Last month was a milestone for me: I had successfully applied a 1970s-style metal flake using up-to-date techniques.
In the glory days of Pink Floyd, Monty Python and The Good Life, metal flake was the finish to have on a custom vehicle; the heavier the flake and the louder the colour, the cooler the wheels. For the custom 1976 Z900 I’m building, I am looking for some 1970s sparkle, but not red or green (why are all custom Zeds those colours?). Instead I’m going for ‘Deep Purple’, not the awesome 70s rock band headed up by Ian Gillan, but the colour. I had many ideas, but due to the complexity my friend and paint mentor Jak advised me to dig out an old tank and side-panels to experiment on and later I was very grateful for his wise counsel.
I have had two previous attempts at candy, one that went well on the bodywork for an RD250B and another on a Z1100 shaftie that went south when a blob of paint launched itself from the gun breather
