B
big stinkie
Guest
I’m painting my bike red, white and blue with stars this year. No problem with the stripes and such, but the stars were going to give me fits. I could find no way to make stencils of stars that would lie down on the curved surface. Making a long story short, I decided to cut stars out of an old truck inner tube. The outside of the tube had several ridges on it, but the inside is was as smooth as a baby’s bottom…plus the rubber had a slight concave form which made it even better for curved surfaces. The rubber had more 'give' to it than paper, too. That helped keep the thing flat on the tank. Paper always wrinkled and creased for me in the past.
1. I used a metal ruler and a razor blade to cut out the stars, which yielded very clean, sharp edges.
2. Sprayed the smooth side with spray adhesive used for photographs and stuck ‘em on the white portion of the tank.
3. Pressed them down firmly, making sure all edges were stuck to the tank.
4. Sprayed the blue paint.
5. Peeled off the rubber stars.
I was pleasantly surprised at the success. The stars were precise and straight. It was quite easy to cut the inner tube with a razor blade. The whole process went without one glitch or set-back. I can hardly believe it. Sometimes things just go right, I guess.
If you try this, be sure to closely inspect every edge and point of the stars or shapes you choose. Before I painted mine I noticed a few places where they weren't in full contact with the surface. I pulled the star up and re-applied it, making sure to get it flat.
Click on the link below for some pictures.
http://home.earthlink.net/~andythebarber/id6.html
1. I used a metal ruler and a razor blade to cut out the stars, which yielded very clean, sharp edges.
2. Sprayed the smooth side with spray adhesive used for photographs and stuck ‘em on the white portion of the tank.
3. Pressed them down firmly, making sure all edges were stuck to the tank.
4. Sprayed the blue paint.
5. Peeled off the rubber stars.
I was pleasantly surprised at the success. The stars were precise and straight. It was quite easy to cut the inner tube with a razor blade. The whole process went without one glitch or set-back. I can hardly believe it. Sometimes things just go right, I guess.
If you try this, be sure to closely inspect every edge and point of the stars or shapes you choose. Before I painted mine I noticed a few places where they weren't in full contact with the surface. I pulled the star up and re-applied it, making sure to get it flat.
Click on the link below for some pictures.
http://home.earthlink.net/~andythebarber/id6.html
