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Editorial: Thank you all painters and wrappers

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Mike Garrison

0 Feb. 10, 2012, 5:07 a.m.

Main Photo: Editorial: Thank you all painters and wrappers

2/10/2012

By Mike Garrison

LiveRC.com

Have you ever bought something, and then shortly after buying it you ask yourself WHY? Several years ago when I first started really getting involved in R/C racing we had a local racer and excellent body painter. I gave him very generic ideas, and he made it happen! He painted replica Makita Suzuki bodies, replica Thor Helmet bodies, and so many more for me. One day, he decided to leave the R/C scene and his painting as well.

This guy could do it, why couldn’t I? So I hopped online, whipped out the credit card, and bought me a brand new airbrush kit, compressor, every color paint you could think of, and next day air shipped it just so I could show off my painting skills by the weekend. The next day the airbrush, paint, and everything that went with it arrived at my door. I anxiously unboxed it all, plugged it in, and was ready to paint some SICK bodies!

To my surprise, after spending nearly 5 hours (4 hours and 30 minutes longer than I expected) masking and blasting paint in my fresh new body, I peeled off all of the masks and protectant to reveal my sweet new lid. The design was intended to look like a Monster Energy Kawasaki, and after such fine detail and hard work it turned out looking more like a Deffenbaugh Trash Truck with more trash on the side of the truck than in it.

At that very moment I threw the body away, and shoved the airbrush in the corner to never speak of it again.

While cleaning last week I uncovered the dusty airbrush, and for whatever reason decided I would once again become a pro painter. Shocking to me once again, the results were exactly the same as last time. The questions I keep asking myself is… WHO on earth paints that bad? WHAT were you thinking when you just had to try it again? WHEN do you think you will realize how much time in your life you’ve wasted painting crap and want it back? WHERE can I put this thing so it will never haunt me again? And last but not least, WHY WHY WHY did you ever buy this thing!

StickIt1Racing.com saved the day by working me up a custom wrap to cover the disaster of a paintjob on my mini, and I couldn’t be more thankful! My hat is off to all of the painters in the world, as you have the most frustrating job in the world, and yet you all never cease to amaze me with your skills. My hat is off to all of the wrap and graphics manufacturers in the world, as you all make it possible for someone with the paint skills of myself (equivalent to a blind chimp), to have good looking cars without the frustration, time, and self-esteem loss of painting yourself.