Is it wrong to hate a color?

Well, here's Scott's new frame, all pretty, painted, and stickered. It's also my second and third paint jobs! The first color I chose was yellow, and I was told "Well, that's probably isn't the best choice for your second paint job." But do I listen to good advice? Of course not, I plow on ahead thinking "How hard can it be?" Well, it was plenty hard to get the yellow to cover, I got a couple of runs, and to top it off, the primer I used gave it a greenish tint when it dried! Damn you yellow.....damn you.

So, I let the yellow cure for a couple of days and then went back at it with sandpaper and a new color......much better the second time around. I didn't have the downtube decals on hand, but with the others on, I think that might be enough. I'm at odds with the clean look versus my child-like need for attention.

Anyway, here's a shot of the wishbone seat stay arrangement.

Head on shot showing off the curves and fork crown.
And my new requisite parting shot.
Next up...BMX!

Fork's Done!

Big push the last couple days to finish up the fabrication on Scott's bike. Here's the fork needing a bit more finishing, but still pretty slick, wouldn't you say?
Classic segmented fork with .049" crown pieces and .058" "lugs", blades and steerer are Tru Temper offerings. So, what does this fork need to make it even sweeter?
Lightning baby! Check out the inside tangs of the lugs.....takes it all the way to 11! The three P's are next: polishing, primer, and paint!

A little bit better than I used to be.

I'm off the day job for the summer-time to learn a new skill.
One thing that has always kinda bothered me was having to send my frames to someone else for painting/powder. Depending on another person for the appearance of my frames is kinda like having someone do my miters for me.....just doesn't feel right. So, time off+ access to a master framebuilder= I'm going to learn to paint!
So, here it is, my first paintjob. Done under the watchful eye of the one and only Dave Porter. Thanks to Dave's help it turned out pretty damn nice, huh?
It's a blood red metallic Imron over self-etching primer over a whole lot of fillet polishing.
In case you don't remember, this was to be Jeff's GDR race bike but a medical problem means Jeff will have to wait a year to go for it again. Like the previous GDR frame, this one is built for the long haul...I wonder if this one will see 12,000 miles in one year like the last one has.
Lot's of braze ons, huh? You can see the Garro seattube sleeve in full effect here too.

Ah, the beauty of fillets. Tig welding is okay, lugs are interesting, but nothing beats a nice fillet. The BB is the hardest part to finish so that's where I always look first on filleted frames...and where I leave you till next time.

Scott's bike and my second paint job coming up next!