New guy with ??

[falcon20]

Hello to all…
I’m new to the site, and love the tips and tricks here. I have done some painting (some) in the past, cars, old trucks etc.. I have never attempted any flames or detail work.
At any rate, I was hoping for some recommendations, and help from the experience here.

I have a spare tank (Sportster) that I want to flame. It was a new take off, and the paint is in good shape, but the wrong color (black) with a large decal (tan) on the sides of it. I was thinking of trying to sand down the high decal edge slightly without getting into the decal itself, and then spraying/sanding several coats of primer/surfacer on the edge area. Thinking I could lose the ridge without having to remove the decal that is under the factory clear. Does that sound workable? Or is there a better method of loosing the decal..?
I will be using the OEM color (04 Sierra Red) which I think is single stage with a clear on top as a base coat and adding flames that are mostly just outlined in black as they spread back. (Looks like an air brushed black edge dusted into the red in the middle) I saw this on a web site and loved it!! Not too fancy, clean flames look. Any tips on the OEM paint type..? Or the clear I should use?? Hardener??

Thank for sharing the knowledge.
Falcon

 

[Burnt]

Welcome to the board. I usually sand the decals off, it saves alot of work later if they should somehow show back up. You will find alot of useful information here. It has helped me alot...

 

[KEV2504]

Hey Falcon, I asked Scott a similar question about how to remove the decals. He told me that he usually uses a razor blade to cut it off, then sands and primes.

 

[martin3294]

Hi and a happy new year to all. My advice is if the paintwork is in good shape still lose the decal on the tank completely as they do tend to come back to haunt you later in the form of a ghost image. I would completely sand the decal area down to bare metal then feather out the edges from bare metal to your paintwork as best you can. Simply use a red skotch brite on the rest of the paintwork to get a dull flat surface then use a good filler/primer on the tank. If you intend to do a lot of airbrush work you could end up after hours and hours of fine detail work with that decal showing up if you leave it on. Only noticable once you have clear coated it. That is a real pain in the ass, so best take it completely off anyway.