Thread: flat black with ghost flames

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I'm thinking about painting my chevelle a flat black or satin black, and using pearl to put green ghost flames in the clear. Any suggestions or reasons you don't think it should be done? I would like the flames to be visible only in certain lights. I'd appreciate any advice.

The only problem is that if you put clear over flat black it isn't flat anymore.

i have heard there is a satin clear but havent used it. maybe u could do a test panel first to see what u are in for.

I was thinking like Ives said about using the satin clear

I read in alot of the threads on here that flat paints are more likely to rust or fade than other paints. Do you know if this would hold true with that satin clear?

If you use a catylized clear and flatten it, it will hold out water , but longevity will be reduced some. I would recomend 3 coats of flattened clear, as this will help further the longevity too.

SprayTech

thanks alot SprayTech

HELLO
SPRAY TECH IS RIGHT
THERE ARE FLATTENING AGENTS FOR URETHANE CLEARS. (SIKKENS, DUPONT AND PPG HAVE THEM)
THE BIGGEST USE OF THIS PRODUCT IS FOR MERCEDES BUMPERS, THEY ARE PAINTED THAT WAY FROM THE FACTORY.
SO YOU WOULD BASE THE VEHICLE, THEN MIX YOUR CLEAR WITH THE FLATTENER AND SPRAY THREE COATS..
ONE OTHER THING I WOULD RECCOMEND IS TO DO YOUR GHOST FLAMES IN A PEARL BASE COAT AND NOT PUT THE PEARL IN THE CLEAR. YOU HAVE MORE CONTROL OF THE PEARL LAYOUT AS A BASECOAT..

do you think it would be possible to mix up some pearl with clear and airbrush it on? Would the pearl look the same in the base coat as it would in the clear coat? I we painted my sister's mustang with a pearl in the clear and it got really nice. Would it look the same in the basecoat?

I don't think you are going to be satisfied with the finished product if you are planning on only using pearl to define the flames... Problem is that you usually see Pearl when it shines. If you use a flattening agent in the clear the paint won't shine and you probably won't see too much of the pearl...

Just one oppinion...

Dave Brisco

For a flat black a lot of people are using John Deeres Blitz Black paint that is cheap as hell. Only like 22 bucks for a gallong and then they say to use their primer which is I think only 12 bucks and then their thinner and a hardener. I have seen some done with this black and it's awsome. It's a flat black as well with a tad bit of a shine but you can't tell unless it's next to another flat black vehicle. I would say to air brush over the flat black with a gloss color but not sure. Spraytech and DangerousToy are the paint pro's here.

dave
your two cents might add up to four..
yes the shine is needed in most situations and the pearl will not have a bold stand out effect under a flattened clear. but it can be seen, again not with the same effect as the car you paint with regular shiny clear. as far as pearl in the clear versus pearl as base coat, under normal situations the pearl will look the same but you will have less build up (or should i say thinner tape lines) with the base than with clear, also you will not run into a problem with cloudy looking pearl, it can happen when mixed in clear because your clear does not allow your pearl to lay flat and balanced. pearl works off of light in two directions. the first is the light that hits it directly, the second is light that is reflected from underneath.. there for pearls always stand out the most over black. they become bolder and more radiant. so even with a flattened clear you will still see it is present...
the best advice is to spray a few test panels before painting the car. this way you can figure out just how much pearl and how many coats you need to acheive the desired look...

What else I think would be cool that I have never seen would be do a flat black, tape off flames and throw a clear over it and have a glossy black flames and flat black vehicle. I think that would be sweet and something different.

That does sound like a neat idea, but I think I'd like to keep the green accent in it. I don't really want the ghost flames to stand out alot either. I want it to look like a flat black car from a distance. This way it won't draw any attention from anyone who doesn't respect the car as an american muscle car. The tuner kids can drive by with their sticker covered toy and have no thoughts about keying.

I plan on looking into that john deer paint. Do you know if that will work with the pearl though?