Zachy C's Rat Rod 650b

Each March once I return from the show, I try to dedicate some time to miscellaneous stuff that gets relatively ignored the balance of the year; race team builds, repairs, the odd lingering repaint, etc...

One of the items on the list was a build for Zach, a really great up and comer in the under 18 Expert division who has fully embraced racing and it's community culture.

So, this will be Zach's sled for the season, a 650b frame painted up in a Rat Rod motif.

The finish did not start out as intended.  Originally, to save time, it was going to be a simple fire engine red powder coat with a couple of simple panels...you know, to save time and all.  Once I got the powder layer done, I just really was not feeling it; didn't like the color, the powder didn't flow as well as I wanted, etc.  I was frustrated right off the bat.  So I decided to go the other direction and use the negatives as a springboard for something cooler.

I sanded down the red powder to take off the gloss and give me a good mechanical base to build off of.  I then began working in some primer with 80grit paper, translucent brown with a grey grade scotchbrite pad, and finally some heavily reduced black with a crumpled paper towel.

Once flashed off, the whole frame got a rub down with a maroon pad, to blend the colors and edges together.  Next up, I took a detail grinder and began working my way down through the finish to expose areas of bare steel, creating diverse long "scratches" and shorter abrasion areas, giving the frame a beat on look.  Decals on, I then took a torch set on a heavily carbonized flame and smoked the white in the decals so that they would look aged, being careful not to apply too much heat to lift them.

Finally, I added a little custom airbrushing to bring out the persona of the frame  :)

A matte clear finish was applied to bring down the overall effect.

I was pretty happy with it.  I wish Zach the best of luck this season and that he is damn fast on this Rat Rod.

cheers,

rody