We're always working on something new and
interesting so take a minute to see our daily view ...

02/07/04 Been very busy as of late doing lots of new business and adding tons of new inventory. In the shop we've just purchased a pair of real dandy tools that will help us out in the tight spots! Both are from Dynabrade and the first is a miniature electric belt sander called the DynaFile II. It's great for rough in work, deburring and quick material removal. We just cut the neck out on the "Shop Bike" and we'll admit this is the first time we've never had to use any heat! Simply drilled three holes (one in each corner) and RotoZipped the center out playing connect the dots. Then we used the belt sander to smooth up the flats and deburr to prep for putty.

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Once puttied we roughed the neck in with the belt sander and it makes short work of that messy job. To finish we used our next tool and that's the Dynabrade Air Powered Finger Sander. This baby is the cat's pajama's for doing any type sanding in tight spots. With the vast array of pads sizes and shapes, fingers and grits of abrasives it comes with it can handle just about anything you throw at it. The nice part is it has three of each attachment so each one can handle Stick-It, Hook-It or Hook-It II papers. All in all this was the easiest frame we've ever done! Stay tuned to more goodies and a few close-ups of the "Shop Bike" when finished.

09/12/03 Sorry for the time lag here, folks. Been a ton of things going on that have been keeping us busy! We just purchased our newest addition to the shop and we're looking forward to using it on our next job. It's an Iwata LPH-400LV HVLP gun that is a real dandy! It's one of the nicest guns we've ever used. Having used a demo model to shoot the hood of the "Shop Truck" we were sold on it. What a giant sweet spot! With it's shiny black Chrome surface it's almost too pretty to use... but we'll just have to bite the bullet do it anyway!

Also been stocking up on parts for a complete redo of the "Shop Bike". Hows a fully polished S&S 124 engine with intelligent ignition and matching 6 speed sound for starters? Then a complete redo of the rear end is in order with Heartland curved struts, 8-1/2" Kevlar fender with LED taillight, new seat and solid 18" chrome wheel topped with a 180x55 Avon. Maybe even a single sided brake/pulley combo to show off that wheel. They're all setting here now just waiting for the first snow to fly before we start installation. Should be a fun winter time project.

05/25/03 Well, well... been awhile since our last update, huh? We've been hard at work on everything lately (or maybe it just seems like that). We've updated the "Shop Bike" and given it a brand new front end and paint job. It's already got Legend Air Suspension so we're updating the "Shop Truck" with Air Ride Technologies' digital air suspension. The truck's air ride is on and we're putting the finishing touches on it as we speak. We'll have some nifty before and after pictures up shortly... so stay tuned!

We're also testing the new Flake Buster® Spray Gun along with the fantastic new flakes we now carry from Old School Flake. The new Splinters and Ghost Flakes are real attention getters.  One of our customers called and told us the gun is a real dream to use. Shoots flake dry with very low pressure so there's hardly any overspray mess and no gun clean up either! He says even an novice can lay down flake like a seasoned pro the very first time! We just love tools and anything that makes life easier so can't hardly wait to give it a try! UPDATE: We did... and LOVE IT! Click the flames above to take a look at how well it... and the flakes worked together!  

03/08/03 Been wrapped up so much in our work lately that we haven't taken the time to give an update so we decided it was about time. We've got a couple new additions to the shop since we last visited. First is a second new Tornado II Paint shaker. The first shaker was just great but now with two we can really shake... 'n bake!

We've also added a brand new Spray Gun Washer. This unit is similar to a dish washer and has jets that spray cleaner all over the gun, both inside and out. It's air powered and does a better job than you could ever do by hand. In less than 60 seconds the gun is clean as when it was new and once dry is ready for our next Olympic spray booth marathon!

11/14/02 We've purchased yet another state-of-the-art tool to improve our quality and at the same time lower our shop's turn around time. This is a brand new Infrared, 2000 watt heater and it's purpose is to provide super fast paint curing. Now we can supply our customers with baked on finish durability that rivals factory finishes. It will reduce the amount of cure time the paint needs from approximately 2-3 months down to mere minutes. This results in a fully cured finish that can be washed and waxed right from the start. It ensures the job will look just as good months from now as it did the day it left our shop. We look at this as a shop investment that benefits us just as much as our customers.

10/31/02 This installment of Shop Views centers around our "Shop Truck". It's a 2001 PT Cruiser done in Inferno Red Pearl Coat that has just been begging for something unique... so we decided to answer the call! We did a Kandy Apple Red Test Tank with House of Kolor Red to Gold Kameleon Flames a while back for the Omaha Auto Show that has gotten the most positive comments of anything we've done to date. Being very close in color, we thought we'd do something similar on the Shop Truck... (so click the picture on the right and get a sneak peek already!).

When we installed it back on the truck along came some trick little light up LED windshield washers we found. Now we can go "Cruisin" (day or night)!!! Say, if you'd like something similar done or anything you can dream up really, drop us an Email or give us a call. We can turn your ride into something as unique as our Shop Truck!

 

09/27/02 The latest addition to our shop is a convenience item that we should have had years ago. It's the Tornado II Paint Shaker from Blair Manufacturing Co.  It's a very welcome addition to our shop since we spend a lot of time making sure your products are mixed to perfection before they leave. This unit is electric and doesn't take up much room at all. It's also fairly quite and it's light enough to be portable so it can be easily moved. Just another step we've taken to better serve you, our most valued customers.

 

07/20/02 Been hard at work on perfecting our newest "tool" as of late. More of a shop addition rather than a tool, We've just recently purchased a brand new, state-of-the-art VINYL PRINTER AND CUTTER!!! This does a fantastic job of making just about anything you can think of! We've used this remarkable device to produce crisp, super hi-resolution graphics and it even precision contour cuts them out as well! It's absolutely perfect for short-run decals, labels, indoor and outdoor signs, vehicle graphics and logos, product comps and can do heat transfers for all types of clothing. We've even used it to do special one off templates and stencils for some of our latest custom paint jobs.

This is one of those high buck tools that most shops just simply can not afford (but always wish they could). Say, have you got a sign, business logo, stencil, template or just a decal that you'd like made?  Well, just give us a quick call and we can do them for you in very short order!!

 

05/27/02 Got more tools and also went to a nifty seminar this month. The House of Kolor factory at Picayune, MS (about 40 miles north of New Orleans) hosted a week long Advanced Airbrush Class.   Extremely interesting and we learned techniques that most people only see in magazines. Lots of good tips too. They supplied us with brand new Iwata Revolution airbrushes to use while in class. We worked on 2'x3' sign blanks using all the techniques we learned. Once we get the finished product cleared we'll put it up for you to see. Overall a very good class and well worth the time and effort.

Also in New Orleans we stopped by at Dixie Art Supply and purchased an Iwata HP-C airbrush to add to our spray equipment arsenal. These are nice and can do very fine detail work. Picked up some other goodies too like a quick disconnect hose and bench top airbrush holder. Just a few nice to haves.

 

4/26/02 We've been hard at work improving quality while lowering turn around times. To do this we've added more tools to our shop. These new tools are strictly for filling those two priorities and they do it spades!

The first is the Dynabrade Spirit dual action sander. This is one of the lightest sanders made and has the smallest orbit available. Just the ticket for that final 3000 grit micro sanding our show quality paint jobs deserve.

The second is the Makita 9227c  7" variable speed buffer. Once we've done our job with the Dynarbrade then the Makita, with it's precise electronic speed control gives that mirror finish that our customers have come to expect on their custom paint jobs.

These are two great additions to our shop's arsenal of specialized products and tools that give the absolute best paint job we can deliver to our valued customers. Many of our customers over the years are on their second or even third paint jobs with us. They understand our value and how an important investment like one of our high quality paint jobs is to the overall style and show stopping presentation they want from their rides.

 

03/30/02 Well, it's been a while since we gave you an update in the shop. We've added more goodies, as always, and here are some dandies. We purchased the House of Kolor Cycle Stands to help with the paint jobs. These heavy duty stands are fully adjustable and are really beefy so they stay put and won't tip or fall over if accidentally bumped or nudged. They come in a set of three and we stock these great Cycle Stands if you're interested in a set of your own.  They'll be a really nice addition to the shop for painting tanks, fenders, saddlebags, etc. Then just let them dry, sand or buff them right on these stands! That's how well made and heavy duty these guys really are!!!

02/23/02 Here's a peek at out latest shop companion. A shiny new 7.5 HP - 4 cylinder air compressor called a "Quadzilla". Our 5 HP two cylinder one was just a bit too stressed and felt like it needed a vacation. Hopefully this should supply our air needs for quite some time but ya know what they say...

"You can never be too wealthy, too good looking...
or have too big of a compressor!"

 

02/06/02 Here's a new welcome addition to our shop. A heavy duty rack to let freshly painted small parts (and some not so small parts) air dry. This should speed things up a bit and protect your parts from damage.  This view is of only some of the items we are currently working on.

 

01/03/02 Here's our new small parts booth we designed. Works great for fenders, gas tanks, etc.. Excellent for small items that need to get done quickly. 2 - 8" blowers vent through 20"x20" filters so fumes are minimized. Has fully adjustable lighting and a 100 lb capacity slide out shelf with turn table for easy access. It's really slick!!!

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