So here is a little story. I did my helmet last week with that 3M reflective tape, and my amazing wife liked it so much she encouraged me to do the whole bike with the reflective tape, instead of painting on the checkers as I had been planing.... Well, I said that just sounded like too much work, so I asked Isaac to do it for me. (He actually is both the muscle and the brains behind this operation.)
So here is Isaac’s walk through on how to apply checkers. As usual, you can click on the images for a better view.
Hi. I only know about ten words. Maybe more, My favorite is “Moo Cow.” However, my second favorite is “Varoom,” and that is the sound that a quality checkers paint job makes when it is attached to a well built vintage café racer. Trust me. I know about this stuff.
Ok. Let’s get started. You can see that I already masked up the petrol tank. I used 3M’s 1" blue masking tape “for automotive applications.” Also, here to my left you can see where I have prepared (precut with the blue and grey paper cutter in the background.) some squares out the reflective tape; along with the squares are some pin stripes that will be used later and some chocolate chips and beer which will be used now. Also note how I thoughtfully put an old blanket down so I don’t scratch up Mommy’s table. See, why can’t Daddy think of little details like that?
Here I have removed the center strip of masking tape and the strip immediately to its right. I will be placing the checkers by hand, using the remaining hedge of tape on either side as a guide. As the tape squares are laid these will facilitate mostly straight and obliging rows.
Ah! The checkers’ squares. And I use the word “square” loosely. These are hand cut so on a theoretical level, every one is a little different. Also it is good to keep in mind that the surface upon which these shall be adhered is not flat, rather a round, curved surface. Because of this, in order to keep the illusion of symmetry, I will often have to hunt for a square with just the perfect imperfection. Some are larger than others, some are lop-sided, others are closer to true that others. I will sort the conspicuously inaccurate ones in their own little pile for later use.
We have a good row going here. I like to peel the guide tape as I go so I can get a better look at what is going on. This process of actually laying the checkers just cruises by. I’d say that more than 60% of this job is preparation. Sometimes at this point I will go back and remove a checker and replace it with one that is more suitable for that location.
Doesn’t that look great?! Note where I have the petrol cap’s opening taped closed and placed the checkers right across that opening. I use some of those earlier mentioned odd ball squares here. A little later I will go back with a razorblade or an “Exacto knife” and trim the excess. The next step after this picture is to lay that third and final row of checkers. While this is the easiest, I often will find some missteps during this step – sometimes the checker doesn’t fit when it should and the surrounding checkers have to be slightly rearranged to accommodate symmetry. I found this tape to be somewhat stretchy, so if a square has to be removed, it has to be discarded because it deforms...
Yey! The checkers are done and I placed one of the pin stripes. You also can see where I have trimmed the tape around the petrol hole. A word about the pinstripes. This tape came in 1.5" wide rolls. Since the checkers are 1" square, I was left with 0.5" strips of leftover tape. I used the paper cutter to carefully slice these into what I imagine are approximately 3mm-wide pinstripes. This was a bit difficult to consistently get right, but I eventually ended up with enough. When I place the pin stripes I try to space them their own width from the checkers. I used to carefully mask of guide lines, but now I just do it by eye.
Here’s the other one. I really like that! You can tell I’m proud of my work in this picture.
One more view of the completed tank. You can see my pink bike there in the background. Can you guess what will be getting checkers next?!! That’s right. I thought it would be best to warm up on Daddy’s bike first.
Nothing beats the feeling of a job well done!
Remember – café racers
need checkers, and if I can do it you can too.
Peace and diapers
-Isaac
