Ghost Flames

[Rookie]

Hello Everyone!
I am new to the site and as you can tell by my username, I am brand new to custom painting or any painting for that matter. I have an old HD Shovelhead that I finally put together after several years and went out to price paint and nearly had a heart attack. I thought I would try it myself, since I have a large shop and most of the tools.

I've purchased a couple of videos and a book and believe I am ready to begin. And now that I've found you guys... what the hell lets give it a try.

I would like to have a black base coat with some silver ghost flames. Can anyone help me with the steps involved? Or is this too much of a task for a rookie? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek_yello.gif

Any information would be much appreciated. THANKS!!!!

 

[TAZ]

Welcome to the Flames Board!

Some advice...
I would do this in stages. First prep your set, then you will need to spray a black basecoat/clearcoat. Once you made it through this set, you can resand the clear, possibly by using 800 wetsand, then you can do your flames and reclear. Doing it in these two separate steps will make life much easier for the beginner just in case you have a mistake, you will have the base protected with clear. Yes, you'll use more materials this way, but it'll be the best way for you.

Be sure and use the 'search' feature of the Flames Board. You will find quite a bit of info using it.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/luck.gif

 

[CNY.PT]

I just completed my first ghost flame job on my 96 Jeep. Read the Disaster thread for more details. Follow Scott's advice and you won't go wrong. Stick with quality materials, all from the same manufacturer and don't rush or cut corners. I used all PPG paints, clears and pearls. 1/4 tsp. of pearl to 1oz of reduced clear. Make sure you have great lighting when you spray the pearls otherwise you cannot see what you have done. For ghost flames less is better don't over do it otherwise you will end up with silver flames and not ghost flames. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/luck.gif
CNY.PT

 

[rex]

Welcome.One thing to be sure to do is use silver pearl,not paint,and mix the pearl with a basecoat (or intercoat) clear like CNY said.Some paint lines don't have a silver pearl but pearls are something you don't need to stay in the same brand with if they're dry pearls.HOK seems to be the best priced unless you can find someone that will sell you small amounts of it,I know PPG can get well over $100 for a bottle.

 

[Rookie]

Thanks for all the great tips! IS HOK a good paint to work with? I have seen PPG used a lot in conversation, is this a better paint than HOK? Thanks for your help!

 

[guest01]

hey man,

do you have any pics of your 1996 jeep with the flames on it???

Edited by CFP
Sorry no email addresses allowed

 

[CNY.PT]

I have a few but the flames are tough to see, unless you catch the light just right and that is exactly the effect I wanted. I will try to posy one here. I say TRY.
CNY_PT
Help Scott!!!!!!!!!

 

[LudicrousSpeed]

Like this:

 

[thajoker]

im new to this board and to painting.as someone stated above for best results stick with one brand ppg,hok,ect..
i use hok only and love it. i did some ghost flames over a stratto blue but like they said spray them, then look at em in the light if its too light spray some more other wise they arent really ghost flames (not that id know from personal experiance) as a fellow begginer i would add a very small amount of graphite pearl to some intercoat clear. that way if its too much it can be fixed easy but they come out great hope it helps .
and yes house of kolor is great paint to use

 

[4321]

hi im not a big painter but i was wondering if theres a way u could paint flames on a skateboard i wanna do it for my friend help ty

 

[Ultra Al]

Another source for dry perals is Inate Paint. They are compatable with HOK but they have some additional colors and also a line of ghost pearls. Form my expierance Nate has been a pleasure to deal with. Al

 

[TAZ]

[ QUOTE ]
hi im not a big painter but i was wondering if theres a way u could paint flames on a skateboard

[/ QUOTE ]

You can airbrush or paint anything you want, then put a few good coats of automotive clear over it. I think if you used spray can, it wouldn't last long

 

[Ultra Al]

If you use a rattle can you can count on getting runs and sags all over the place. Al

 

[Syscrush]

[ QUOTE ]
If you use a rattle can you can count on getting runs and sags all over the place. Al

[/ QUOTE ]This is an overstatment at least - maybe even completely incorrect.

I have painted some motorcycle parts (in particular a tire-hugger rear fender), car trim, and a couple of bicycles with rattle cans, and gotten some very good results.

You don't have the same control over the spray pattern that you do with a gun, and you will almost certainly lose more to overspray. But if you take your time, you can get some very good results. In particular if you use the automotive "touch up" paints. You can control the heaviness of the coat by changing the distance to the piece. Apply light coats in succession and get the coat wet by going over it a few times.

Hope this helps,
Phil.