The KDS Van: Part 2

"Karl’s been busy with the CF since we last caught up with him last year. At that point in time, Karl was working on the body lines of the van and getting things straightened up. The end goal for the Bedford is a high end custom paint scheme with a high gloss finish, so getting things straight at this stage is of course imperative."

"The bodywork is now finished, including tidying up some areas of the Easy Roller body kit, a styling addition that we talked about in the previous article. Karl says he’s “still not totally sold on that front clip,” but agrees that once the the paint starts to go on, it will all begin to make sense."

"The van has been reprimed and is now the blank canvas that Karl has been waiting for. He’s also been playing with some of the details to get more of a feel for what the final look is going to be. On the day I was there, the US-sourced Thrush side pipes were tenderly clinging on to the sills with wire, mocked up purely so Karl can stand back and see what’s going on."

"The dash panel is the first sign of things to come. Painted in silver and heavily flaked, the whole van is going to be in the same colour as a base on which to work his magic. Remember, Karl is a custom painter by trade, and this van is going to be his pièce de résistance, a showcase of his wildest painted dreams all coming together on one vehicle. “I’ve got some reference ideas,” says Karl, “Places like Instagram are great tools for pooling inspiration. I have colour combinations put together and some reference imagery, but the rest will come together during the final custom paint stage.”"

"Karl has a plan for the final design, even a name for the van, but he’s staying tight lipped for now. And how long does he think the paint will take, with it’s intricacies and layers? “About a month, I reckon.” That sounds good to us. A month-worth of work from the KDS studio is bound to be impressive. We’ll be checking in soon again to see how Karl’s getting on. The next time you see the CF, it will be at least a rolling silver mirror ball, and that’s something we’re first in line to look at."

This article first appeared in Fuel Magazine issue 19.
Follow Karl: @kdsdesigns

Photography: Luke Ray.
Source: http://fueltank.cc/blog/2015/11/26/the-kds-van-part-2