Last month we got prepped for the big spray day-final paint. Once the bike is ready for the final color application, things change a little. Final paint can be sprayed on in numerous layers; it's kind of a "paint, dry, paint, dry" process until the colors are as vivid as desired. The skill is walking the fine line between putting on too much paint (causing cracks and wrinkles) or too little (weak color saturation). If there are graphics involved, each color must be left to dry, then the next area needs to be masked off before spraying.
The first stage in masking off graphics is to use a thin, ultra-flexible (and expensive), plastic lining tape; this can create really smooth curves. Next, masking tape is laid partially over it and partially over newspaper to fully cover the rest of the bodywork.
On our 'Busa, Hudson uses a clever trick-once he paints all of the flat colors, he clearcoats the panels. It's more work, as he has to sand them down yet again after spraying; but it's smart because if he messes up the pinstriping he can just wipe off the mistake with no damage to the fresh paint that's now been sealed in (and thus protected) by the clear coat.
Pinstriping relies on plain old-fashioned skill with a brush and a steady hand. His clearcoat trick quickly pays off, as one of the original color choices for the pinstriping didn't work. So after some support from his friends (you mean name-calling-Ed), the design is modified.
On most bikes, the whole thing would be clearcoated now as the painting would be finished, but part of Hudson's design included some airbrush work. This requires a completely different bag of tricks, so Hudson calls in a specialist friend, John Philips.
Philips starts to create his layout with chalk on the big old 'Busa side panel. This is to make sure that everything is done to scale and nothing conflicts with Hudson's graphics. Chalk is used because it can be wiped off easily.
Once he has a rough design, Philips cuts a template out for the eyes of the skull he is about to create. First the eyes, then the face appears around it, and then the teeth are made one at a time from a hand-cut template. Afterward, the flames get laid out, sweeping their way back toward the tail of the bike. Color by color they materialize through the fine mist of John's airbrush.