Spambots can go to Hell.