MC Dash panel extension

Yvan · Apr 15, 2009

Hi everyone.
This is a picture (before and after chrome plating) of a dash panel extension for a Harley motorcycle. As you can see it's very basic engraving. Sorry for the bad quality of the photos. Any comments are welcome.
Thank you for looking. Yvan

KCSteve · Apr 15, 2009

I like it!

And that's actually an excellent job on the photos - especially the after chroming. Stuff that shiny is hard to get a good photo of.

One thing you can do if you just can't get the engraving to show is to use some dark wax (mix some powdered graphite into a melted chapstick and let it re-harden) to show the lines. Or whatever removable darkening agent you prefer, such as a marker. Bit of a bother because you have to clean it all back off afterward but it does make for a better photo sometimes.

Looks like they didn't buff or chrome away your design. I'll bet your customer is very pleased with it.

Yvan · Apr 16, 2009

Thank you Steve for the trick. I'll try it.

Yvan

Arnaud Van Tilburgh · Apr 16, 2009

Ywan, sure looks good and Steve tips on photos are great, but as I also have some knowledge about photographs, especially digital, I would say that PhotoShop is the "dark room" for digital Photography.

I did some "levels" and I suppose you chrome plate looks more like this. The resolution of the posted photo is not enough to have it totally right.

It is the White Balance that had the wrong temperature, that is why it became bleu

But sure your work will make the motor look special

arnaud

KCSteve · Apr 16, 2009

Arnaud

PhotoShop can fix a myriad of ills, but the closer your original picture is to what you want, the easier life is.

Arnaud Van Tilburgh · Apr 17, 2009

KCSteve said:
Arnaud

PhotoShop can fix a myriad of ills, but the closer your original picture is to what you want, the easier life is.

That is correct Steve, but sometimes digital cameras don't do what yopu want them to do, so they mostly don't like the white and turn it in to grey.

I use a Nikon D70 and make al my photos in NEF format. That means changing the white balance after the photo is taken is just the same as using the right white balance when taking the photo.

I mean the NEF 16bit format includes the information how the photo is taken, you can change a lot in PS but of course, when a photo is not sharp, you can't fix that.
Digital photos taken as a jpg also have less information.

arnaud

KCSteve · Apr 17, 2009

Arnaud

Actually all camera's meters want to turn your whites into greys.
Simple rule of thumb for exposure compensation (which a lot of cameras have):
Light object on dark background == add one stop
Dark object on light background == subtract one stop.

Or, to put it another way, you need to move the overall picture in the direction of the part you're interested in so if it's a light thing, add light and if it's a dark thing take some away.

That's because the camera 'wants' to make the overall picture come out neutral.

Arnaud Van Tilburgh · Apr 17, 2009

Yes Steve, I know about that, but even adding or subtract one stop more or less.
I can also ad or subtract a stop in NEF format what is the same as doing it on the camera before taking the photo.

That is how the "tone mapping" of Photomatix works. There is much more digital information on a 16 or 32 bit digital photo format than we can see.
I have taken photos with grey sky, amazing what tone mapping can bring back as long you use a 16, 32 or even a 64 bit photo format.

arnaud

CJ Allan · Apr 17, 2009

Well, this post sure got turned around.......again !!
complicating things.........again !!

Yvan..
Your dash panel looks good....
All I do when taking pics of shiney metal, is roll kids modeling clay over the piece to take the shine/reflections off. and try to shoot on an overcast day.... simple

Keep up the good work........

.

Yvan · Apr 17, 2009

Thank you CJ.
I'll try the moldeling clay and I'm sure it won't scratch the chrome.

Yvan.

mcengraving · Jan 26, 2015

What kind of gravers did you use if you don't mind me asking? That work is really clean!

monk · Jan 26, 2015

well, anyway- the engraving job is just very nice.

Donny · Jan 26, 2015

Really like what you've done!!! Many engraved items look like toys after chromed. This is a good clean look you have here.

Donny

MC Dash panel extension

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