Speed King Bike

[David]

I actually had a request to do a seat with that "saddle flower" stuff on it....Biker lingo for something like Sheridan. Here's the catch(s). I had 3 days to do the seat....and it had to be BLACK. Black Sheridan....right..... Oh and the seat pan was a mess, lopsided and twisted.

The bike it was going on was extremely cool however so I gave it a shot.

Here's the result

In case anyone ever asks why I hate black....these shots were taken at the same lighting same exposure....I had no time to try to get better pics of it done.

I was able to hide the lopsidedness of the pan a bit but not completely...

I've included some bike pics also

Dave

Edited February 13, 2009 by David

[leathernut]

hey dave cool seat..not your fault he wanted it black..i get that once in a while ,customer wants it black,i try everything to talk them out of it..

[Scary Leatherworks]

nice seat Dave. To bad that black hides all the detail. Green bike Brown would have looked nice. I'm trying to get out of dyeing my next seat all black also. Have you ever tried the vinagaroon for black? Just wondering what you thought of it, since I was considering it for the seat i'm doing and you have given me some great advice in the past and I use the same finish as you.

Scott

[ETW Grumpy]

Great looking "saddle flower stuff". Black.... why do they always want to cover up the art?? That is a bitchin' looking old Shovelhead though.

[David]

I never tried the vinagaroon, I would probably need a divorce lawyer if I started brewing that stuff up in my leather shop.....

Green bike tan seat, I tried the same approach....no go....same old story

Hey biker what is your favorite color? BLACK

What's your next favorite color? CHROME

And your third favorite color? SKULLS

ya gotta love them biker.....

[skipj]

Great job, oh well they pay the bills. Could this have been with the carving left natural?

SkipJ

[SouthPaw]

Great carving David....maybe you need a sign in your shop that defines contrast...

p.s make sure you add a skull under it so it get noticed..lol

[Go2Tex]

You could try using several coats of resist on the carving, just hit the highlights. Then dye and quickly wipe off the black from the highlights. If it isn't black enough for the customer, you could darken the highlights a bit with antique. Same with the lettering, to get at least some contrast.

[David]

You could try using several coats of resist on the carving, just hit the highlights. Then dye and quickly wipe off the black from the highlights. If it isn't black enough for the customer, you could darken the highlights a bit with antique. Same with the lettering, to get at least some contrast.

Good suggestions Tex, Unfortunately when these guys say black, they want it black....and the blacker the better.

Dave

Edited February 15, 2009 by David

[Go2Tex]

Good suggestions Tex, Unfortunately when these guys say black, they want it black....and the blacker the better.

Dave

Yeah, I kinda figured as much. Still, it just pains me to see you have to cover up all that beautiful carving.