Welcome to Motorcyle Airbrushing

A Guide to Airbrushing Motorcycles

This getting started guide is for anyone considering a field in airbrushing motorcycles. These tips apply to someone whether they are already an artist or not.

A person should not be intimidated by the fact that they are not an artist or have never touched an airbrush before. With this particular art form, drawing skills may be replaced with such tools as stencils and projectors. And an airbrush is merely a tool to be mastered with practice and perseverance like any other tool.

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Check out this YouTube video to see a typical use of an Airbrush Stencil to create a skull.

A variety of substrates abound that one can practice on and become skilled with prior to painting on bikes such as canvas, t-shirts and even plexiglas. Doing so on a variety of materials also allows one to get to know different surfaces and how they react to the paint and stenciling material.

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When a person feels ready to paint onto vehicles, riding mowers, bicycles and bicycle helmets are the perfect subjects. One may be amazed at how many family members and friends are willing to let them turn their own objects into customized works of art. This not only provides the painter with practice, but also begins a public portfolio of work for potential future commissions.

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Watch this following YouTube interview of Roger Pouw. It is interesting how he started out in his career in Airbrushing, and you could do it too-

Preparing a Work Space

Initially, it is good practice to prepare a space to work in, and to store supplies and tools. A well lit, large open space allows the artist to move around and work without getting cords tangled or knocking over things. Compressors, which are necessary to this field tend to be loud, and so this should be taken into consideration when preparing a work space.

Paints and finishes need to be stored in locations that are not subject to extreme temperatures. Generally dust free spaces keep grit out of papers, paints and brushes. In addition, electricity needs to be available and also a sink with running water should be close by for clean up of spills, tools and self.

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Hopefully, this next Video of some great customised bikes will give you some ideas and inspire you to create your own unique machine

Basic Tools and Supplies

By having all the basic tools and supplies on hand a person will be able to learn the whole process without over spending. There are of course many advanced varieties and styles of the following items available to choose from to enhance a person’s work and ease their efforts, but it is not necessary during the beginning stages of learning this trade.

Items to start out with include an airbrush, compressor, paint and masking materials. Doing a little research on the internet before shopping gives specifics about items and their direct uses such as what types of paint are used for certain media.

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Watch the next video for a beginners guide to creating a skull, using a simple stencil-

It’s a good idea to have several pads of large durable or wet media paper available to practice on. Also to sketch out and plan designs as to how they would fit on the final product such as a tank or helmet, prior to painting the designs on the actual objects.

When a person is ready to move on to larger items such as outdoor vehicles, a spray gun and durable finishes are necessary. This will protect their work from the the ravages of weather and road wear such as flying stones.