Fingerprinted Shades

Here's how I paint a pair of sunglasses. Step 1: Disassemble. 

Step 2: Mask off all areas that touch the skin and mechanical parts. 

Step 3: Sand with 400 grit sandpaper, clean thoroughly, then apply primer. Note how I'm holding them. After that, I applied the white base coat. 

Prepped and ready for Fingerprinting. The customer chose Black,  Red, and White. 

Step 4: Carefully applied the 'Fingerprint' using a liner brush and acrylic paint.  It is important to get the paint viscosity just right: not too runny, not too thick.  

Step 5: Apply lacquer to all the pieces, take the tape off; then reassemble. The hardest part is getting the lenses back in without taking the paint off. And here's the results! A truly awesome pair of 'one-off' sunglasses that still retain a factory look. The process takes about 12 hours.