Flames
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Senior User
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 448
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From: Winnfield,La.
Hi gang,tried my hand at the ghost flames today, made a test panel out of the lower door skin I replaced, I found that three to four coats was good, though I think I will go heavy on the outer edges and lighter in the center, I also had the idea of bringing the interior (dark charcoal gray metallic) into two one inch stripes down the length of the body in the concave section with 351w between them at the hood, but now I am leaning toward ghosting them as well, what do you think? as for the compound and polish my paint people put me on to some 3m products so I tested them 800 1000 1500 then buff and brother if I get the complete results, like the test section I am going to be very happy. JNT
Freshman User
Joined: Apr 2008
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glad to hear its turning out good so far. remember with the ghosting sometimes less is more. sherwin and martin are the same paint. in fact sherwin was all i ever shot in the body shop, and i did alot of collison stuuner the bench ff at home with senior.ultra 7 was the bc/cc we shot in the shops and man if i was at home right now i could rattle off a bunch product # 's i still have- bases,solvents, and clears in both brands. 3m products are all i use. so i take it your using the clear basecoat binder with the dry pearl mixed in to creat your ghost mix. that works quite well i did some harley parts in black with the purple dry pearl for flames and they turned out real sweet. just watch your buffing windows with the sherwin clear after about 48hrs they tend to finally start to fully cure and can be a pain to buff. your not baking it so that 'll give you alittle extention in the that window.
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Senior User
Joined: Aug 2007
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From: Winnfield,La.
yes the bed is now done and just looking for clear Sky's to touch up three very small areas that I burned threw, then I have to retouch the interior and door jams. thanks again for the help will post pics when finished. JNT
Elder User
Joined: Jan 2007
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Can't wait to see the pics. I agree with everything mad said and had I not been offline for the last few I'd have chimed in with pretty much the same thoughts. I love ghost flames when done right, it just takes practice like everything else. Right now I'm working on a 67 Mustang that we did in midnight grey with silvermist Shelby stripes, it took 3 stages to paint but after the final buffing, the depth is turning out really nice. I'll have more pics of it as the assembly comes along but I have some now on my photobucket. Add me on yahoo if you want Indy_hotrodfanatic and I'll gladly link you to them.
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Senior User
Joined: Aug 2007
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From: Winnfield,La.
Well today was a great day for working on the truck so I did the 600 grit and took care of some bad places on the paint in the cab area that needed to be fixed up, I put two more coats of clear on the bed and the front clip and the cab,when that drys I will go back and start the fine wet sand and rebuff this will most likely be my next weeks work. I will get the bed married to the frame so I can tape it off and finish the hole job. JNT
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Senior User
Joined: Aug 2007
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From: Winnfield,La.
Well today I finished the bed started with 600 wet then 800,1000,1500,2000, after that I ate a late lunch after lunch I started sanding the back of the cab and then the buffing left side first no sun,the finish looks so deep and I think after the swirl marks are taken care of, the Carnuba wax on it will really look good,when the sun fell enough that the trees shaded the work area I buffed the right side, again the same deep look and great reflection. the bed is now on the frame and tomorrow I will shim it for the body lines to come threw straight. pics after that. JNT
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Senior User
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 448
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From: Winnfield,La.
Wet sanding
After the first wet sanding (the Bed) and buffing I realized that the better the sanding the easier the buffing, I had quite a few spots that required long buffing to make it glossy, so I tried an area that I spent more time sanding, fist 600 and then dry a spot, the tell tail singe of high and low was evident so I spent more time on it, until the lows where very small and the area looked almost white, then I moved to each of the finner grades of paper, when I got the appearance of a reflective shine in the wet sanding area I stopped and dried the panel, it was now in a much better condition for buffing and took much less time to get that deep glass look. I thought I should but my experience into the pages so that if I have done something wrong the prose can correct me but if I did it well then others might learn from my experience. JNT
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,462
Likes: 1
From: Central Mississippi
Well today I finished the bed started with 600 wet then 800,1000,1500,2000, after that I ate a late lunch after lunch I started sanding the back of the cab and then the buffing left side first no sun,the finish looks so deep and I think after the swirl marks are taken care of, the Carnuba wax on it will really look good,when the sun fell enough that the trees shaded the work area I buffed the right side, again the same deep look and great reflection. the bed is now on the frame and tomorrow I will shim it for the body lines to come threw straight. pics after that. JNT
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Senior User
Joined: Aug 2007
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From: Winnfield,La.
Cure
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Senior User
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 448
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From: Winnfield,La.
Buffing
Ok I understand the concept of using 1500 only, I tryed that today I spent from 10AM till 7PM on the right side, now the bed was done by the privious post using 600 threw 2000 and I found no sand paper marks in the bed. the door and roof and fender all done with 1500, I must say that it eather has begun to set up because I used up a lot of time to get it like I thought it should be before buffing, the buffing to took a lot longer than it had on the bed. I am going to repaint the hood, reason being it apers to have blotches in it and I could not remove them with buffing.
Tuned
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 457
Likes: 115
From: Maryland
JNT, here's some ghost flames I did on a bike, may help you to see the concept. Used all House of Kolor, starting with epoxy primer, then black sealer, black base, and intercoat clear. Wet sanded and laid out pattern, then sprayed flames using Kandy basecoat, Apple Red Kandy. Then cleared, wet sanded & buffed.
Fresh out of the booth before buffing
After buffing, assembled:
Fresh out of the booth before buffing
After buffing, assembled: