Neon Green Flake

[Keith A.]

This car never got raced last year due to Covid, but it may make its debut this year. I’ll keep you guys posted. Not for a pro race or anything. Just our Adult Race for our local Scout District.

 

[Keith A.]

Don’t know if this video link works or not but it looks even better in motion.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0MWd9Jt4BDHwI2xkT98cVsHLQ#Port_Saint_Lucie

 

[CVRacing]

Keith, that car looks awesome. I could no get the video to work though.

 

[karlaj]

Looks slick. How did you end up doing the paint? First the green fleck with black stencil on top, or vice versa? I'm in the camp of "if you're gonna go slow, you better look good" so always looking for tips!

 

[Keith A.]

Looks slick. How did you end up doing the paint? First the green fleck with black stencil on top, or vice versa? I'm in the camp of "if you're gonna go slow, you better look good" so always looking for tips!

This effect actually took me a while to perfect. So I knew I wanted a car that had the same look as a motorcycle flake job but had no idea how they did it. I also knew I wasnt going to buy a professional paint gun. So I started to experiment and emulate their process with spray cans.

First, you have to make sure you have a good surface. Sand and smooth the crap out of your car. The flakes will not lay right on a bumpy car.

Next lay down a base color that your flakes will look good on. I did this green fade with 2 shades of lime green paint.

Then apply a coat of thick clear coat. I used the Krylon Triple Thick. I havent tried that automotive stuff because I heard its pretty toxic and expensive. You can find the Triple Thick at Home Depot or Lowes.

While the Clear Coat is still wet, cover your car in flakes. Get the smallest you can find at the craft store. Then, use a pair of latex gloves and push them all flat with your hands. THIS IS KEY. Old school bikers used this trick. Modern spray guns have enough air pressure to push them down, but since we are placing our flake by hand you MUST make sure all the flakes are flat in order to get a smooth clear coat over them.

Last, to get the best clear coat I apply 3-4 generous coats of the Triple Thick on top. The other trick here is to let each coat flash off properly. Wait 10 mins between each layer. This is so you dont get any air bubbles in your clear coat. After 3-4 layers, I let it cure for a full 24hrs. Then I lightly wet sand with 1500 grit. If you still have any flake poking through, you can apply some more coats, but this is dangerous. I've had some hazy coats on top and you lose some vibrance of your colors.

BONUS: I apply some car polish to really set it off. (Meguiers Synthetic. Same stuff I use to polish my wheel bores)

PS: forgot the flames. Well that was all free hand. I'm not a pro pinstriper or anything. Just always had a steady hand. I would say maybe find a stencil or try taping off a pattern with masking tape. Something I figured out was that if you use latex/waterbased paint for a design, the spray clear coat will warp it. Don't know how to do that better yet.

 

[karlaj]

That’s a lot of love for a block of wood! Never knew about physically flattening the flakes, makes sense—thanks for the tip. Most of the acrylics (for my kids) use mica powder and deswirling that is horrible, so I might try this next year
Freehanded the flames? I have a hard time with small stencils on cars, so I’m always looking forward better methods, but I’m too shaky for hand painting. Still, I can appreciate your craftwork. *chapeau*

 

[Jupiter 2.9]

Testors makes a hobby sprayer powered by air horn cans it also comes with an compressor adapter...
Duplicolor ready to spray lacquer & Didspade flakes is my choice.
No wrong way to do it, just do it & see what happens.
Looks good.