What Got You Into Custom Painting?

[Vettra]

I don't know if you would consider this a blog but i figure this is the best place to ask: Why did you get in the custom painting field? There are so many types of painters on this forum, I am just curious as to what it was that drew you into the business.

Was it the fact that you attended hot rod or bike events with your father when you were young? Maybe you had a creative streak in you and this was the best way to express it. Possibly you were just looking for work and ther was an opening in the local auto body shop.

As for me when I was yournger, it didn't matter what field I was working, in the back of my mind for some reason I always wanted to paint cars or bikes. As a matter of fact I went to art design school to learn airbrushing. Now that my video prodcution studio is established (celebrating 10 years this year) I have the ability to get back to what I wanted to do in the first place which is custom painting. If you think about it this forum and others like it is basically an online education in the CP field without the huge expense. Within 6 months I have gone from someone with not much more than rudamentory knowledge to having actual paying customers.

My goal is to use my new skills as a creative outlet and do maybe one bike and a few helmets a month.

Anyway- that's it for me- wha'ts your story?

C

 

[Guest]

I've always been car nut since I was young. My first car was a 1973 Montego :freak:
My graduation present... I wanted to put a 429 in it (which I got :yesnod01
I had a friend that went to a vo-tech school for painting, and he was the one that got me hooked into the auto body field.
I ended up going to PVTI which was a full time vo tech school. I did my first 'flame' job back then. We had to repair a door and paint it...so I added some flames.
I went co-op and learned that was learning more on the job, then in school. So I went full time. I was definitely the do-boy back then, but heck I learned a ton of hands on.
I started painting back in the early 80's. I've always had a creative side of me. Can pretty much draw anything...wished I would have pursued airbrushing at the same time as painting. My parents bought me everything I needed for airbrushing, but never used it.
Then I got into management/supervisor for production shop which I went about to about 16 shops and helped out the managers and did what I had to to get things moving.
Then I went to painting for dealerships. I was always the go to guy if a painter could not match a color.
I own a custom paint shop now...been in business 8 years now.

Congrats on your 10 year anniversary! Time flies when you're having fun!
Sounds like your creativeness and the auto painting will come together for you!!
:bounce: :bounce:

 

[tattoohiggy]

I left school in 1980 and started an apprenticeship with Rolls Royce Motors. The first year was spent in a training school trying every trade available. At the end of the year you had to chose your favourite jobs, this combined with the instructors assessments decided which trade you would do. I became a coach painter. All the lads in my apprentice year were bike and car mad so its no surprise that I would asked to add new paint to old motors. My first custom job was on my old 100cc Suzuki bike. I painted the tank and side panels with green metalflake which was really trick back then. The words Candy and Metalflake were mystical to me and gave me a link to the world of Ed Roth and Von Dutch. For me painting was the coolest job available. I was never really into production work and repairs, I only wanted to do the fancy stuff. I am in the process of starting a SMART repair business with motorcycles in mind. Think I will be trying to convince people that Kustom would look much nicer, reminds me to order the HOK colour book.