At the end of 2021, after an epic summer and a hard autumn, i decided to retire the paint job on my E06, it was a feeling that had been niggling at me for a while; everytime i surrupticiously glanced at her i couldn't help but wonder what might have been had i not been in a rush to paint her and ride her. Although the black had served it's purpose well, lots of microscratches were starting to dull the shine, sure i could've just buffed it and it would be good as new, i just couldn't shake the notion that i was riding Darth Vaders ebike.
I started playing around with ideas in photoshop and soon settled on a palette of red and black. I also knew i wanted this paint job to be one of a kind, one of one in the world, so i delved into FX paints and techniques, what follows is the result of that journey.
This isn't meant as a tutorial, it is a brief overview of the methods employed to achieve the result i wanted.
If this paint job was to have a moniker it would be a colour shifting ice fx candy black/red fade. (first time it''s been done.)
The first rule of any paint job is preperation, preperation, preperation and for a respray this is more vital. As i knew the adhesion primer and primer filler were solid all i had to do was remove the black paint, this took
forever.....
| Once i was down to the grey/blue primer and it was suitably smooth i began the process of creating the 'IceFX' underlayer, the first part is to paint a layer of silver paint, it is the silver layer under candy coats that makes them pop, the light hits it and reflects back through the candy paint (candy paint is completely transparent.) | |
| The next step was applying the 'IceFX' - AKA Mutant Crystalz (you can DIY the formula using urea). IceFX is basically a 'liquid mask', you spray it on,leave it and ice crystal patterns form. |
| The next step is to lightly spray a black layer over the IceFX, this is the contrast layer. | |
| Now the black contrast layer is gently wiped off with a soft scouring pad, the picture on the left is partially done. |
| This part is almost finished there are a few dark patches that need gently rubbing but its almost there. | |
| Next are the layers of candy, this colour is called Trinidad Scorpion, if you look at the pic you will notice the IceFX underneath. |
| The fade to black was the next step, the subsequent step i have no pics of but this was the branding of the bike. 'Exodus' was stenciled on using a 'Prism' paint, this paint is silver but flashes rainbow like when hit by the sun. | |
| Now is the clear coating stage, as you can see the clearcoat has transformed the dull paint layers into a beautiful, rich, deep effect. |
| I added candy black into the clearcoat, this gives it a colour shifting effect between red icefx and black | |
And this is how the paint job turned out.
| | This bike is really hard to photograph as the way it responds to light is abnormal, it seems to hinder camera sensors, these two pics capture the red to black shift quite well though. |
It now comes to the most tedious and frustrating segment - waiting for parts to become available. I ended up waiting months for parts to turn up and a couple of times parts i had managed to source i ended up putting on my hardtail and then once again had to wait for
those parts to become available again, until one day...........
........ I had all the parts needed.
And this is what happened....
Specs.
Cockpit
Hope Carbon Handlebars 800mm. Hope AM Stem. Ergon GA3 Grips.
| Eggrider Display. Wolf Tooth Light touch Dropper Remote. | |
| SRAM X01 eMTB single click shifter. |
| Magura MT8 Pro brakes with Wolf Tooth Matchmakers on both. | |
Drivetrain and Motor
Bafang Ultra. SRAM X01 Deraileur, SRAM GX Cassette 10-52T, SRAM GX Chain, RaceFace 46T Chainring.
Suspension
| Fox Float 185x50 (shim shuffled)
Manitou Mastadon Pro 140-160mm | |
Wheelset
Hope Pro 4 Fatsno Hubs 150mm x 15mm Front 197mmx12mm Rear. WTB KOM Tough i40 Rims. Sapim Spokes. Rimpact EDH Tyre Inserts. Maxxis Minion DHF EXO+ 3C 29x3" Front Tyre, Maxxis Minion DHRII EXO+ 3C 29x3" Rear Tyre.. All run tubeless with Stans sealant and Peatys Chris King MKII Valves.
Various Parts
Hope F20 Pedals, Hope Top and bottom cups, Nukeproof Horizon Saddle. Hope Seatpoost Clamp. Magura MDR-P rotors 180mm Front 203mm Rear.
Rockstop FrameGuard
Need to make a brew after that.
