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FAQ |
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What inspired you
to take on this project?
The
original BMW Art Cars. Specifically those of Stella, Calder,
Lichtenstein and Warhol. It's a very tricky thing to apply an artistic
style to someone else's sculpture while doing justice to both. Those
artists inspired me to try my hand at it.
What
is the medium?
Acrylic and enamel on car. I used Lyquitex and Golden acrylics, brushed
on, and Deco Color enamel markers for the line work.
Why
not vinyl?
Printed
vinyl is, well, printed. And its resolution is not of sufficient
quality. Also, it is essentially impossible to template a compound
curving car section so that the overlaying vinyl print will be accurate
to the millimeter across the entire section. Hand cut vinyl would have
been prohibitively time consuming. Lastly, there can be
clearance gaps between panels and difficult-to-hide edges with
vinyl.
What
challenges did painting on a car present?
Firstly,
the size. The car is roughly 14 times larger than the my usual 24"x36"
canvas, so elements of my Formal Impressionist style needed to be
modified to suit the scale.
Second, the texture. The car's factory paint has very little texture
compared to stretched canvas and the initial coats of paint do not bite
well. Furthermore, the paint markers would scratch through the
underpainting unless I first clearcoated it. This in turn necessitated
an additional undercoat before final color could be applied.
Lastly, a
car cannot be turned over and around like a stretched canvas. The
combination of the car's curves and immobility made every inch of the
project more difficult - particularly areas requiring specific
precision.
How
much paint was required?
Surprisingly
little. I expected the large surface area, multiplied by the additional
coats required, to suck up a lot of paint. But I only used up about
20oz of paint and 48oz of clear coat. So I have a
lot of
paint left over, after my initial investment, for future projects.
How
long did it take to complete?
Roughly 300 hours; several hours every day for 10 weeks. This was in
addition to the hours of pre-paint planning and prep work.
How
durable is it?
From
previous testing the acrylic paint seems very durable. I ran a test
stripe on the hood
through multiple track days, heat and rain. Aside from a few rock
chips, which would have chipped the factory paint, it looked good as
new. Rock chips are, of course, very easy to fix -
just mix a little more paint.
Can it be removed?
Sure.
Anything can be removed. Based on my testing it should peel off with a
little effort, leaving the clean factory paint beneath. But I don't
expect that I will want to remove it.
What
is it like to drive on the street?
Terrible...because I prefer annonymity. But it is what it is.
Do right by the car, and live with the consequences.
Aren't
you afraid of damaging it on the track?
Nope.
Chips in acrylic is easier to repair than chips in the factory paint.
Besides, it's ok for there to be a degree of risk in art. As the
original
Art Cars were raced, it's certainly fair to take Scatha to the
track for non-competition events.
Does
this mean that you are done modding Scatha?
Of course not! I have no immediate modding plans, but her sporting side
is certainly not frozen in place.
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