Whether you're a seasoned DIY project doer yourself, or you've just watched a whole bunch of videos of other people doing projects, most projects start with the same thing: Taking stuff apart. Inevitably, some things need to come off before you can do work, or customize parts, or both.
In the Bearded Mechanic's case, most of the things he's pulling off his project V-Rod are because he wants to send them out for paint. While he's down with doing a fair amount of DIY, one thing he's decided to have someone else do is the paint. As he says, it's not really his strength, mainly because your paint is as good as your prep, and he usually doesn't have the patience for it. I mean, relatable content for some of us, for sure.
It's also a good example of knowing how and when to draw the line in what you're willing to do and/or learn about, and what you aren't. Some of that will, by necessity, be limited by how much time and/or money you're willing to spend, as well as whether you know a guy who's really good at the task you're contemplating. But being both willing and able to figure that out is important if you want to see a project through to completion, especially if you're on a deadline.
As Craig pulls the pieces off, he's careful to keep the hardware neatly bagged up and labeled, so hopefully things will be a lot easier when it's time to put it all back together. If you're new to working on a project, that's probably also the single best piece of advice anyone could give you. Find a way that makes sense to you to keep all your parts organized and labeled, because it will save you so much headache later. Whether it's labeling plastic bags with a Sharpie, using an old muffin tin and some masking tape labels like Aaron Colton, or even using old plastic takeout containers with lids (and more masking tape labels) like I do, keeping your hardware organized is key.
Now, here's something interesting. While Craig is happy to send some parts out for painting elsewhere, even though he's only got three weeks to get this project together, he's still keen to try at least one new thing. What is it, you wonder?
Powder coating, it turns out. One thing that's relatively refreshing about TBM's channel is that while it's clear he has solid mechanical understanding and skills, he's also not afraid to admit when he doesn't know things. Even better, he's not afraid to show us what happens when he's trying new things and learning as he goes, and it's really fun to watch.
Even when it's kinda sketchy, like the giant 55-gallon drum with a removable lid he decides will be the perfect DIY powder coating oven. He wraps it in a big sheet of water heater insulation, sets it on some bricks to get it up off the floor, and only then remembers that he didn't cut the holes in the bottom for the heat gun. Or guns (plural), since he has two to make sure the temp gets up where he needs it to cure the powder he's bought.
Not sure why he didn't flip the drum over to cut out the hole and instead dove in from the top to use his hole saw, but ... hilarious Pooh Bear-esque content, I guess? In any case, the next step is to set up a makeshift powdercoating booth in the garage, using a six-by-six collapsible greenhouse tent, a box fan, and a filter.
Honestly, the foray into DIY powdercoating is probably why you want to watch this video. Don't worry; plenty of folks have already inserted their $0.02 in the comments, so be sure to take a read and see if someone's beat you to it before you add yours. At what point would a cheap oven off of Facebook Marketplace make more sense versus all the stuff you have to buy for the drum solution? Your guess is as good as mine.
