Not for everybody.
For a limited number of folks who understand the value of collecting art on a human powered vehicle Dreamride is offering one-off paint jobs on Moots, Lynskey and Serotta frames, done by myself, Lee Bridgers, owner of Dreamride LLC. Each paint design is based on a conversation, your personality and desires. Prices start at $1200 and depend on medium and complexity. I use the most durable and flexible automotive paint, DuPont ChromaBase and Auto Air Colors water based pigments. There are added costs for urethane paints due to toxicity and difficulty in production and clean up. ChromaBase allows wiping, smearing and deep overlay effects. Auto Air Colors are more suitable for airbrush.

Bio in brief: I earned three university degrees in fine art from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BFA painting) and the San Francisco Art Institute (BFA and MFA in film, video, performance and multi-media). I have had one man shows on two continents, received awards, and support from the Stedilijk Museum in Amsterdam, I taught watercolor painting at Sharon Arts in Golden Gate Park. I worked as a color specialist painting Victorian houses and building guitars in San Francisco to put my way through grad school. I was a registered street artist in San Francisco, selling watercolors on Market Street. I never considered painting a bicycle frame until a client talked me into it. Now, with the availability of non-toxic paints, I am hooked.

Time and medium determine cost: State-of-the-art automotive paints require careful attention to detail, so each paint job takes three to six months to complete. Three months is recommended for curing time for final clear coat prior to installation of components. Techniques I use are based on traditional methods and a lifetime of experience in multi-media painting. My personal methods insist upon intuition, spontaneity and freehand. Application is done with air brush, hand brush, cloth, mesh, masking with a variety of media and objects, dripping, splatter and more. I use colors I feel are right for the client. The minimum cost of $1200 is for water-based paints with urethane clear coat. The charge for a full urethane-based paint job on a powdercoat base is $3000.

The process: First, the frame is fabricated to our specifications by MOOTS, SEROTTA, VENTANA or LYNSKEY, based on careful measurements and an interview to determine your riding style. I suggest a visit to Moab for a personal fitting on our Serotta Size Cycle, but I have been fitting people over the phone for 15 years and haven't gotten it wrong once. The frame is prepped, then primed. Powdercoat primed frames create a rugged base that can withstand any solvent used to get special effects (like those pictured on "Cupcake,", the frame with the painted spirals). In this case prime red was used as the base color. The palette is suggested by the client. The inspiration for Cupcake was mixed media painting I did in 1985.

Most colors are mixed from prime red, blue and yellow, pure white, and black, but I keep a few special colors around for pearlized, candy or sparkle effects. My strengths as an oil painter are based mainly on my extensive fine art education and a heightened awareness of color and color combinations, some would say from all the LSD I consumed while a student of fine art painting in the late 60's. The ability to mix and match colors got me jobs as a restorer right out of college, with many offers from museums in Europe (floods in Italy feed quite a few colorists).

The first step after powdercoating is wet-sanding the surface of the basecoat. This gives the paint something to grip. I will sometimes incorporate sanding effects for sub-surface texture to create deeper color and tone.

I use custom cut and shaped brushes, fabrics, sponges, shaped foam, leather, liquid pens, and air brushes to apply the paint. A pressurized fountain pen is used for low-tech spray and splatter effects. I mull over each and every stroke of the brush as I abuse, sacrifice and destroy anything necessary to get the effect I want. Every application of the paint is like a musical theme, jazz performed in line and color. Be forewarned: I will only do this kind of work if I am allowed to be spontaneous and sensitive to the desires of the client as well as the art that unfolds in front of me. I do not respond to direct requests for literal images or copies of other paint jobs. You can suggest a theme and a color, but how I interpret is my responsibility.

AUTO AIR COLORS ~ WATER BASED PAINTS THAT WORK!
Water based medium requires patience and careful application and mixing, but worries about toxic solvents all but vanish. Urethane ChromaBase reducers and lacquer thinner are extremely toxic, so liberal use of this kind of paint and solvent is quite damaging to one's liver and kidneys. I am constantly balancing artistic freedom with scientific discipline and health concerns when it comes to Urethane. Every tool must be cleaned and spill mopped up with lacquer thinner. There is a reason you cannot buy this paint off-the-shelf. It is only available to pro paint shops because extreme care must be taken to insure safety. Professionals get cancer and degenerative diseases from this sort of work. My favorite fine art American painter died of lead poisoning. Get it on your hands and it takes an act or congress to get it off your skin. You can blind yourself in a single session. Amateurs can do damage to themselves and those around them. DO NOT USE URETHANE PAINTS AT HOME WITHOUT PROTECTION! Use a respirator, eye protection and latex gloves, keep spectators out of the shop when painting, . . . but I still worry, as I am constantly reminded of the extreme toxicity of these materials whenever I take the respirator off. AND I realize there are millions of gallons of this kind of crap evaporating into the atmosphere every day. Environmental concerns make me want to keep my contribution to this evil to an absolute minimum. Water-based paints are recommended! New legislation will make non-waterbased paints illegal VERY SOON.

No matter the paint medium, the layering process creates most of the color range, producing depth and effects through various ways of mixing pigments in the can and on the frame. After colors are layered and paint is allowed to cure, the frame is gently packaged and shipped to the powdercoater (Spectrum Powderworks) for its Urethane clearcoat. The frame is soon back in my hands to cure and prep for the build. I usually set it aside for as much as three months to cure. I can rush a build, if necessary, but the client should know that the paint will have to be treated gently for the first three months. You can ride it, but falling on it could be a disaster.

Ordering: A Lee Bridgers paint job can accompany purchase of a titanium or steel frame, or be part of a complete titanium or steel bike purchase. I will paint an aluminum frame in some situations (the frame has to have a Dreamride logo on it and there is no warranty on any paint on aluminum). If you have a classic titanium frame you want to turn into an art object, I am open to painting a used American-made frame, but please, no Chinese made products! You can order a stock frame from us to be painted or I will customize a complete bike for specific needs based on a custom fitted frame, if you want the full treatment. "Cupcake," the spiral brush paint job pictured here is a Moots Compact custom. Titanium is the perfect "canvas" for a fine art paint job--it practically lasts forever. The pictured custom frame with custom paint cost the client $5095 total. The complete bike with Campy Super Record came in at $11K total. Painting forks, stems, and other components is possible, but greatly adds to cost. CONTACT DREAMRIDE for more info on pricing. Call 1-888-MOABUTAH to order. Bookmark this page for future updates.

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Another very happy client visits the Dreamride shop for a final fitting session. Dreamride is not just a bicycle studio, we are a tour company--Moab's original day ride provider. If you come to Moab for a fitting or to pick up a new Moots, Lynskey, Ventana, Serotta or Pegoretti bike, there are special opportunities for YOU. Parts and total cost for Moots bike pictured with Dupont Chromabase paint: