Paintin' tech from a newbie

I did this little tech post at a couple other sites, but I thought I'd post it here too for the guys who haven't frequented the other forums

Lay out your design, I use 1/8 fine line tape . I prefer the greenish tan stuff over the blue plastic tape. I usually do one side of whatever I happen to be painting first, then try to duplicate it on the other side. Some people make a pattern, but I think flames are art, so I don't make patterns.



Next I go over this design with 1/4 green tape, it helps seal it down, and gives you something to cut against, so you don't ruin your basecoat.



At this point, you have to mask the whole thing. I got ahold of some 18" wide mask from a local sign painter, and it is the greatest stuff for doing this....cover your entire design, then with an exacto knife, cut lightly through the mask, and remove from the area you want to paint.



NOW..... go completely over your mask, making sure that it is really what you want, you haven't missed a spot, and that it is not lifting in tight corners ............ Scuff the base, I use a grey scotch pad, clean your base, Then paint away

I don't know about you, but I want to see the results right away....... Try to be a little patient. Let the paint flash dry, I don't like to leave it to dry completely, before removeing the mask. If you do it while it's still a little wet, the edges seal down better, I think. Pull up and back away from the painted design, to help keep the edge from lifting.



And, the grand finale...........





I know that this is a little short and dirty, so if you have any questions about a specific step or procedure, fire away......

awesome, thanks dude. I've been practicing flames on misc. junk for a while but they have never looked good yet. this will help as i'm sure half my problem is how i do it.

Nice paint tech Abomb. Thanks for posting.