Re: Ghost flames...

[supersport]

Re: Ghost flames...

Hey Scott,
You may remember the guest book post I wrote last week regarding the plans I have for paint on my '99 FXDX; tangerine orange ghost flames over black. I'm not quite sure of what paint to use for the flames. A pearl effect would be trick!
I don't want the flames to be so far on the opaque side that they jump off the bike or need outline pinstripes to look right. I want a subtle effect that would be almost indiscernable from 50 feet away unless the sun glinted off it. Something along the lines of the blue ghost flame job you posted in your example pics.
I've been peeping various products and was turned off by the cost of House Of Color's prices... $297.00 for two ounces of pearl additive! The clientel around here would not be condusive to my ever using up the remainder of product unless it was on something of my own. Hey, maybe tangerine pearl ghost flames or factory style skunk stripes on my '70 Nova Super Sport!

I would like to carry out the same basic theme on all of my toys, black with subtle orange accents. So far the stable includes my heavily breathed upon '99 FXDX and '70 Nova Super Sport as mentioned, and a '00 Harley-Davidson edition F150

 

[supersport]

Oops,

Didn't intend to be rude!

My closing paragraph somehow got deleted while I was poking around at the smiles icons and tried to eliminate them from my post. Sorry... Here goes...

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
Mike

 

[ezrider]

Why do you think the cost of custom paint jobs are so high? Half of it is the cost of materials, every one wants some type of a Kameleon effect but no body wants to hear that it cost $250 a pint more than most paint jobs total cost in material. the other half is time and talent , if it was that easy to do custom paint jobs every one would be driving around or riding around on one.i reciently had a potential customer who told me he would give me $550 fo a custom painted sportster tin set but then didnt want to hear that the parts and material cost more than that, isn't my time worth any thing? You bet i would rather be riding around on my 95 HP softail.

 

[supersport]

Hey Joe,

Yeah I know what you mean about the reluctance of the unaware to part with the jingle for a "simple paint job". I recall one of the last business ventures I got involved in a few years ago. An aquaintence of mine wanted me to restore some old pedal cars, scooters and tricycles for him. He would pay for the materials and once he sold the stuff at the shows we would split the profit.

I informed him that the paint and materials for each item would cost around the $100 dollar mark he just about fell out. I kept itemized receipts of all materials used and presented him with them at the time of delivery. He gladly paid up for the materials once he laid eyes on the mile deep hand rubbed lacquer that graced the vintage toys. He liked them so much that they imediately became permanant fixtures in his den. Lessons learned!

Once I get the new shop underway, my clientel will be chosen more carefully.

Later,

Mike

 

[TAZ]

Hey Supersport,
You may want to check out the House of Kolor's Kandy Basecoats. You can spray these directly over the black and they are much less expensive (average about $40/quart). This will give you the "ghost" effect without breaking your wallet.

 

[supersport]

Thanks Scott,

I'll peep the House of Color candy basecoats and possibly give it a try on a test panel first. I didn't intend to come off as a cheap b@st@rd. I'm well aware that I can't cut corners on the paint and expect the desired results to be a knockout.

I've been away from the business for a few years now due to selling my old house and moving to another with no garage. Now my soon to be fantasy garage will give me the opportunity to once again excercise my talents.

If the H.O.C. candy basecoats will give me less than stellar results, I'll pass them up for the appropriate products. I guess that I was just experiencing some sort of sticker shock due to being out of the loop for a while.

By the way, I just picked a second pair of fenders on eBay so I can cut up the first replacements for the extensions I need rather than try to beat 'em out by hand.

Have you implimented this H.O.C. combo and if so, with what results?

Thanks again.

Later,

Mike