Julia Lazaridi

FEATURED ARTIST & Step by Step

ISSUE 53
Cesar
Deferrari
T SHIRT DESIGN

Mark
morrison
ILLUSTRATION
Painting

Clarisse
Pico
Fine Art

GAS TANK REPAIR

BY DON JOHNSON
Brian McCaffery
Saints,Sinners Show
 2 - Cesar Deferrari - T Shirt de-
sign step by step.

ISSUE 53
Airbrush Technique Magazine
www.airbrushtechniquemagazine.com
7 -Brian McCaffery - Saints
www.airbrushtechnique.com
www.howtoairbrush.com
and Sinners Show coverage.
www.howtocustompaint.com
1-352-361-3403 9 - Mark Morrison - Illustra-
Don Johnson Editor tion step by step
Brain McCaffery Co-Editor
Available in printed, digital and iPad formats.
Published monthly, 12 issues per year.

Cover art featuring 12 - Clarissa Stoica - Fine art

Julia Lazaridi step by step

22 - Julia Lazarida - Il-

To submit your step by step, product lustration step by step.
review, pictures of your art work for
our readers gallery, please e-mail
airbrushmag@gmail.com.
26 - Don Johnson - Big Dog
For information on subscribing to Air-
tank repair step by step.
brush Technique Magazine please visit
our web site:
www.airbrushtechniquemagazine.com
Thanks Maple Airbrush Supply and Pecoglobal
Veda Airbrush for their support. ABT DIGITAL FORMAT
Subscribe today! 4 FREE back issues
to help you get caught on up to current
issues, that’s 16 issues for the price of
12!!
View on any PC, MAC, OS and An-
droid Tablet and Mobile. No apps re-
quired.

Just $24.95 for the next 12 issue plus

four free back issues!!! Full details on
magazine web site.
www.airbrushtechniquemagazine.com

1
 This step by step I present is a different version of the traditional
beach scene, but keeps the essence. As it is a quick design and gener-
ates great visual impact it’s a great seller. The round shape and the
protruding part of the scene provides for a very striking design.

1-I project the image using a

prismacolor Artograph pro-
jector on white paper, it will
also serve as a stencil I will use
later.

2- Cut out with a hobby knife the shape of the cottage and the
lower edge of the lake and grass.

3- In the next step I use the bottom part of the stencil. I placed it on
the shirt with 3M adhesive spray. When I’m happy with the location
I add tape on both sides.

2
 4 - I add blue in my airbrush Iwata HP-C and freehand draw the
horizon line and the circle line, I spray this smoothly.

5 - Starting at the horizon line I start to draw the farthest part

of the landscape, mountains and clouds doing everything com-
pletely freehand. At this point I also draw mountains reflecting
on water.

6 - I shade the sky fading it out at the horizon line. Add some
clouds and pines at the entrance to the cottage and this design is
coming together nicely.

7 - The scene a bit more advanced in this picture.

3
 8 - I use the same tone of blue to complete the scene.

9- I remove the stencil of the flying saucer gently as you

can see in this picture.

10 - Here we see the bottom of the flying sau-

cer I’ve been working on adding shadow areas to
give it the illusion of being round.

11 - The scene with the saucer painted so far.

4
 12 - Here you can see a close up of the flying
saucer.

13 - Now I put the top of the stencil back on the saucer to mask
it as I paint the dome.

14 - Remove the stencil that was used in the previous step

and start painting glitter and lights in the sky, also add some
more clouds and lights of the UFO.

15 - I now add magenta to my airbrush and spray this in the sky

and some on the water. Then with yellow I paint the lights of a
flying saucer and adding lines to the back to get some movement
in the painting.

5
 16 - Now I take off the bottom of the stencil and start on rest
of the design.

17 - I use again the same shade of blue and paint

the cottage and start giving volume to the boat.

18 - Here you can see how we achieve depth in this paint-

ing. You can see it when you look at the boat, the cottage
that is placed a little further in the back and the mountains
in the distance.

19 - Here you can see that I completed in this stage all the blue.

6
 20 - Now I put opaque black in my airbrush and
paint the pines on the left side of the scene. The
grass that is near the boat and on the right side
of the scene.

To give the final touch to the painting, I extent

with yellow the lines of flying saucer out off the
scene, and add also some yellow to the cottage
to create lights. Now this painting is finished.

By Brian McCaffery
Recently I wrote a small piece on European Initia- And last weekend April 12 and 13 I was able to get
tive and how that artists in Europe are taking matters along to one such show.
into their own hands and organizing small shows.

7
This is the third Saints and Sinners show to be held playing on the alter, all in all a great day out. Another
in Geldrop, Holland, and what a sweet little show it thing that I noticed was how many flyers were avail-
is. In the Kustom Kulture genre 17 artists getting to- able advertising Kustom Kulture shows a great num-
gether in a decommissioned Church to show off their ber of them being in Germany so it looks like I will be
art and have a blast. Full on barbecue outside, band checking out a few German shows this year.

Talking with the organiser of Saints and Sinners Frank

Stienen he told that he was very happy with the turn
out this year. This is now our third year and the word
is getting around we have had more people through
the door this year, we want to keep the number of art-
ists to about 20, that way we can keep it a nice intimate
show and it also allows the artists to interact with each
other exchanging ideas, tips and tricks. But the cool-
est thing is artists are selling which is always great.
I would like to thank Frank and the Saints & Sinners
Community for a great little show and I for one will be
back again next year.

8
 Step by Step Barry Sheene by Mark Morrison
www.motogp-art.com www.braveartgraphics.com

One of the most handiest tools I have is a pro-

jector. I can adjust the colours on old photo’s
and cut out the piece I want in Photoshop, then
project it straight on to a Schoelershamer board
that has application tape on top.

I now have a pencilled reference for my portrait.

I try to add as much detail as I can from the pro-
jection but anything I missed I use a printed A4
reference of the photo to check.

Now I can cut out the application tape with

a scalpel all of the darker pieces of the por-
trait, bike and rider.all of the places for oth-
er colours are still protected by the applica-
tion tape and because I am using Createx
wicked colours thinned down I know that
the other colours I am applying later wont
be be a problem over spraying so much on
the black.

9
 I’m using some masking here to apply the rad
to the fairing of the bike and you can see that I
have already applied some fine gold metallic to
the helmet and stripes on the riders suit. All of
the masking is cut by hand with a sharp scalpel
blade. If your blade starts to feel blunt, change
it for a new one. It is better to get one cut than
having to try and go back over what you have
tried already.

Now that I have all of the main colour blocked in

I can remove the rest of the application tape and
get a closer look at how the colours are fitting in.
I then cover the board with frisket film so I can
caut out the rest of the colour pieces to be done.

I can now add the yellow to the number

boards. I add fine detail here on the front
board by scratching and erasing and building
up the colours to get the desired effect of the
sunlight bouncing.

I move onto the front forks and brake disc

with the same process as the fairing. Using
transparent grey and blue I build up layers
scratching ad erasing between layer so that
the highlights stay on the metal parts. I also
added the colour for the then rider kneepads
which were nothing sophisticated as todays
safety equipment in the Moto GP world. The
riders used packing tape to cover the leather
because it slid easier than the grippy leather
of the suit.
10
 Here i am adding the subtle details of bug spalts
on the forks and front of the fairings with a
dark transparent mix of red and brown. I add
the splats at different distances with a quick
small burst of paint adding more for variations
of the splats.

I finish of the helmet and suit logo’s before

moving onto the face and neck, and the shad-
ow of the bike and rider on the board.

For Barry’s face features I penciled in the dark

areas of the eyes and nose and applied trans-
parent black, Then removed the frisket on the
face leaving the eyes protected. I mixed a skin
tone with some orange and light brown and
with this one colour I added all of the skin
tone building up the darker areas with more
passes.

Me and Gino Assen, motogp-art Marco,

Gino 2013

Tools and Materials used.

Iwata airbrushes, Createx paint, application
tape and frisket film, scalpels and erasers.
Schoelerhammer board.

11
 As an unknown artist I want to introduce myself and some of my art with you. At
my birth my parents decided that my name should be Clarissa, so my full name is
Clarissa G. Stoica, but I personally decided to adopt the name as an artist Clarisse
Pico. You can found my company under the Web-address: www.nomen-inextinc-
tum.de/ www.nomen-inextinctum.com

Both of my parents are doctors, and because a big The great fashionzar Karl Lagerfeld wanted to have
part of my family is involved with medicine I de- an homage to his beloved cat Choupette along with
cided in my early years to study cosmetic surgery. himself. A picture I have made at the end of 2013
My decision was made at that time, until one day I and since then it is a fix part of her website (you can
accidentally found the splendor of the scalpel in an see it here: https://www.facebook.com/Mademoi-
airbrush gun. I was immediately fascinated and in- selleChoupetteLagerfeld/photos_stream)
trigued by the endless possibilities of beauty, com-
bined with creation which can never be achieved
with a scalpel.A new passion was born and with
smaller pictures and simple forms I trained every
day every single minute I had available. Everything
I mastered till now I have one and only learn by the
“trial-and-error” method.

At the beginning I have seen art only as a hobby.

But the art of Luis Royo became an obsession for
me one day to be as good as he is. Even a song I
heard, a word, or just a shadow became my own in-
spiration and my style developed steadily as well as
my own personal technique. Since the beginning of
2014 I found a new hobby. “Until the colors dry” I
compose music under the name “1122” and related
video clips.

12
Small tools such as a brush, scalpel, various eras- Before you start a project you should have the fin-
ers and crayons often brought fantastic effects and ished picture in your head. Which is the best way
extraordinary emotions in my paintings. I love pic- to start? How do I sign this or figure out what is
tures in black and white but the strong and vibrant best? What color combination should I use? In your
colors have become my trademark. T-shirts and head everything takes shape and contour step by
leather jackets were my first victims, but as a small step. Also very good reference pictures are impor-
business woman now, I´m working on all substrates. tant. From magazines you better never use human
But even now the one or the other jackets are at- figures because they are often heavily processed so
tacked with the gun and color. Pictures of size DIN the anatomy is completely wrong. What do I want
A2 (they appeared to me huge at that time!) give way personally for the future? I definitely want to pursue
to pictures which are almost my size (we´re talking art professionally and of course make money and
about 165cm!). help others as fast as possible. I would like to have
my own gallery. I want my pictures to move people
What can you do to ensure that you get better, es- into another world, in a world where all the dreams
pecially as a beginner? What I learned is that you can come true. And where do I want to go now?
have to be very ambitious and your heart has to be Well I have told you a bit about me but my studio is
to 100% behind what you love. But parents and ex- calling me and the urge to finished my next picture.
perienced artists should support, help and encour- So I say to all of you who wants to meet me and who
age beginners. Especially at the beginning there are have questions for me: See you soon! And I look
many corrections (if you´re lucky) and sometimes forward for every single little e-mail!
they are very unfair where you want to plunk down
everything. Don´t paint when you are too frustrat-
ed... don´t even pick up the gun. If you have the true
love for art you will know the right time to play with
the colors again. My opinion is that you shouldn´t
hesitate to ask someone who has ideas for help.

13
Materials used in this painting:

Color: Aeroflash color: transparent scarlet, transpar-

ent burnt umbra, transparent burnt sienna, trans-
parent blue green
transparent light green, transparent viridian, trans-
parent yellow

Createx: opaque black, transparent sand, transpar-

ent deep red, transparent dark brown

Airbrush pro color: transparent graphite

Aero color: transparent white

Molotow: one 4 all color nr. 009, one4all color nr.

117
I started to sketch the whole picture with the most
important details like tail feathers and the crest on
Other material: Scalpel, electro eraser, Schoellers-
Schoellershammer board 4G.
hammer board 4G, brushes

Color pencil: Faber castell: black, different grey scale,

deep red, deep scarlet red

Airbrush gun: Haider brush II you also can use any

type of airbrush gun with double action system,
0,2mm or 0,3mm

Before you start a project make sure to have really

good reference pictures. Use more than only one
picture to have sources for details.

Before I used the airbrush gun for the first color I

taped down the whole area around the head and the
eye and beak itself. Only the crest and the throat
sack remains free. For this whole part you will need

14
three different colors. The base one is a pure “trans- mix color from the base shadow color and a few
parent scarlet” from Aeroflash color. The next one drops of “transparent dark brown”. If it is still too
will be the base color for the shadows. It is a mix out light add one drop of black. The main shadows mean
of “transparent deep red” and one drop of “opaque the darkest areas which are nearly black. Make sure
black”, both from Createx. It has to be darker than every single layer is perfectly dry and evenly apply
the base color but lighter than the main shadows. before you step on to the next one!!
The main shadow color will be created out of the
For good detail work you need a
very good and sharp reference pic-
ture. As you can see I started with
the first details and highlights on
the scarlet- colored layer. I used an
electric eraser for the bigger parts
(but don´t push it hard on the sur-
face to take off the color!). To cre-
ate the small and fine texture, like
the pores, I use a very sharp scalpel.
Here a little secret. Use only the
scalpel tip and flip or jump over the
lightest parts. They should look like
little commas. Why only the light-
est part? Your mind will add the
rest and so the realistic effect will
be produced. A scalpel can be used
just like a pencil and so all the other
details like small folds at the throat
sack are quickly done.

After finishing this layer it's time for

the shadows. Just use a darker color
than the base color. This creates the
perfect color shift between the light
parts and the dark shadows. With the
same color I spray very softly over the
texture I created before, so they are
no longer in the foreground. Then I
start creating the pores again but not
at the same place. I move around just
a little bit and then for a last time I
over spray them (very lightly again so
you can still see everything). I used
the darkest color I mixed before for
the darkest shadows. If some parts
still look to light I spray carefully with
"transparent graphite".

15
 For the beak and the eye I used "transparent sand" from Cre-
atex as a base color. As you can see the beak has some details,
too. To create the depth I used a brush and the same color with
a little drop of "transparent burnt umber" from Aeroflash. I
used the same color with my airbrush gun in order to perfectly
paint the sharp details and to soften them up. For the highlights
I used the scalpel again, and after finishing, I oversprayed very
softly with "transparent sand." To link the beak with the rest
I used some "transparent graphite" from Airbrush pro-color
with "transparent sand." If it is still too light add some drops
of "transparent dark brown." For the whole head I used black
only for the Iris and the hole over the beak and some shadows
for the folds in that area. After taking the tape off step back and
take a picture of your work to see how the camera registered
your details. This is the best way to see your mistakes.... or how
great your work looks! Now it's time for the feathers. At the
head they are white. I use my scalpel again and scratch them
out. I don´t do this for every single feather. This would look
very realistic and you would waste a lot of time. After I finished
the work on the head I moved my attention to the rest of the
feathers.
As for the crest you will need here again three different colors.
Use them for the body part on the neck, on the back and over
the wings. For the highlights and as base color I mix a color
out of "Molotow one4all color nr. 009", 2 drops of "transpar-
ent sand" and one drop of "burnt umbra". The breast and the
wings remain white. As I said before, don´t paint every single
feather. Only indicate them with long and some shorter lines
and curves.

For the first shadows and darker

feathers I mixed the second color.
I used “Molotow one4all color nr.
117” and 2 drops of “transparent
sand”. Very sharp shadows (they are
especially at the back in direction to
the tail feathers) I paint them with a
thin brush.

16
 The darkest and softest shadows
are under the throat sack and for
the darkest feathers I used “trans-
parent burnt sienna” from Aero-
flash and “burnt umbra”. “Burnt
umbra” and “transparent dark
brown” is also used for the deep-
er feather at the back. Even here I
don’t use black. It would destroy
the harmony. If it is necessary use
“transparent grey”.

Well you can see there are some re-

ally small feathers. I created them
with a brush and the base color,
mixed with one drop of “transpar-
ent graphite”. With fast, little moves
I create them. It is important that
they are in one direction. Always in
one direction with the bigger feath-
ers. For some highlights use the base
color mix from before and the scal-
pel to accentuate some feathers.

I like to jump around the picture so I don´t over work

one area. I start to paint the first black feathers at the tail.
You can decide with technique is easier for you. To use
a brush or the airbrush gun. I prefer a combination. The
gun for the bigger parts and the brush for the small and
tricky ones.

17
 But our cock needs his feathers on the breast
and wings! Here I used my special technique.
I call it the “Snow storm effect”. I wanted to
make these feathers white. But even white has
shadows that are very soft. My special tech-
nique is easy. At first I spray all the shadows
and some feathers (like over the feet and on the
breast) with “transparent graphite”. Depends
on how dark they have to be use more or less
“transparent graphite”. After this I used my gun
“transparent white” from Aeroflash to brighten
the whole area. Because of this the grey isn´t
so dark anymore. A “snow storm”. But it is very
important the white is absolutely clean.

For feather details I use three different types

of color pencil. For the lighter shadows I use
“warm grey VI” and “warm grey IV”, both
from Faber Castell, and for the darker shadows
black. Maybe some feathers need extra high-
lights so I use my scalpel again. But the feath-
ers here aren’t pure white. I took out my gun
again and sprayed very softly over the whole
area with “Molotow one4all color nr. 009,” and
to create a good transition at the colored feath-
ers I used some “burnt sienna.”

Now back to the tail feathers. Some feathers

have a wonderful blue-green color. For those
I first used “transparent blue green” and “light
blue” from Aeroflash and for the greener parts
“transparent light green” and “viridian,” also
from Aeroflash. Even here don´t look at the de-
tails. Just paint the areas with their colors. The
details will be created with a very easy tech-
nique. You need a bright brush and the black
color. Spread the hair bristles and paint with
the black color the feather textures at the col-
ored parts. Make sure the brush doesn’t have
too much color. If necessary wipe off some col-
or. Than go back to the color areas. The secret
here is to touch the paper only with the tip of
the brush so you can get very thin lines.

18
 After finishing this I took out my
gun again and colored the rest of the
tail feathers black.

For the highlights and the white feathers I used my scal-

pel again. Make sure it is very sharp! With the bright
side of the scalpel I scratch the whole part of the white
feathers (as you can see the details get out automatically)
and if you scratch at the parts from the colored feathers
which are covered with black, you can see the color shin-
ing through.

Here is a closer look after I finished everything and

how the picture looks till now.

19
 Next step will be the feeds. Once again I used “Mo-
lotow one4all color nr.117” as the base color. For
the details I used “transparent burnt sienna” and
for the darkest shadows “transparent dark brown”.
For the highlights I used the electric eraser again. I
just jump lightly over the areas to create the scuffs
and the sharp highlights are made again with the
scalpel. Then I covered everything with a light yel-
low shine. For this I used my gun and a “transparent
yellow” with Aeroflash color.

Our king needs his throne. For this I

painted old wood with moss. The wood
should be old and dry so I brushed with
my gun “transparent sand” and for the
wood structure I used an old brush that
still has dry color on it. It helps a lot to
create the irregular texture. For this you
need the same color again (you also can
mix one drop of “dark brown”) and then
drag the brush from top to bottom. You
also can shake your hand a little bit. Use
the brush as often as you have color on it.
Depends on how much color still is on
it you get thinner and thicker lines. For
the shadows and dark areas I use “trans-
parent dark brown” which I painted with
the brush again. I also use a round brush
(it has to be clean) for the moss.

Here you have to work a little bit faster so

the color is still wet. For the dark parts you
need “transparent moss”, for the lighter parts
“transparent light green” from Aeroflash col-
or. Now dab with the brush and the lighter
color irregular on the ground and while its
still wet dab the darker color even over some
parts of the light green. This whole proce-
dure has to be done irregularly. You also
can combine this with some “burnt umbra.”
Moss isn´t pure green!

20
 In the areas between the wood and the moss I used dark
brown and for a good transition some black.

I add some more details like grass

(just like the wood texture- fast
moves as often as possible with the
absorbed color) and some boughs.
For the background I used “trans-
parent moss” and “transparent light
green” which I sprayed carefully (no
overspray over the cock... better is to
tape him of) and evenly or the over-
all impression of the picture will be
dirty. I hope you enjoy creating this
wonderful animal as I do and I hope
you picked up a few new tricks. If
you have questions or comments
you can write me on my e-mail: no-
men_inextinctum@yahoo.de

21
 Hi everyone! I’m Julia Lazaridi, ”Love To Airbrush” air-
brush artist from Sweden. I’ve been studying fashion-
design at Univercity in Tallinn, Estonia and moved to
Stockholm after my studies. 10 years after my studies
and no creativity I discovered the airbrush and I’m
hooked since 2009. My passion for airbrush is growing
and I’m not gonna stop painting anymore and my stu-
dio is my sanctuary for me. Now, 5 years later I paint a
lot of realism and do airbrush classes, mainly for beginners and do exibitions, you can follow my work on my
homepage, facebook and on my blogg: www.lovetoairbrush.com
www.facebook.com/LoveToAirbrush www.lovetoairbrush.blogspot.se

”Scent of spring”
by Julia Lazaridi, Love to Airbrush

E’tac EFX on Schoellershammer illustration board, 51x72 cm

Tulips in March ... They are available everywhere and come home ...
you can smell that spring has arrived! I always buy a That precious memory has become a painting and I’d
large bouquet of tulips for my dear husband's birthday love to share my step by step of this painting with you.
in March and when my daughter was a little over a Materials:
year old she thought it was so exciting, she smelled Illustration board, Grafite paper, E’tac EFX, Iwata
and admired each flower from the bouquet an infinite Micron, watercolor pencils, freehand shields made of
number of times while she was waiting for her dad thin cardboard, electric eraser, paintbrushes, varnish.
22
First step is the sketch. add a little color in my base, I always use burnt umber
I selected a high resolution photo for the project and for warm base and grey for cold/neutral base and in
printed it in needed size in black and white and in this case I start blocking background with cold grey
color. and then started on the child using burnt umber.
Then I transfered the sketch on to the board useing I work on the whole painting at the same time so I can
wax-free grafite paper. And I start laying the first lay- see all parts grow together on the same level, this way
ers of paint with my airbrush. I can see if everything is in ballance or not.
I work with very thin transparant layers because it’s There are a lot of flowers so I cut them out of my b&w
always easier to add paint than to erase it. This stage is copy and used them the as a mask. I work through the
very important: all lines and shadows and highlights whole painting freehand just using free hand shields
are going to guide me through the whole painting and I cut in different shapes when I need to keep sharp
I have to get it all right from the beginning. I study my lines. I started flowers with burnt umber mixed with
b&w photo so I can see all the shadows just right. Be- yellow ocher and leaves with some neutral grey.
cause my painting is going to be in full color I start to The sketch is now ready.

Second stage is the under painting. all warm areas, I leave highlights white and don’t spray
I need to give volume to my painting and I do this on darkest spots either. You can see on the picture that
with opaque paint. Opaque contains white pigment shapes start getting volume.
and that’s why it’s covering and reflecting the light. I As you can see I have painted a couple of flowers so to
don’t need to cover my sketch that’s why I mix some establish steps for the rest of the bouquet.
opaque flesh tone with a lot of water and mist it over
23
Then I need to start working on the colors to give the for highlights on the folds, white reflects light and
painting life and add some more detail. I warm the gives volume to the folds. And some transparent sepia
skin up with red ocher mixed with reducer and a lot smoke gives depth to the dark spots.
of water. Ochers are perfect for the job – warm and I use some sepia smoke on the hair and eyes as well
earthy tones and very transparent so the skin doesn’t and on all dark shadows to give them depth. The dress
look like the color of a tomato. Yellow ocher used on has some white detail and I took my electric eraser
the tulips. And red concentrated ocher for her dress and erased paint on the buttons and other white ele-
until I’m pleased. I work through the hair as well, thements and then sprayed some white paint through a
easiest way I find to do hair is to do the base with annet on the other areas of the dress. I add some white
airbrush and then work some individual hairs with on the highlights of the face, hair and flowers, it gives
watercolor pencils. more volume and softness to the painting.
The flowers are real challenge, I’ve decided just to doI add more detail to the hair and scratch the paint of
a few at a time. When I do the leaves I mix white with some individual hairs.
some green to give volume and then I spray some I add a little bit of red on the cheeks as well. I mix a
pure transparent green mixed with reducer and a lot drop of paint with some reducer and a lot of water,
of water where it,s needed. just to liven up the face a little.
I spray color over whole background and then add
Third stage is the over painting. some metallic acrylics paint with brushes to give my
I add color, detail and contrast. Pure transparent red painting ”painted look”.
+ reducer + water for the dress and then I use white It took a while to paint all the tulips. I used pure yel-
24
low, a little orange, green, blue and white on the top, as well.
I used sepia smoke for the shading and painted white Happy with the outcome I sign the painting a spray a
with a paintbrush to give the painted look to the tulips couple of coats of gloss varnish over it for protection.

25
 By Don Johnson
This tank is from a Big Dog motorcycle that was purchased in Eng-
land eight years ago and brought to the US by the owner. The tank
was designed to use a insert that turn into the gas filler hole and the
gas cap screwed into the insert. The bike has a lot of segmental value
to the owner and he wanted it fixed without ruining the existing pin
stripe design. It’s a limited edition number set tank, fenders, side cov-
ers. Gas wicking via the primer lifting the paint is a problem you’ll see
on Big Dog tanks but repainted Harley’s also. Special thanks to Todd
Malcolmson and everyone on Facebook for the advice on the best way
to repair this tank.

The owner decided it looked better with a flush type gas cap and
started using that. Eventually it created a situation where the gas
started to get under the paint and the results where the paint
started wrinkling on top of the primer. As you can see the tank
was painted right up to the edge of the gas filler hole. This was
not a problem with the inset type gas cap but the flush style gas
cap twisting on the paint caused an issue. So the mission was to
clean this mess up and keep it from happening with the flush
gas cap again.

I really don’t want to create more work for

myself than I have to so the first step is
the clean the bottom of the tank in prep
for masking. I don’t want to have to deal
with clear coating the bottom of the tank
as it fits on no paint stands I have and
would be a huge pain to deal with.

26
 After cleaning the top of the tank To keep as much stuff as possible
I protect the pin striping while from getting inside the tank I seal
I mask off the bottom of starting to work on the filler it off with masking tape.
the tank and roll tape the opening.
edge to avoid ending up a
hard edge when the clear
coat has been applied.

I carefully cut back the paint that has already

separated from the primer.
Now begins the real work using 180 grit sand
paper I sand back what’s left of the paint around
the filler opening starting to feather it back.

27
 Once you feel you have the area around the filler
hole feathered back good enough use a 2K primer
over the area you just sanded. Be sure to clean the
area well before applying the primer and stay away
from the masking protecting the art work if any.
Next I use 320 grit sand paper to feather it I will be repainting this tank just to the first weld
back even further. Be careful not to sand around the filler hole so I use fine line tape and
down thru the primer making more work masking tape to mask that final quarter inch or so.
for yourself than need be.

Once the primer is given time to dry com- After sanding I find there is a little low spot so I
pletely I use 600 grit wet sand paper to sand apply one more coat of K2 primer to take care of it.
the primer. Be careful not to sand down try After the primer has dried completely I once again
the clear into the art work. The whole tank wet sand the area. After cleaning the tank I mask
needs to be carefully sanded preparing it for off the pin striping using a clear masking film to
the clear coat. protect it when applying the black.

28
 With a airbrush I cover the area around
the tank with black. Sense we are working
with black base there is no problem wet
sanding it just to ensure the area is nice
and smooth, level. Anyone who’s been
custom painting for any length of time
knows there are a lot of different blacks
out there. To think you are going to just
spray the black you have on hand and
blend it in, good luck. I prefer to get this
done the first time and not have to redo it
because the blacks even blended did not
match.

My repair job complete

and clear coated. The
owner was very pleased
with the results and I
look forward to doing
more work for him and
his riding buddies in the
future.

Here you can see the clear coat has been applied and the area
In the booth and a coat of Chrome
around the fill opening is looking great. After the clear coat
Base Jet black I’ve had for at least ten
has dried and the tank has been color sanded and buffed I use
years was applied. In the booth and a
coat of Chrome Base Jet black I’ve had a thin coat of JB weld around the filler hole where the metal
for at least ten years was applied. meets the paint just as insurance we won’t have paint repeating
what it did to cause the tank to be fixed.
29
Prepared by MagCloud for Roberto Savoia. Get more at airbrushmagazine.magcloud.com.