New guy on the block

[Bando]

Any update!!

 

[rusty76]

That skull, looks odd
too flat, the jaw is too wide the forehead too low ... (I could go on I'm afraid)
So yeah.. no.
I like the idea though.
But for a different kart.. pinstripes on camouflage?

AFAIK Chris Cooper sells decals on his website (he did the last time I lurked)
So maybe you find an option to pimp your ride there
[EDIT]
Oh sorry.. you don't like decals, missed that earlier... forget about that

'sid

I like you man. You type what you mean. Pinstripes on camouflage? Why not? Guys have been painting their helmets, planes and other gear for years. Some good and some not so good.

Coop does a bunch of hand painted paintings. Yes he does design stickers, but also does tattoo flash. Probably not your speed though. It's all hot rod low brow related. Ed Roth who you missed also designed stickers or decals too. It isn't something I care to do myself. Stickers and vinyl are soulless to me. But some of their work is awesome just like Ryzart. Go look him up.

Thanks for the opinions. I have, like I stated before that I have been pinstriping for a few months. Not years. This is a Hobby actually. I work a regular boring job. I do other stuff. This was just for Fun. Stretching the legs. We were just trying to do something different. I notice the same old things being done over and over and for me I want to do something different. Break away from the norm.

So let me nit pick my work for a minute or rather my opinion it. It isn't symmetrical. Far from it. I wished I knew how to do this stuff more. So how do you get better you do it as much as you can. You practice. You get out there, you fall down. You get up. You figure it out. There's nobody to teach you around here sign painting. It's a lost art. The local Tech school doesn't teach it. It's figure it out on your own. Do whatever it takes to learn.

It is flat. It's on a flat piece of metal. What can I say. The pictures make it look a lot worse than what it is. The pics make the outline look almost purple when it is actually gray. Cheap camera.

I wouldn't worry about the cucumber above his skull. I was trying something different out. I'll probably end up changing it out. Who knows. I might just leave it. Might just name this thing the "Kool Kucumber."

I apologize for stirring up a hornets nest of thoughts. I didn't realize that a simple yard kart, one meant to be fun was going to be so controversial. I mean heck if I saw it on here from somebody else I'd be like, "Cool man." "Nice try." If he'd asked my opinion now that would evoke some thought and carefully placed words.

So the moral of the story is.....isn't this go kart thing supposed to be fun? It sure is. Tearing up one yard at a time.

 

[rusty76]

Any update!!

Not today. Just chasing fires. But thanks for looking and keep your eyes here for more fun.

 

[itsid]

Coop does a bunch of hand painted paintings. Yes he does design stickers, but also does tattoo flash. Probably not your speed though. It's all hot rod low brow related. Ed Roth who you missed also designed stickers or decals too. It isn't something I care to do myself. Stickers and vinyl are soulless to me. But some of their work is awesome just like Ryzart. Go look him up.

If it's chris cooper we're talking about, I have four of his posters (only one currently hanging, because I don't know where the others went) I once almost got one original at an auction (second highest bidder doesn't really count )
And my last three cars had a coop sticker somewhere (either a nun or his devilish self-portrait with or without wrenches)
So I guess you can fairly assume I like him (or his artwork to be precise)
Ed Roth made the album art on some of my favourite compilations (dragstrip and surf music), great, but too much details in my opinion for making good decals on a car(/kart/bike...)
And most of the times overexaggerated for a decent poster (well I can't think of a room for hanging it )
But I don't like Ryzart very much, other than some of his fantastic pinstripes. (his lettering is mostly cause for my denial )

Anyways, I don't think that stickers are a bad thing to consider,
because of numerous reasons
1) You can cheat
it's hard to achieve perfect symmetry by hand, and a little photoshopping makes that a snap
Also you can easily swap colours in case you change your mind
2) You can replicate
it's a pain if something you made is destroyed for some reason.
Especially if you put some hours of hard work into it.
3) You can never tell
There are waterdecals, or to be precise printable film, that is so thin and fragile, that it is impossible to tell from a handpainting once it's covered with clear coat.
Even for a standard inkjet and laser printers

And if it's of your own design it'll still be unique!
(other than my coop stickers )

So I would think about that;
at least take a number of really high resolution photos, to have a backup just in case you need it

'sid

 

[itsid]

Sorry for splitting this up, but it's easier to follow this way I think:

Pinstripes on camouflage? Why not?

you got me there; I don't know; maybe this break of "rules" turns out just great, I was just baffled about that decision I think

Thanks for the opinions. I have, like I stated before that I have been pinstriping for a few months. Not years. This is a Hobby actually.
...
So let me nit pick my work for a minute or rather my opinion it. It isn't symmetrical. Far from it. I wished I knew how to do this stuff more. So how do you get better you do it as much as you can. You practice. You get out there, you fall down. You get up. You figure it out. There's nobody to teach you around here sign painting. It's a lost art. The local Tech school doesn't teach it. It's figure it out on your own. Do whatever it takes to learn.

You will find some cheaper sets of brushes on ebay
most importantly a sword and a dagger (I don't know what they're called correctly) go for a shorter set at first, that makes it easier to draw curves for flames and such.
And practise on paper with ordinar water colors to be on the cheaper side of things
If you feel confident, go for the real thing (on a spare part eventually).
Draw a grid with a pencil and ruler on your object of choice and take your time, do not rush into it.
the first few times it's perfectly okay to make a sketch with a pencil at first and fill that with paint later on.
You will find "bendable" rulers to help you with copying curves.
I gave up trying I must admit, I am not patient enough to really master pinstripes.
drawing with a pen on paper, okay, paint on cars.. I won't even try again
Did this once with masks and tapes and guides and still failed miserably luckily it was a spare tank for a motorbike; it had to be repainted afterwards (the tatoo'ish tribal design looks great on paper though)

Oh and as a recommendation:
Herb Martinez's Guide to Pinstriping
and
How to Pinstripe (Motorbooks Workshop)
are some books you may like to read for that matter.

It is flat. It's on a flat piece of metal. What can I say.

I was talking about the proportions not the three dimensionality (or shading for that matter)

I wouldn't worry about the cucumber above his skull. I was trying something different out. I'll probably end up changing it out. Who knows. I might just leave it. Might just name this thing the "Kool Kucumber."

Ornamentation is a beast if you do not want to end up with penile structures or hearts and butts all the time, I think that's why some of the best pinstripes involve rough edges every once in a while.

I apologize for stirring up a hornets nest of thoughts. I didn't realize that a simple yard kart, one meant to be fun was going to be so controversial. I mean heck if I saw it on here from somebody else I'd be like, "Cool man." "Nice try." If he'd asked my opinion now that would evoke some thought and carefully placed words.

No need to apologize, that was clearly my fault, mainly because I am not really careful about my words
Sometimes because of the lack of knowledge which word is the modest amongst the possible translations, and sometimes because I just don't know what I think before I read what I typed

So the moral of the story is.....

Don't let 'sid ruin your threads

'sid

PS I'll keep following your thread, sometimes I just cannot imagine that the things in the middle will be awesome in the end (just like Tonys polished rims for example)
I'm pretty sure you can amaze me

 

[OzFab]

I apologize for stirring up a hornets nest of thoughts.

Dude, that's what an open forum is all about; there were no stern words, just differing opinions &, as we know, opinions are like... noses (yeah, that's it); everyone has one & they're all different; you have nothing to apologise for...

 

[rusty76]

Well Sid I appreciate the kind words and also the interest in my interest. I actually have several books on pinstriping. This includes Alan Johnson, Herb Martinez and several videos from The Wizard. It would be great to have someone actually teach me instead of the learning on my own. But that's life. For me this was just passing time. I still don't care for stickers. Well maybe not stickers mostly the vinyl stuff. At one time there were a lot of guys hand painting signs and so on and now it is just gone. It is making a come back. I never took an art class in my life. I just wanted to do something other than stick some numbers on the thing. We aren't taking it out to a show or going to race it either. Thanks again.

 

[itsid]

Well Sid I appreciate the kind words and also the interest in my interest. I actually have several books on pinstriping. This includes Alan Johnson, Herb Martinez and several videos from The Wizard. It would be great to have someone actually teach me instead of the learning on my own. But that's life. For me this was just passing time. I still don't care for stickers. Well maybe not stickers mostly the vinyl stuff. At one time there were a lot of guys hand painting signs and so on and now it is just gone. It is making a come back. I never took an art class in my life. I just wanted to do something other than stick some numbers on the thing. We aren't taking it out to a show or going to race it either. Thanks again.

An actual teacher is great to have,
ask around on conventions and motor shows if someone is willing to share the knowledge and experience with you.
Or ask your local custom bike shop for help.
Everyone knows somebody who knows someone who had contact to....
I am sure you will find help, maybe even someone who will actually teach you two or three things.
I sat in a motorcycle shop every other week and just watched and asked stupid questions (I know, but there was no youtube back then )
Oh and a good teacher isn't necessarily a good pinstriper and vice versa; you can only learn the technique, not the ideas part

All the magic of pinstriping (as far as I had been told) is a steady hand and a good idea.
my hands are not steady enough and I wasn't patient enough to train harder... I don't even have the brushes anymore (Now I regret giving them away)
Anyways, I'm sure that you can do it if that's what you want and you have the patient to exercise a lot.
Also it will hurt, just like tatooing it'll ruin your wrist after a while,
so be prepared

'sid

PS Good luck!

 

[rusty76]

Good deal my friend.

 

[rusty76]

We are still plucking away at this thing. Just working when we can. I'm working six days a week right at the moment but hopefully we get some stuff done this week. We need to make a parts run this week. We are getting closer by the minute, just need a few more minutes.

 

[Poboy kartman]

I was wondering, you said you were going to fix the steering. I never heard or saw anything else about it. What did you do?

 

[rusty76]

We had to reweld the steering arm back on and fix a crack in the frame. Had a good friend of mine help me out with it. Took longer to get to his house than it did to fix it. I still need to set the toe but will do that once I get the tires back on it.

Went today to CKI, Competition Karting Inc. and got some parts for the kart. Clutch, chain and throttle cable. If you have never dealt with these guys I suggest you give them a try. They don't carry a bunch of yard kart stuff, but you'd be surprised what you can get and the prices are really good. Soon we will be cruising.

 

[Poboy kartman]

We had to reweld the steering arm back on and fix a crack in the frame. Had a good friend of mine help me out with it. Took longer to get to his house than it did to fix it. I still need to set the toe but will do that once I get the tires back on it.

Went today to CKI, Competition Karting Inc. and got some parts for the kart. Clutch, chain and throttle cable. If you have never dealt with these guys I suggest you give them a try. They don't carry a bunch of yard kart stuff, but you'd be surprised what you can get and the prices are really good. Soon we will be cruising.

Yes I knew that, but did you ever check the Ackerman on it? The geometry looked way off to me (and others) but we only saw the one picture. Setting toe will only go so far if the geometry is off.It almost looked to me like the spindles were switched- (that bad!!!)

 

[rusty76]

I'm not so sure the spindles were switched or not. All I really know is that the spindle arms face the front so I'm sure the Ackerman is off. With the Ackerman off the toe was also out of whack.

 

[rusty76]

Well today so far has been productive for the kart. We got the axle back on. Bearings in place and get everything ready to drop the engine on it to get it ready to bust through some leaves. Hope to have it running within this weekend or first of the week. I've been so busy haven't had time to work on it. We'll see what happens. Pics to come.

 

[danssoslow]

It's awesome that you have a kart store close by. The one store that was local closed up shop.

I'm loving what I see. Not to bring the art up again; but it gets my vote. I was going to suggest slipping a piece of acrylic sheet in there to protect the art; but I'm not sure how resilient that stuff is to scratching.

If your welded spindle doesn't work out, a new pair of Azusa spindles aren't that expensive; and the tie rod arms are gusseted. You'd have to drill the spindle bolt out to a 5/8 or 3/4 (can't remember off hand); but that's easy going.

 

[rusty76]

Thanks. I hope to upload a few pics today or tomorrow. We got the motor mounted, clutch on, throttle hooked up and some other stuff. All that is really left to do is hook the chain up. He'll be riding it either today or tomorrow. Can't wait to see him blast around on it. He's looking forward to it.

 

[rusty76]

Here's some finished shots of our ride. It's been fun to say the least. I now have to work on the brakes. May need to rearch them or something. Not sure yet. Brakes work good going backwards but forwards not at all. I've got to add a spring to the brake pedal also. Thanks for looking.

 

[landuse]

Post some pics of the brakes. Maybe we can see something that will help you out

 

[Half-breeder]

... I see band-brakes... they stop backwards but not forwards?.... You have the belt mounted backwards/upside down would be my guess...