QUALITY MOTORCYCLE PAINTING AT REASONABLE PRICES

Dear sns,
To address your question, I can seal fiberglass tank interiors. I have used Caswell and had success. However, I am hearing that a shop I do painting for, Classic Bike Experience in Essex, Vermont, (www.classicbikeexperience.com) is telling me they have seen at least one or two failures from sealing jobs they have done. So it may be that the ethanol can get to the product, but cannot confirm this 100%.
I just spoke to a potential customer and he is sold on a product called kwikpoly. Here is a link. I have heard nothing of this product up till now. http://kwikpolyllc.com/
I hope this helps. Feel free to call me at 802 485-4238. If no ans, leave a message and I will get back asap,
Regards,
Brent Budgor
The Vintage Vendor
www.vintage-vendor.com

Hi

I am lucky, I live just over the hill from Brent and it was a natural to give him a call when I picked up a 1970 Commando Roadster to restore this winter. Brent enticed me with dozens of photos of Nortons he has painted and the hardest thing to do was to decide what color. After considerable debate, I decided to make her Canary Yellow as close to original as possible. More pictures came from Brent with stuff he had done in yellow. It was a real pleasure dealing with someone that actually answers their email promptly and understands the restoration process.

I located a steel tank to replace my fiberglass original. I bought one from India that seems much better than the ones from Pakistan. So, one Sunday my wife and I drove over Roxbury Gap to make our way to Brent's house and shop. He was waiting for us outside and we went into his shop where he showed us the projects he was working on. I was very impressed with his work and it certainly didn't hurt that his son was a big fan of my company, Small Dog Electronics.

A couple weeks later I started to get "in process" pictures from Brent - lots of them. The finished job looked great in the pictures but when I picked up the parts I was completely blown away with the great job he had done. He told me they "were not perfect" but to my eye they are as perfect as any paint job I have seen. The color was spot-on and I could not find any defects at all.

I took the parts home and they are sitting safely in my closet until the rest of my restoration is ready for them, I just hope that the rest of the work is 1/2 the quality of this paint job.

I wholeheartedly recommend Brent!

SUBMITTED FOR OWNER AS HE REFUSES TO GET NEAR A COMPUTER. AS A SIDENOTE, TIM WAS REFERRED TO ME BY THE VERY TALENTED FRANK HOLMES. THOSE OF YOU IN THE NEW ENGLAND AREA MAY KNOW FRANK, FORMERLY OWNED "FRANK'S BRIT BIKE BARN" IN N.H. FRANK SOLD THE BUSINESS TO SOME GREAT GUYS IN ESSEX, VERMONT, THE CLASSIC BIKE EXPERIENCE. I HAVE DONE WORK FOR BOTH. - BRENT

"As a self-employed finish carpenter I am always concerned with design and detail. Brent did a super job on my 1965 and 1966 Triumph Bonneville motorcycle tanks for a very reasonable price. I highly recommend Brent for all your painting needs".

Tim Sheely
N. Berwick, ME

SUBMITTED FOR TRIUMPH OWNER, RICH MAKRUSKI
I wanted to write a recommendation for Brent Budgor, master painter and owner of the Vintage Vendor. In the last year Brent has done two paint jobs for me on my classic Triumph motorcycles. These two jobs were very different and they showed the diversity of his talents.

I wanted a unique tank on my 1978 T140E. I was looking for a color and style that was eye-catching and different, but kept the classic theme of a 32 year old bike. Brent worked closely with me so that I could meet this goal. It took some time for him to show me all the color combinations he had painted in the past. He made recommendations but always allowed for, and didn't laugh to hard at, my crazy ideas. He finally painted the tank a dark metallic green with gold scallops and a white pinstripe. The result was outstanding! Not only was the color combination exactly what I was looking for, but the workmanship was impeccable. I get positive comments and thumbs-up every time I take the bike out.

On the strength of this success, Brent was my choice to paint my rare 1965 Triumph TR6SR. I am doing a complete restoration on this motorcycle and my hope is to have a bike that looks like it just came off the showroom floor 45 years ago. Brent took great pains to make sure that the duplicate colors matched the original. He had to remove the bad paint that was on the bike, make repairs, ensure the decals were accurately placed and that the details and dimensions of the different colors and pin striping matched the original. Once again, Brent did a wonderful job and I am very pleased with the results.

I would highly recommend Brent and the Vintage Vendor for any classic motorcycle paint job you may have. He does a very professional job. For what you get in quality and customer service, it is at a very reasonable and competitive price too.

Richard Makruski
Atwater, Ohio

And another satisfied customer!

I decided the time had come to retire the fiberglass tank on my 72 750 Commando and I selected Brent to paint the new bodywork. I shipped off a steel Roadster tank and fiberglass sidepanels to him about a month ago and collected the painted parts from the post office today. One month turnaround including a round trip from Colorado to Vermont via Parcel Post (my choice), not bad!

I decided to have the new parts painted candy blue with a silver base and silver lining and logos. The parts look fantastic! Brent has a good eye for the lining. I've seen a lot of Commando jobs where the painter didn't quite follow the lines of the tank, resulting in the finished job looking "off". And we've all seen how most painters get the sidepanel logos wrong, by aligning them with the top edge of the panel (which is not parallel to the ground, giving that sloping logo effect). Brent got it right.

Brent kept me informed with emails and photos every step of the way too. I wish all vendors were this good to work with. The cost was quite reasonable too. Very highly recommended and I'll use him again if/when I have more parts to be painted.

Debby

SUBMITTED FOR OWNER OF '70'S VINTAGE KAWASAKI.
Doing business with Brent was truly a pleasant experience. Not only was his
workmanship superb,but he is genuinely a nice guy.He kept me informed with
pictures as project progressed and met time schedule almost to the hour.In
our era of lost public relations Brent seems to turn back the clock to a
time when a hand shake was a bond and pride in quality work was
paramount.Thank Brent

Roger Buford
Clarksville, Ga.

The examples look great.
Certainly looks like quality work.
What are the reasonable prices like?
Lets say for a steel in bare metal primer, front fiberglass fender previously painted, 2 side panels also previously painted, and the rear fender that is steel and has been powder coated. I have some gold decals but kinda like the look of the reduced size ones.
Standard 1972 black commando with gold logos and simple gold pinlines. The double ones that go into single lines.
A ballpark figure would suffice as to be considered reasonable.
I didn't see any prices mentioned in any of the posts?
Thanks

Hi Surfdog,
Brent @ Vintage Vendor here. Assuming no bodywork to speak of beyond a small ding or two, figure $825 plus the shipping. That's finished in 2 stage PPG Global base/clear, decals used only as stencils, so final product is all paint with no decal issues, wetsanded and buffed. Typically I'm around $750 for tank and side covers, but adding the fenders bumps it a bit. Let me know what you think. If you send your e-mail address to brent@vintage-vendor.com, I can send you some recent examples of Nortons. The price includes all labor, materials and stencils. I am the only one to work on your tank as I'm a one-man-show.
Regards,
Brent Budgor

The following is submitted for Peter Eastwood, vintage Kawasaki owner-

I had read about The Vintage Vendor on an old Brit-bike site, so I decided to call for a quote for painting some Kawasaki parts. The parts were from a 33 year old bike, and I wanted to match the original color as closely as possible. Unfortunately, no reliable data exists for the paint formula, so the color had to be matched using old photos and one pretty beat-up tail section with a small amount of remaining original paint.

Brent did an excellent job matching the color. He also removed a dent in the tank so that now, no one would ever know that the tank has been dented. The quality of the paint is excellent. Throughout the job Brent kept me informed of progress by email, with photos. He answered my questions, some of which were probably a little bit obsessive.

Furthermore, the price for the job was less than I had been quoted locally. Even shipping the parts from California to Vermont and back was cost effective.

I was very pleased wit the workmanship and service afforded by Brent Budgor, The Vintage Vendor.

Peter Eastwood
Corona, California

Just sent my steel Interstate tank with original paint to Brent at The Vintage Vendor. -will post a pic here when it's back.

Another satisfied customer of the Vintage Vendor - I have posted a few photos of the steel tank and left sidecover that Brent did over for me. His craftsmanship is outstanding. He communicates well and works with you throughout the entire process. He utilizes the die-cut vinyl decals as a template and then he paints the logo, letters and stripes on directly to the tank. The result is outstanding and there are no raised surfaces, that you get from decals and the paint quality of the lettering is exceptional.

I had sent him some decals that were too thin to use as templates, so at my urging he applied them over the paint on the side panel. The result was less than satisfactory. I found a quality die-cut decal and sent it to him for the side panel and he redid the entire panel for no charge.

I would highly recommend Brent without any reservations...

C-Bat
'72 Commando 750 Combat #D 2155561



http://picasaweb.google.com/109311937026047533797/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjnkpHv6YLkdQ#

Another beautiful job by Brent of The Vintage Vendor! Thanks Brent! Now, to just get the rest of the bike done........ 8)

SUBMITTED FOR BSA/TRIUMPH OWNER SCOTT IRWIN:
It is with equal measures of joy and regret that I offer my highest praise
and sincerest testimony to the extraordinary talent and dedication of Brent
Budgor (a/k/a The Vintage Vendor). Joy, because Brent has completed two
motorcycle painting projects for me with exceptional results at prices that
were exceptional values. Regret, because I'm more than a little concerned
that too many customers will learn about Brent's incredible skill and send
him so much work that my future jobs will have to wait in a very long line.
All kidding aside, Brent does fantastic work. The two jobs I sent him (a
1972 BSA A65L tank and panels and an intricate Union Jack paint job on a
Hinckley TBird tank) were not easy by any stretch, and the final results
were *spectacular*. In an unheard of business practice, he not only guaranteed
my satisfaction on the Union Jack design, he took no money till tank was in my
hands and I was satisfied He said if I was not happy with the final results,
I did not need to pay a dime. I thoroughly recommend Brent for any motorcycle paint
job (vintage or modern), and hope he gets all the new business he so richly
deserves (provided those projects are in line *behind* mine...)
Scott Irwin
Memphis, Tennessee

I just got my tank and side covers back from Brent in VT.
His work is terrific. I am very please with the results.
He worked with me on the Pinlines I wanted and was very comunication oriented along the way with progress reporsts and pictures of the whole process.
Thanks Brent.

Joe Abramo
'72 Commando

Thought I'd post a few pics of my bike that Brent just did for me to plug his excellent work and to make you all jealous. This is the second job Brent has done 4 me - and i just sent my third to be worked upon. Brent's great, i can't say enough about how good he is to work with, does really nice work, keeps in constant communication and like he says "reasonable rates" (actually i think he's on the low side but don't tell him that!).

SUBMITTED FOR VINTAGE HONDA OWNER NATE FOERG:
What can I say, Brent did everything I asked for in a timely manner and correctly. I did not have any worries sending him my parts, as a friend had just gotten his paintwork back from him and was very happy.

The paint has ZERO orange peel, ZERO. The stripes are perfect. The dent fixing was flawless. Not a sag/run/flaw anywhere. Well worth the money.

I will not hesitate to recommend him to anyone. I am looking forward to having him paint another bike for me.

Sincerely
Nate Foerg
Ann Arbor MI

Props to Brent again - he redid my Trumph with very nice results - give him a shout if you need a quality paint job - at a reasonable rate!

THIS WAS SUBMITTED FOR THE OWNER:
Brent,
I received the tank and side covers back from you for my '74 Norton Commando
Roadster and they look absolutely "Outstanding"! The quality and detail are
superb! After installing them on my bike, it brings back vivid memories of
when I used to sit on a brand new Norton back in 1974 and wishing I could
own one. Now my bike looks better than new. I don't see how you can provide
such excellent paint work for the money. It has truelly been a pleasure
doing business with you and I will recommend your work to anyone I can.
Best Regards,

Donald S Wiseman
Lexington, SC

Submitted for Allan of Texas

Brent,
The package made it, and in perfect condition. I really appreciate you using such a heavyweight box and the all the careful packing. Very impressive, and I'm grateful you took so much care. But better yet, the paintwork is wonderful. Outstanding, in fact. Yes, as you and I discussed previously, there are a couple of incredibly tiny and entirely insignificant flaws here and there on both the covers and the tank, but only a magnifying-glass style inspection would ever reveal those, and they are much easier to see on the bench than they ever would be once mounted on the bike. All in all I couldn't be more pleased. The pieces are all truly beautiful, and again show that you do care considerably about the quality of your work. The black and metallic gray 2 tone you picked is what mind envisioned, and will work perfectly with the mix of polished aluminum cover surfaces, engine castings, carb castings, chrome Dunstall pipes, Akront rims, stainless spokes, etc. tones and textures of the rest of the bike, all while the gold lettering and stripes set it off with a classic Norton elegance. Simply spectacular, and I couldn't be happier. Thank you.
Anyway, just wanted to update you on the delivery of the parts, and to tell you how pleased I am. I will definitely tell my riding buddies about your work, and they will see it, too, which will ultimately be a far better salesman for your talents than I, and I will gladly pass out the business cards you sent me. You are also welcome to use me as a reference should you ever need to as someone to recommend your high quality work, fair business practices, punctual service, timely correspondence, etc.
Thanks again. Take care!
Allan
Corpus Christi, Tx.