Gunslinger Custom Paint is a great place to work if you like the smell of spray paint.
The 65 employees at the custom painting firm spend their days in masks and goggles, custom air-brushing motorcycles for individual and corporate clients.
Close to 4,000 bikes are hand painted at Gunslinger’s facility on Pine Ridge Road in Golden each year. Each bike takes about 11 days to be completed because artists must apply many layers of color to create the design effects.
Racks of bike parts line the walls, waiting to move through the paint layering steps, each with a slip of paper detailing where it is in the process.
Even the trash barrels have been tricked out with flames, smoke and other themes.
Rene Mattei worked on a “one-off” design for a client who wanted to incorporate a metallic design element on his bike. Mattei and the bike’s owner brainstormed about the idea and came up with a medieval-looking axe and skull theme layered over maroon flames and smoke and accented with gold pin stripping.
“You can come in here and tell us whatever you want,” said Mark Pahan who is in charge of quality control for Gunslinger.
The artists at Gunslinger come from a variety of backgrounds. Many are self-taught. Mattei started out as an airbrush artist who specialized in portraits. He began painting bikes about two years ago.
Because Gunslinger works with customers who buy high end products and are less affected by a sluggish economy, the shop has not seen the dip in business that other motorcycle vendors have experienced, according to Pahan. A custom design from Gunslinger can cost a bike buyer upwards of $3,000.
“Quality is our biggest selling point,” Pahan said. The bikes’ paint jobs are road tested and undergo several checks that measure the durability and integrity of the work down to hundredths of an inch.
About 95 percent of Gunslinger’s business comes from one major American motorcycle manufacturer.
The shop’s other clients include Optibike, an electric bike maker in Boulder and helmet manufacturers.
Gunslinger’s art director works with manufacturers to develop the designs. Some of the art in the shop has yet to be released to the public.
Jeff Theisen, a Gunslinger co-owner, said the shop is planning a 25 percent expansion in size and staffing of the facility over the next two years.
Gunslinger is working with the City of Golden on plans to increase the paint shop’s energy efficiency. “We’re doing everything we can to lower our electric and gas bills, “ Pahan said.
The shop plans to install solar panels that will produce enough electricity to cover most of the shop’s energy needs.
On July 1, Gunslinger launched a new division in Golden, a Harley Davidson Collision Center, in conjunction with Pearl Auto Body, Gunslinger’s sister company in Denver. The collision center is the first Harley repair center outside of a dealership in the area.
Fun Fact
Gunslinger painted a bike for Kevin Millar of the Boston Red Sox after the team won the World Series in 2004. The shop was also chosen to paint the official Sturgis bike for the 65th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally held in Sturgis, South Dakota.