Featured More Moto Connections: An Artist And A Gentleman

One of the many things I love about motorcycles is how they lead you to meet others and make connections. I recently made yet another one of those "moto connections" here in and all because of a paint chip on my Street Glide Special. Funny how a "bad" thing (or at least an annoyance) can lead to a "good" thing like meeting a very interesting guy who is both an artist and a gentleman. Meet Ed, one of the best known and most respected motorcycle painters in Tucson.


Here's the initial paint chip that I couldn't seem to just ignore--the chip started the progression of events that eventually led me to Ed. I incurred this double (and doubly deep) chip on the lip of my fender while on one of our out of town rides last fall. Our group wound up on a road that was being chip-sealed as we were riding on it. I debated and debated about whether to have this chip painted by a pro or to just touch it up myself. Finally after going back and forth for weeks I just bought a "Silver Flux" Harley touch up kit and did the job myself. Over four days I dabbed and dried, dabbed and dried. After adding a top coat and allowing that to dry,


After all the hullabaloo (self-induced), I took the bike out on a weekend group ride. Bingo! This is what happened. And it's not even the same paint kit color!


Long story short, I'd never met Ed but his name is legendary in Tucson and I've seen examples of his painting prowess on many bikes over the years. And, Tucson being a city of 2 degrees of separation rather than the usual six , I know guys who know him. In fact, one of my H-D dealership friends was married to Ed's step daughter for awhile until they divorced. So I got Ed's contact info and "met" him via a phone conversation. Again, long story short, I explained to Ed what the problem was and he told me to get a quart of paint so he could respray the fender. The orange color of my bike is called Scorched Orange. It turns out that you can't buy a quart of that color because, well, it isn't a color! It's a base coat called Amber Whiskey--a butterscotch color--overlaid with a top coat. The name of the top coat for some reason is a big secret. But Ed was actually able to figure it out and mix something with the Amber Whiskey to match it perfectly. In fact, I think that Ed saw it as an interesting challenge to match the paint with the top coat being an unknown. I guess when you're one of the best--and when you've been painting for about 60 years--you are definitely an artist!

I asked Ed about just touching up the chip itself but he wasn't having it. He said it "would look like crap" and he wouldn't do it that way. I was "warned" that he's a perfectionist! And that turned out to be absolutely true. I brought my fender to him on a Friday and he called me the following Monday morning at 8am and told me my fender was done and he thought it looked "pretty good". I'll say....


When Mr. Sandi and I dropped my fender off at Ed's shop on that Friday, we got to meet Ed, get a little tour of his shop, and get to know him a bit. His shop is in his garage which you get to through a side alley. Ed warmly welcomed us in and what started off as figuring out fender repair turned into an hour-long conversation replete with cool stories about bikes and cars he's known and loved and seeing some of the old bikes that still reside in his garage. Ed is also big into car shows and currently shows a Nomad and an Impala and often wins best of show with each of them (not at the same show, of course). I suspect we've seen one or both of his cars at the car shows we've attended over the past few years.




If I remember correctly, Ed said that the maroon Bonnie is a 1970 and the other Triumph is from 1958. I'm sure there are some of you on here that know just what these two bikes are! I was so overwhelmed by all of the goodies in Ed's shop that I can't remember the important details!






Ed is most definitely an artist and a gentleman. He clearly loves what he does and takes pride in his work. A little part of me hopes I get another paint chip or scratch so I have a legit reason to get together with him again and hear more stories. Well, ok, just kidding about the bike damage. But both Mr. Sandi and I are very glad we finally got the opportunity to meet the famous Ed about whom we've heard for years. We'll certainly be on the lookout for Ed at any car shows we attend in the future and we may just take a ride over to his shop one of these days to say hello.

 

Here's my good as new fender back on my bike. Actually, when I went to get my fender from Ed, he asked me if I'd ever noticed the small black spot on my fender that was clear coated over from the factory. He noticed that and now that's fixed, too. So I guess my fender is actually better than new. Oh yeah, and he fixed my amateur touch-up job on the lip of the fender, too, just using paint from the little touchup kit that I'd bought.



My bike was at Old Pueblo H-D for a 10K service while my fender was being painted. I brought the fender back over there and they popped it back on my bike for me. After all this, I considered having the front half of the fender and the fairing front covered with paint protection film. But after going for an estimate on that and comparing that cost to the deal Ed gave me, I could get about three or four more chips repaired and still come out ahead. So my fender and fairing shall remain "naked".

 

Thanks, @Bikerman. I noticed a spam response to this thread last night, too. I did hit ignore but didn't think to report as spam. I appreciate that you did.

 

@TEZ 217
You are right about Ed not being the only perfectionist in the picture, Tez. Believe it on not, though, after I did my totally amateur touch up on the double chip on the fender lip, I was content to leave it at that. But "fate" spoke and just two days later I got that chip on the top of the fender in the orange paint and I couldn't quite figure out how to make peace with that one. Maybe I need to get a dirt bike to practice living with dents and chips. I'm just afraid that most of the dents and chips would be to me and not the bike!

 

I think I'll stick to having Ed to touch-ups and repairs on my vehicles and NOT on my person, thanks, Tez.