Hey guys. So I'm in the process of doin my first metal flake job on a Harley and I got some questions. I used tropical glitz .008 flake and covered it with 5 coats of HOK kosmic clear. Well I was wetsanding it with 600 grit to get ready to lay flames. While wetsanding I noticed a couple silver specs so I knew it wasn't buried enough. So I stopped and red scotch brited everything. My question is do I reclear with another 5 coats? Or can I lay flames and put 5 more coats on? Second question while sanding the tank there's little spots around the welds i can't get to. So they are still shiny. Is this gonna be an issue or do I need to scuff them some how? Thanks guys
Personally, I'd clear till the flake is flat, then do flames. Scuff the welds as best as you can (grey scotch brite will keep you from breaking more flake as much) Adhesion promoter where you cant scuff, clear, then do flames
If you want a smooth finish, then you need lots of clear... People don't realize that the original Flake jobs 'back in the day' looked like the worst case of orange peel you ever saw when you got up close. For a smooth finish, 15-20 coats of clear wasn't unknown. But the paint got extremely thick and would deteriorate/damage quickly. That's why you almost never see a good surviving 'vintage' flake job. With the smaller flake used these days, you don't need quite that much, but more than a 'normal paint. I would have started with five coats, then at the first hint of seeing the flake, do five more.
I'll note that the best solution for longevity with flake I've seen is powdercoat. There's a local guy who uses powder for the flake (which will give you a durable coating) then clears over that to eliminate the 'micro scratching' that powder is prone to.
Thanks for the reply. I'm on the right track then. So just put 5 more coats of clear on. Then wet sand and put the flames on?
If you're planning on clear over the flames, then I'd do one more coat of clear, then the flames, then clear over all of it.
I think Steve has seen a couple of the old survivor cars that I have seen with a chunk or two of the flake gone showing that the paint involved in the flake job is right at 1/8 or more thick. More clear and more sanding until you get it where you want it.
Yes I'm gonna clear over the flames. I was thinking 4 coats over them or so. Than wet sand and flow coat to finish up
When I was in high school a neighbor had a red flake '36 ford 3-window coupe. Other than the paint, a very traditional car, flathead and all. In the sun, the paint was eye-searing, almost blindingly red. To my teen-age eyes, one of the coolest things I'd ever seen. I'm going to guess that the paint was several years old at that point, and was already showing distress. Now this was a 'practical' flake job, no or little clear was applied over it. The finish was very rough, calling it 'orange peel' was a disservice to the orange... LOL. It couldn't be waxed; the owner tried it on a small area and told me it took him several hours with a toothbrush to get the wax out of the texture. Even without the extra clear, the paint was at least 1/16" thick and was starting to show cracking in various places. Granted, this was no doubt done in lacquer so you may have better results with modern paint, but paint thickness is still an issue. I saw Barris's metalflaked 'Twister T' at a show a few years later, it had the same pebbly finish. I toyed with painting a car in the 'real' vintage-type flake a number of years ago and was told by the supplier that if a smooth finish was wanted, it would probably take 20 coats of clear, wet sanding every 4-5 coats.
Another thing to keep in mind. when covering flake the solids % of your clear is what is going to burry it. I use Tamco brand products, I can usually lay 3\4 GOOD wet coats of clear over flake, knock it down then 1/2 more good coats. and evaluate from there. The bigger your flake the more clear youll need to get it down. I had a friend shoot a project for me recently, he has a booth and i wanted it perfect. 6 heavy coats over micro flake, then cut and buff solids ratio, puts those 6 coats of tamco to about 15 coats of HOK. If theres still texture before you lay flames, youll see the texture in the flames and ill be locked in there forever
That's true, but if the OP is planning on burying the paint lines on the flames this will reduce the number of coats needed. The thicker the paint, the more easily it will damage.
I put 3 more coats on and it looks good. The front fender which I sanded with 600 first that showed the silver specs turned out great. You can't even see those specs. So im thinkin the 3 coats I just put on will work
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