31/05/2021
Some artists prefer paper, others canvas or wood.
But for those wielding an airbrush, sheetmetal is ideal.
Despite its seeming like a relatively recent movement,
airbrushing artwork on vehicles has been around for over half a century.
And for those car, truck and motorcycle enthusiasts
looking for the ultimate in expressing themselves through their ride,
it's hard to top a custom airbrush graphic or mural.
According to some historians, the first fully functional airbrush was
invented by Charles Burdick, who, via Thayer and Chandler Art Materials
company, presented his small paint spraying device at the 1893 Chicago
World's Fair. The basic design still continues to this day,
and consists of pressurized air that runs through a venturi,
creating suction that pulls paint in from a reservoir and atomizes
it into tiny droplets. The resulting fine spray of paint can
be precisely released and controlled via a trigger on the sprayer and
used to provide the artist's most minute detail. When car customizing
really started to take hold in the 1950s, having a "flame job" done
to the front of a car was about the coolest thing a hot rodder could
do to jazz up his ride's looks. Back then, nothing gave off the
impression of potential speed like flames igniting and spreading
out over the front of the car.
