I have to admit, when Shawn Lisjack, founder and CEO of Exotic Engravings contacted me, I was sceptical. A hand engraved Civic with 5000+ hours of Dremel work put into it? “This has got to be another case of spam for sure…“, I thought. But through our correspondence, I started to learn about a project I had never known existed and received a huge amount of details on the build from Shawn. With each mail that arrived, the more stunned and amazed I became…

This is truly a one-off custom creation and something only the most dedicated and perhaps slightly crazy individuals will ever dare try to replicate. So, it’s my pleasure to bring it to 7Tune so you can all enjoy what I have been poring over in absolute astonishment for a few days now. I’ll hand it over to Shawn to walk you through the process…

The Engraved EG.

“I am the creator / designer / engraving artist of the “Engraved EG”. I started this project roughly 3+ years ago. I was fully self taught with hand engraving and have invested in thousands of hours of engraving time before I even started the “Engraved EG” project.”

“The vehicle is a 1992 Honda Civic Hatchback VX (EG). For this unique car project I wanted to really step out of the box and do something that no one in automotive history has ever done and fully hand engrave on an entire body of a car.”

“The Seibon Carbon OEM hood, fully hand engraved. Over 600+ hours went into this piece alone. The imagery consists of a large dragon in the center of the hood, Koi fish on the driver side, Half dragon / half koi fish on the passenger side and Japanese style “tattoo art” water designs throughout the rest of the hood.”

“I hand engraved on a great many parts for the car. Once completed, the “Engraved EG” will be the “World’s first, fully hand engraved car“. I have an appreciation for those who have done “Sharpie Art” on cars but I dont like to be like everyone else. Separating my art from everyone else’s is what makes my hand engravings “one of a kind”.

“The tools I’m using for the EG are Dremel tools and accessories. I have to this point, invested over 5,000+ hours into this project. Once completed, around 6,000 hours will have gone into it. Also, once the body of the car is complete, I will be taking the process even further still. In addition to all the engraving on the body, bumpers, carbon fiber parts, and various car parts, I will be adding color within the grooves of the engravings to make them pop.”

“After that, the car will be clear coated to help preserve the engravings and finally a clear bra protection film will be added to protect the car from getting rock chips and other damage while I’m driving and transporting the car. Since the “Engraved EG” is Japanese, I wanted to add a Japanese theme, mixed throughout the designs. Some of the Japanese imagery includes; Japanese cartoon characters, Kanji, and culture. Around the logos and designs, I’m adding various freestyle designs to fill in the empty space.”

“This shows you a shot of the Engraved roof during the SEMA Show 2012 (Hankook Tire Outside Booth).”

“This is one angle of the SEIBON Carbon Rear Duckbill Spoiler. Roughly 150+ hours went into creating this piece. The imagery engraved into this spoiler are: a Yin Yang symbol, Japanese Rising Sun, SEIBON logo, and various other freestyle designs mixed in.

“The second angle of the Rear Duckbill Spoiler.”

“Here’s one more angle of the spoiler…”

“First angle of the SEIBON Carbon Hatch. 140+ hours went into this piece. The imagery involved here is: A Japanese Oni Mask, SEIBON Logo, and various other designs mixed in.”

The second angle of the SEIBON Carbon Hatch.”

“I then went to town on the ITR valve cover. This took about 150+ hours to cook up. I ended up going through 2 Dremel hand-tools and 5 bits to create this valve cover.”

“Here’s the 4 point rear strut tower bar. This single piece took me 150+ hours to make…”

“With another 130+ hours going into the 3 point front strut tower bar.”

“The Rear Tow Hook fully hand engraved on both sides. Total hand engraving time was roughly 40+ hours.”

“The Front Tow Hook also took another 40 hours.”

“This shot shows the dry carbon fuel pump cover with a close up to see the depth of engravings. It took me 35+ hours to complete this piece.”

“The Odyssey battery re-locator took me roughly 45+ hours to whip up…”

“Here’s another shot of the Seibon Carbon Hatch cover when fitted.”

“This wing was time consuming…150+ hours!”

“I couldn’t resist adding a little bit of Domo; holding a piston on driver side door!”

“A Japanese Lucky Cat on the roof.”

“My Hello Kitty Geisha Girl design. I created this design because Geisha girls and Hello Kitty are both part of Japanese culture. Also, a large female audience that are also Honda enthusiasts love Hello Kitty.”

“Some details of the tire pattern on roof of the Engraved EG. This specific pattern is a Hankook tire tread and happens to be the same tires that are on the car. I also engraved a V12 Evo tire tread pattern in various locations on the car.”

“Monster Energy Claw Logo on the roof. I am a huge fan of Monster Energy products – thus why I added several Monster Logos within the design of the “Engraved EG”.”

“A DC Shoes rising sun design on the roof is in this shot.”

“A DC Shoes rising sun design on the driver side rear quarter panel.”

“Japanese Koi are a big part of the theme…”

“More Koi on the roof.”

“Naturally, I had to engrave a Dremel logo in there as well!”

“A close up of the Koi on the Carbon Fiber hood.”

“Here’s some more detail of the Half dragon / Half Koi on the hood.”

“Naturally, I had to put in a Japanese Shinto shrine Torii on the roof as well.”

“A skull with wings on passenger side rear quarter panel.”

“A tire tread pattern on the front fender.”

“A Skunk2 Racing logo has been incorporated into the driver side rear quarter panel.”

“Heavy Hitters Magazine logo. Some of my other hand engraving art was featured in Heavy Hitters Magazine.”

“A view looking down at the passenger side rear quarter panel.”

“More detail of the passenger side front fender.”

“Password JDM logo close up.”

“I decided to incorporate a crown design on the roof as well.”

“EE logo close up.”

“Another Monster Energy logo on driver side door.”

“A Monster Energy Claw Logo on the driver side door. That was time consuming!”

“Password JDM “P” logo on roof close up.”

“And one last Password JDM logo on the passenger side front fender.”

… what more can I possibly say? This has to be one of the most creative, labour intensive and artistically expressive cars I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I’m reminded of the BMW art cars from the 70’s and 80’s, painted by some of the greatest painters of that generation. But NONE of them spent 6000 hours on their own Honda Civic with a set of Dremel tools…

And regardless of whether or not you like Honda Civics, Monster Energy, DC Shoes or Password JDM, you may be in danger of missing the big point.

It’s not about what the car is or what has gone onto it but rather, it’s about the amount of dedication and care that has gone into it.

What you’ve just seen is automotive artwork of unparalleled quality and individuality.

I bow and tip my hat to you Shawn Lisjack.

Words – Shawn Lisjack and Adam Zillin

Photos – Shawn Lisjack

Engraved EG’s Facebook Page

Shawn’s Company Blog

See more of Shawn’s other works HERE