Discover Your Niche
At CPV Paint and Graphics, we have established ourselves as a leading provider of specialized paint applications, particularly in the motorcycle market. Our journey began with a broad offering encompassing various types of vehicles, or non-vehicular applications. However, as our expertise grew, we recognized our true calling within the motorcycle industry in a ...
Painting the Future
If you’ve ever considered a career in automotive and specialty paint, now may be the time. In 1980, at the age of 4 years old, I got my first invitation into my dad’s paint shop to “help out”. I can still remember how that little two car garage smelled of lacquer and the way the full-size conversion van seemed to overflow the space. I remember the countertop ...
It’s Time to Come Clean…
As the days get shorter and the nights get longer, it is that time of the year for those living in cold climates to start thinking about storing your motorcycle away for the winter. Completing a thorough detail is one of the most crucial steps in preparing your bike for storage. Detailing everything will help keep your bike at peak performance, retain a high ...
More Than Shipping
At first glance, the shipping department seems straightforward; just packaging up motorcycle parts, throwing a label on a box, and calling it a day. Not at CPV. Our shippers are more than that, they are skilled inspectors of world-class motorcycle paint finishes. After a part has gone through the entire paint process, we take the time to double-check everything ...
What’s Cheese Got to Do With It?
Now and then, you come across a book or a story that forces you to measure how you are doing in a certain area. Not long ago, a friend recommended “Who Moved My Cheese” by Dr. Spencer Johnson, a powerful allegory for both life and business. The author uses cheese to represent the goal as we travel through the maze of life. Its message prompts readers to ...
Call the Exterminator
Why is painting so much harder than it looks? Why do hobbyists struggle to get as good of results as a professional paint shop? Let’s break it down… Paint is a sticky liquid pushed through a mechanical device that breaks it into tiny particles and casts it onto a surface. While still wet, those particles flow together and form a wet film that becomes a dry film ...
Particles of Emotion
Metallic, Pearl, Pearlescent, Iridescent, Flake, Sparkle, Xirallic, Aluminum, Paleochrome, Chroma, Crystal, Glass, Mica, Pigment, Candy, Tri-coat, Glossy, Matte… Words used in the paint industry to describe color stir emotion. Some of these are scientific, such as “chroma,” which is the purity of color, while others are generic such as pearl, which can be ...
We Sell Steaks (Not Really)
If I offered to sell you my 2021 Harley-Davidson Road Glide at market price but you had no interest in owning a motorcycle, you wouldn’t buy it. But if I offered to sell it for $1000, you would jump at the opportunity even if you had to call your friends, uncle, or neighbor to borrow the money. As a consumer, value trumps price, but both are subject to desire ...
Never Get Bored with the Fundamentals
When I was in the 7th grade, I joined my junior high wrestling team. This team was led by Coach Herbrechtsmeier, whom we affectionately called “Herb” for good reasons. Herb was a principled coach and had led his teams for several years to be the city champions. My first exposure to the idea of establishing fundamentals came at my first wrestling practice, when ...
The Power of Habit
Curtis was a dishwasher before he hit the jackpot. It was 1982, and it felt like a typical night. Curtis bought a lottery ticket like he normally would. He may not have carried any expectancy that this ticket would be the one. Much to his amazement, Curtis went from living paycheck to paycheck to 5 million dollars in the bank. His life from that point forward ...
