Meet Aluminati: Hanro Studios’ engraved truck

In February of this year, auto enthusiasts raced to the Keystone BIG Show in Grapevine, Texas. As professionals hopped from one booth to another, scoping out trends, talking shop, and closing sales, one particular scene surrounding the Extang booth caused traffic to clog and buzz to stir.

A 2017 Ford F-250 Super Duty, nicknamed Aluminati, gleamed under the exhibition’s lights, highlighting its intricate paisley-cogwheel design dressing the truck’s sides, back bumper, tailgate, wheels, and even the shock absorbers. From afar, the creation looks like an extraordinary wrap; but at a closer look, the silver swirls unveil depth and meticulously etched lines from what was originally a smooth black surface. Behind it sat Hank Robinson, owner of Hanro Studios Engraving and mastermind behind this spectacle, live engraving a piece of sheet metal with an image of the Statue of Liberty, American flag, and a Prisoners of War Missing in Action flag.

The truck, which is actually Robinson’s daily driver and mobile engraving station, took just under 800 hours and four months to engrave. He accomplished the effect by applying a gloss black ceramic coat of paint and using carbon pins to get the base outline. Then, using round ball engraving burs, he completed the design, sealing it with a ceramic coat, which he reapplies every six months.

And if you thought engraving a brand-new vehicle wasn’t risky enough, Robinson says that for many of his projects, he doesn’t even start with a plan. Freedom Blues, a 2016 Ford F-150, for example, “didn’t really have a design – I just started at the tailgate and kept going.” Though, he took a different approach with Aluminati. “I wanted to make sure everything was planned prior to engraving, so I teamed up with ECD Customs, which does custom vehicle wraps, and we came up with the paisley/logo mix.” This, he says, creates the biggest challenge: “The amount of time and dedication it takes -make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

But, as a self-taught decorator, Robinson hasn’t always known what he was getting into. In fact, engraving essentially landed in his lap. After serving 10 years in the Army, he attended welding school Phoenix, Arizona. One day, “my instructor told me to grab a Dremel and engrave my name on a surfboard I fabricated,” he remembers. “Since that moment, I saw so much potential in creating.” Out of this realization, a profound therapeutic practice was formed.

Since becoming a professional engraver, Robinson has produced a number of other engraved vehicles like Aluminati including a Ford F-150, which he engraved on-site at the 2016 SEMA Show; a Ram 1500, which made an appearance at the 2015 show; a 2014 Dodge Ram; a Waylon Jennings original Cadillac El Dorado for Kid Rock; and many custom motorcycles.

Robinson has already started designing his next vehicle art project, a 1966 Lincoln Continental. He estimates the project will take up to nine months to complete. And the auto industry isn’t the only market he caters to. He elaborates, “I do personal engraving projects for home décor, furniture, instruments, stainless-steel tumblers, business signs,” he says. “I can engrave anything.”