As the East Coast begins to thaw out and sunnier weather seems to be on the way, automotive and motorcycle enthusiasts across the country begin gearing up for the start of custom car and bike show season. While it may not be officially designated a season, you begin to see a glimpse of people with their garage doors open and soft rag in hand, polishing away and carefully examining ways to step up their ride, adding those special fine design details that will set their bike or car apart from the rest.

We have all seen these vehicles on the road at some point. You know the ones with special engravings and designs signifying they are a military veteran or part of a specific well-known car club. Whether done with special paint detailing, wrapping or rotary engraving on chrome or metal, the after-market parts segment presents a new and unique opportunity for engraving businesses to add to their service offerings and better capitalize on their existing engraving technology for something other than traditional projects, especially given the growing number of highly specialized customization shops that have become commonplace across the country.

By partnering with your local custom chopper or automotive shop, there is an opportunity to not only engrave customized awards, gifts and memorabilia, but to really showcase how a rotary engraver is able to transform after-market parts into eye-catching showpieces.

The after-market parts segment presents a new and unique opportunity for engraving businesses.

Since most after-market parts are plated metal, a rotary engraver is the ideal tool of choice, as it enables the engraver to achieve exceptional detailing and special effects that are highly sought after by this specific market. Other great advantages of rotary engravers for this application include being able to use it on either coated or uncoated metals without the need for pre-treating or extra preparation. With other engraving technologies, there is the potential for designs and effects to degrade over time due to weather and/or dust. However, rotary engraving is extremely durable and impervious to weather, which is a key selling point for this market segment given its close proximity to the road and likelihood of weather-related wear-and-tear.

There are numerous types of custom and chopper motorcycle parts and accessories that can be engraved, including timing belt covers, clutch plate covers, timer and air cleaner covers, luggage racks or just about any other trim or accessory piece. However, it is important to be aware of the object’s dimensions before undertaking these types of projects to ensure fit and that the item can be properly supported during the engraving process.

When you are ready to get started, make sure you have all the required equipment on hand. To complete the job, you need your rotary engraver, standard tools and design software. Many engravers come bundled with their own software for a complete solution, and if not, there are a number of commercially available programs available for purchase that will help you get the job done. Also, if your engraver has a Windows print driver, you can even output the design directly from CorelDRAW® or Adobe Illustrator®.

The first step in the process is the design work. Stay away from overly complex designs that can be difficult to produce, such as designs that have too much intersecting line detail. Remember that what may look good on paper for printing may not necessarily work for engraving. When preparing the digital artwork, it should be in vector format to achieve the best result, either as Encapsulated Postscript or Adobe Illustrator file. If you are working with bitmap images, most engraving software programs have a built-in vectorization tool, which converts bitmap images into a vector image without requiring hand-tracing. However, you need to ensure the resolution of the bitmap image is high enough to convert into a vector format.

Rotary engraving is extremely durable and impervious to weather—a key selling point for this market segment.

Once your design is prepared, you will need to set up the engraver by securing the part and configuring it for the application. In many respects, securing the part is the most challenging aspect of the application. Parts come in different shapes and sizes, and finding the right fixture can be difficult. Most engravers can be enhanced with vise fixtures, table fixtures and clamps to hold odd-shaped objects in place. Having several options on hand is highly recommended.

There are some key parameters that should be included with the file, such as image size, tools used and tool path generation. For both coated and uncoated metal surfaces, diamond scribing works best. Once you have set your parameters, you should be able to simply output your file to the engraver and let the machine do the rest. The entire process from start to finish takes under an hour, as illustrated with the personalized motorcycle luggage rack.

Since most after-market parts are plated metal, a rotary engraver is the ideal tool of choice.

Another benefit of using a rotary engraver is the ability to make designs really stand out. This can be achieved by adding color to a design. While there are purists, who will only want the fine engraved detail, there is also a customer who will want to add color, which is easily done through color filling and oxidization.

While color filling is somewhat of a broad term used by engravers, varieties of techniques exist and are used to add color and contrast. There are three basic processes or applications for color fills, the most common being oxidization. This is used to blacken the brass and aluminum revealed by the engraving process. The actual oxidization process is carried out after engraving and involves using a mild acid to blacken the exposed metal removed. Often the oxidized area appears dull or lusterless afterward, so it is common to apply silicone spray or some other means to shine the surface.

Paint filling is another option, which is more difficult than other methods, but offers the widest selection of materials, colors and applications. For metal, make sure the product being used is a fast-drying, oil-based enamel, which can be easily cleaned up using minerals spirits. This does require somewhat of a steady hand, as you will be painting over the engraved surface, but when done right, the effect is eye-catching.

In addition to engraving automotive and motorcycle parts and accessories, there are other opportunities for offering engraving services to the periphery of this specific industry, including personalized key chains, dog tags, lighters and trophies. This type of technology also lends itself to engraving a wide range of collectable items and gifts that are commonly found within this market, enabling you to not only use your engraver for automotive and motorcycle after-market parts, but to tap into other consumer-oriented items that are commonly available in customization shops.