[Stovebolter]

Need some advise. I'm concidering something like these flames for the truck. Were these done with a light dusting of white or silver? They look like something I might try to do. Look fairly simple and subtle. I'm not sure you would call these ghost flames?

http://www.hotrodders.com/gallery/sh...hp/photo/33556

Dave

[OneMoreTime]

A ghost flame is done with a pearl mixed in..Just spraying a smidge of paint on the area you want ghosted. Can be silver can be white..maybe gold..or something else that has a contrast to the underlying base..

Takes some practice to do it so if one wants to do that one buys some materials and practices to get the effects one desires..

Sam

[Stovebolter]

Originally Posted by OneMoreTime

A ghost flame is done with a pearl mixed in..Just spraying a smidge of paint on the area you want ghosted. Can be silver can be white..maybe gold..or something else that has a contrast to the underlying base..

Takes some practice to do it so if one wants to do that one buys some materials and practices to get the effects one desires..

Sam

Thanks again Sam. So by simply adding pearl to the base coat or clear? I would assume you mean the base coat, to make it slightly lighter than the main base coat.

Need to add another question, paint related. Have you ever sprayed a clear coat on top of single stage for a glossier finish? I was told by some, yes, and by others, no. I'm no pro so I need the extra layer of clear to give me plenty to ultra-fine and buff to a gloss. I've always used PPG base/clear systems in the past but painted my RX8 with a single stage. I really wasnt too happy with the single stage. Any thoughts?

Dave

[Stovebolter]

Sorry everyone. I just noticed that someone just asked a similar question a couple days ago. I'll search better from now on to help stop the redundant questions.

Dave

[OneMoreTime]

I would put the pearl in the clear myself..Sorry was not clear on that point...Yes you can shoot a clear over a single stage base..works just fine..

Sam

[Kevin45]

Use a little bit of midcoat with a touch of pearl. And you have to just go by trial and error. A little pearl goes a long ways. On my truck I used a Cadillac midcoat with a red pearl. What you really need is a test panel to try it on also. Mask off one part, spray, then unmask and look. When everything is masked and then sprayed, it does not look like you get any coverage, but in actuality you have more than you can see.

[Stovebolter]

Originally Posted by Kevin45

Use a little bit of midcoat with a touch of pearl. And you have to just go by trial and error. A little pearl goes a long ways. On my truck I used a Cadillac midcoat with a red pearl. What you really need is a test panel to try it on also. Mask off one part, spray, then unmask and look. When everything is masked and then sprayed, it does not look like you get any coverage, but in actuality you have more than you can see.

I'm a little rusty on some of this stuff....or just lack the experience. Mid coat? I usually use a PPG base coat with a PPG high solid urethane clear. I'm not sure what you mean by mid coat. Do you mean use what a person planned on using for their final coat just before spraying the top coat (or clear)? Just enough color (pearl) to change the shade of the base coat.

Thanks,
Dave

[Chevrolet4x4s]

Those flames look Great . Real fire also looks good but is more in your face than subtle.

Shane

[fisher57]

mid coat or intercoat is a clear that flashes off like a base coat (DULL).This clear is used as a transporter of pearls or metallics to get them onto the surface. It is also used if you are gonna do some artwork on top of open basecoat,it helps protect the fresh base coat from tape tracks. This is what i would suggest you use this way when you clear all your work if you happen to get a flow indicator (run) lol it will be in just clear not your pearls which will cause more problems than you want . good luck

[Stovebolter]

Those flames look Great . Real fire also looks good but is more in your face than subtle.

Shane

I like the real flames but I definitely want subtle with this truck. If I was building a prostreet truck with a blown 540 I'd concider something more radical.

Originally Posted by fisher57

mid coat or intercoat is a clear that flashes off like a base coat (DULL).This clear is used as a transporter of pearls or metallics to get them onto the surface. It is also used if you are gonna do some artwork on top of open basecoat,it helps protect the fresh base coat from tape tracks. This is what i would suggest you use this way when you clear all your work if you happen to get a flow indicator (run) lol it will be in just clear not your pearls which will cause more problems than you want . good luck

Thanks Fisher. I'll see if my paint supplier knows what your talking about. I figure he does, but this town always seems to be years behind the big cities in that no-one around here seems to do much custom work.

Dave

[Brimstone]

Originally Posted by Stovebolter

I like the real flames but I definitely want subtle with this truck. If I was building a prostreet truck with a blown 540 I'd concider something more radical.

The pearl flames will really give you that subtle look quite nicely. You can also get real interesting effects by using different types/colors of pearls as well. Case in point my DD has what I like to call iridescent ghost flames. The main pearl color is green (base color is white), but the blues and purples really pop when viewed in direct sunlight or fluorescent light. The body and hood curves really help to accentuate the effects, but they're almost invisible when cloudy, or at night.

They look even better when the car is cleaned and freshly waxed too (a state of being which is all too fleeting with this car, unfortunately).