posted August 10, 2005 08:57 PM
Well, after watching Mike and Yvonne do their magic on TV last night, it has finally happened.
The crew at the body shop is busting butt tonight and tomorrow so I can begin working on the truck as soon as Friday afternoon. Initially, I hadn't planned anything in particular for the hood, but, as many of you know from meets in the past, my truck's never been finished...always something of a work in progress/test panel on wheels.
SO....what happemed? This...
The hood idea came blazing in from my favorite source...GUMP!!! I sat down this afternoonand drew up the sketch, working out ideas along the way. We got word to the crew that I'd need extra time for the hood and they went into overdrive.
Now it's down to the wire time here since I'll be leaving on Wednesday for NY and Jill's meet, so the plan got tightened up quick. I spent the afternoon figuring out the final details in Photopaint and it's off to the shop for the weekend for this...
...plus the flames on the sides and tailgate.
After all those years of painting race cars in a hurry, it's time to put that kind of effort into something that won't get slammed to shreds by Saturday night. ...and I get to drive it the other 6 days, too.
Crankin' time!!! Rapid
[ August 10, 2005, 08:57 PM: Message edited by: Ray Rheaume ]
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted August 10, 2005 09:29 PM
Ray..That looks awesome!!!
And we'll actually get to see it at Jill's???
That is one of the things I love at meets, viewing all the great shop truck graphics.
(No panel ideas yet...Hmmm...maybe I'll do a step by step on how to convert an awsome computer rendering into an actual airbrushed, finished, product?? )
All I need is the talent for both!!!
I have sooo many great ideas!!!
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
posted August 10, 2005 11:39 PM
Thats great Ray!! The Hawaiians would love that design too. You could sell a lot of t-shirts out here with artwork like that... if it wasn't reserved for your own exclusive on-off. Wish I could see the finished piece in person, very cool!
posted August 11, 2005 07:53 AM
Way to go Ray, you are cruising now and who knows where you will go from here. Great job, I love it.
-------------------- Bill Riedel Riedel Sign Co., Inc. 15 Warren Street Little Ferry, N.J. 07643 billsr@riedelsignco.com Posts: 2953 | From: Little Ferry, New Jersey, USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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posted August 12, 2005 11:42 PM
Just a quick update...
This was what we started with as of yesterday morning....
YIKES! Missing a mudflap on the front, scratches, dings up and down the side and a caved in tailgate. I also never got the holographic film off of the door.
Early this morning...
Chris Wyman, along with his brother Chad had already gone to town disassembling the truck as needed and pulling the dents out. They were already well on their way into sanding down the old finish.
Mid afternoon I went back to pick up some of the stuff removed from the truck for some special touches...WOW! Bye bye dents.
Chris, Chad and their dad, owner Craig Wyman, were all at work with sanders, primer and pushing hard to finish up by tonight... Even in the midst of all this chaos, Craig still managed to repair and repaint a Corvette hood, too.
Talk about a hard working crew. Even after seeing them in action over the years, they have outdone themselves on this one.
At 6PM tonight, they closed shop for the day and the truck was all primered and ready. Craig's going in to seal the car and basecoat it, and at 9AM, it's my turn.
Rapid
Just a footnote...Craig Wyman owned the first race car I ever worked on and around town is considered the person credited (and sometimes blamed... ) for "discovering" me. As the years have passed, we have always supported each other, not only as business owners, but as friends as well. Tomorrow, I'm gonna do everything I can to do him proud. Friends like Craig are few and far between.
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted August 14, 2005 02:50 AM
Guess what? It's done! True to their word, The crew had it ready at 9AM as planned....
...and away I went!
First up...fire! this is where it was at noon.
By 5PM, the flames were pretty much finished. Gump's usually my sidekick in the truck. Since he's a big fan of dragons, I worked this one in for him.
At 10PM, 12 hours into it, I finally finished he bulk of the job and set out to nail the hood...
Finished at 2AM.
Craig's coming in tomorrow to clearcoat it and he's gonna bury it in several coats...COOL!!!
But it's not quite done yet. The doming is ready, the maskes are cut, the airbrushes are at set and the last piece of the puzzle happens at Jill's Jamboree...
My brain hurts and my airbrush hand is pretty much toast. I'm gonna go sleep...
Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted August 14, 2005 03:38 AM
wow!! Excellent work Ray, glad I spotted this post, seeing your accomplishment is inspirational. Mike & Yvonne really did light a fire in getting you rockin on this project in record time. Glad to see everything is going like clockwork for you, burnin the midnight oil no less!
Wish I could make it to the meet. Lookin forward to seeing the finishing touch.
-------------------- Harris Kohen K-Man Pinstriping and Graphix Trenton, NJ "Showing the world that even I can strategically place the pigment where its got to go." Posts: 1739 | From: Trenton, NJ, USA | Registered: Jun 2001
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The white, yellow and oranges were all PPG Deltron basecoat paints. Instead of red, I used 1 Shot maroon thinned with Deltron reducer and OS hardener added to push back colors. Got a really nice effect out of it and it worked into the black smoothly. HOK Kandy Tangerine was used in between colors for depth and blending. The corona on the hood and final touch on the fire was 1Shot Pearlescent magenta, again thinned with auto reducer and OS hardener.
I know to many, this sounds like a witches brew of paints, but Craig and I have found that PPG Omni clear works well over all of the above and we've been getting great result for the last year with it.
Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted August 14, 2005 03:23 PM
That is really nice Ray. Great looking shirt that you are airbrushing in. I still love the simple one color design you did at our meet of "The Pinstriped Lady."
posted August 14, 2005 05:27 PM
KILL CORN KNEE HIGH, Ray...! That is schmokkkkin'
CrazyJack
-------------------- Jack Wills Studio Design Works 1465 E.Hidalgo Circle Nye Beach / Newport, OR Posts: 2914 | From: Rocklin, CA. USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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) for "discovering" me. As the years have passed, we have always supported each other, not only as business owners, but as friends as well.
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