Tippie's 'Glow In The Dark' 2013 Rocky Mountain Flatline

I had just received my new 2013 Rocky Mountain Flatline with some new frame tweaks, such as a super slack head angle and low BB, when I got the thumbs up from Rocky that I could paint it any color I wanted. They also arranged for me to have my first custom helmet paintjob to boot! After much deliberation, I decided to have Stacy Glaser from Painthouse paint the frame and helmet glow-in-the-dark!! Now, there's no real reason for an illuminescent bike and helmet, other than the fact that I night ride a lot and it'd be a fun, different, cool thing to do and it actually might make my bike pop a bit more on those dark shore photo shoots.


Stacy did a truly amazing job and I can't believe how brightly the paint glows in the dark. For the helmet, he did an alien dude with an afro, a skull astronaut, and the moon with my face in it. Planets were formed around the helmet incorporating my sponsors logos for a classic and fun look. I'm so happy with the results, that long after these items are past their prime for active use, they'll be hanging on my wall for years to come.


Says Stacy Glaser, "When Brett first called me about doing some painting, he already knew that he wanted glow-in-the-dark features; it reminded him of his glow frisbee and he's also an avid night rider. I knew it was possible but I'd never worked with it before. After some research I ended up with a dry glow-powder from House of Color that I mixed, or suspended, in a transparent water-based paint from Auto-Air. For the most vibrant glow, you want a white base that reflects light back into the glow powder. That's how the designs started to evolve.



For the helmet, Brett came up with the idea for his face as the "man on the moon". We then came up with a concept drawing for the rest of the space themed graphics. The Rocky Mountain and Race Face logos were incorporated into planet designs, I came up with the astronaut graphic, and later the alien with the "Fro-Rider" afro. Using an airbrush, the glow paint was layered on top of the graphics after they were nearly finished. This would prevent it from toning down with further layers of paint. I also mixed a concentrated batch of glow paint to brush on certain highlight areas, and to create the constellations and enhance the stars. One of my favorite parts of this painting was adding the candy colors over the carbon fiber shell and blending the graphics together. In the end I ended up with a variety of glow colors, but the brightest being the moon with the white base.


For the Flatline frame, the idea was pretty straight forward, but executing it would prove a little more involved. After cleaning the raw frame, I painted the entire frame white. Then came the glow paint, which of course I ignored the "not for full coverage" recommendation before starting. To get enough coverage for a bright glow, and to get consistent coverage over such a complex shape would take hours and countless layers. I had to keep spinning and flipping the frame to get all angles, and turning the lights on and off in the paint booth to check the glow. In the end, the effect was quite intense and worth the effort. Under a full charge this paint really glows, even lighting up its surroundings. It glows intensely for a good 15 minutes but goes on for well over an hour. Then with black I added contrasting Rocky Mountain logos and some subtle maple leaf graphics.


Thanks to Brett Tippie and Rocky Mountain for choosing PaintHouse Customs and I can't wait to see these projects in action!"
-Stacy Glaser/Painthouse

Posted In:
Reviews and Tech First Looks Rocky Mountain Flatline Brett Tippie