Amazing Metal Flake Paint   Would you say 10 miles of masking tape??   By now, you've probably seen that the Grand National Roadster Show is one of the best. I used some pretty stupid criteria to say that: 1) Diversity of cars 2) Show at a ridiculously high caliber.   There aren't many shows with Hot Rods, the "America's Most Beautiful Roadster" contenders, then motorcyles and really, the most radically detailed and perfected rides of the event: Lowriders. Combine that fact (discuss/object if you like) with my amazement or maybe sheer disbelief in how metal flake paint like this is done and you've got some cool pics!     Taking a walk down Lifestyle Blvd (the car club that dominates GNRS lowrider hall every year) there's eye candy everywhere. The loweriders don't just wear candy-flaked-striped custom paint. That's only the start! On the highest-end lowrider, every single part of the car is customized.... either painted, chromed, etched... sometimes a combination of all. Then the interiors are perfect, the stereos rock and of course, they're laid out on hydraulics. There's not one ride half-stepping.   And my favorite of...

Custom and Deadly 1940 Ford Truck at 2013 SEMA Show   Another SEMA 2013 Hot Rod and this one's KOSMIC!   Looks like I'm on a 1940 Ford Hot Rod kick for SEMA Show 2013. Picking some of my favorite hot rods, it just so happens that one's the 1940 Ford from Chaotic Customs (and #2 in my best of) and the other's the "Kosmic Outcast" 1940 Ford Pickup, aka: "Intergalactic Weapon of Destruction!"  (at least that's what the show card said!!)     I didn't get a chance to talk with the owners or builders on this terrific custom hot rod, but I had to post pictures... if you can stand out in the shadow of the HUGE Ford display, then you've really stepped up, don't you think? Hats off to the builders at Hot Rod Chassis and Cycle!     Luckily, the show card tells part of the story... Besides proclaiming this the Intergalactic Weapon of Destruction, we learned the blown beast up front is a 1959 Oldsmobile 371 Rocket. And no, it's not hooked to an old lady's automatic... it's hooked to a 5 speed TKO600! I totally dig...

Custom Vans at 2013 SEMA Show   Vans. They're not just for living down by the river anymore. (RIP Chris Farely aka Matt Foley)   One of my EASY picks for "Favorite at SEMA" has to be this custom Ford Econoline Van. Not since Church's VanGO has a van made a statement like this. With metal flake shining in the Las Vegas sun, I had to grab some pictures and share. If metal flake's your thing, make sure to look at the other metal flake paint stories and pictures we've done including a "how-to" about spraying flake yourself.     Complimenting the cooper-gold flaked flames and stripes, the gold leaf lettering spelled "Chrome Gypsy Tattoo" a Las Vegas based tattoo and piercing shop. A perfect calling card for the shop, yea??     How do you paint metal flake on a roof with this detail? Standing on a latter for days!!?? Someone lets us know who did the paint... they deserve credit!     Custom details and more metal flake covered the interior. I heard the engine's detailed and flaked too. I'll try to grab a picture tomorrow.  ...

Cheap Paint Guns Still Shoot Metal Flake   When I posted  my metal flake FAIL I heard from my new friend Chris at Chaotic Customs. He made a great how-to story about creating a custom metal flake roof for your ride.   (Picture from my vast photo archive, I have no idea what paint gun was used here or who's ride this is...)   Great Chris, but I don't have a $300 paint gun, and guess what, as often as I use one, I doubt I'll spend the money on one since we all have so many toys we want. (plus, as my friends would attest, I'm a tight-ass!)   Challenge accepted! (and then some) Chris came through with a how-to video for shooting metal flake and he used a cheap Harbor Freight gun! I hope we can all afford $30-40 for a gun and if you watch, Harbor Freight has 20% coupons available almost all the time. Chris also shows a few more details about setting up the gun and what he literally throws away when using the HF gun.   It's a fun video with great commentary... Thanks a million...

Chaotic Customs shows us how Metal Flake's done! The internet can be a great source of info, and if you're lucky, you'll find some good friends generous enough to help make a giant metal flake FAIL a big win. I got this email:   Hi, my name is Chris Carlson and I own Chaotic Customs. I saw your metal flake fail on Royboy Productions FB page and thought I'd give you my two cents. Painters have a few tricks up their sleeves to make it look easy. I've attached pictures of the 1965 Thunderbird we're building for the girls here at Chaotic. The roof is flaked, panel painted and laced. Hope this helps you out!   Shooting metal flake and getting the flake to sparkle and dance does take practice. However, I’m willing to let you in on a few tried and true custom painting tricks!   First off, spray a base color that has coarse metallic in the paint.     For the flake, you need two guns, this makes it so much easier for the layering process! Unless you are using Monster Flake, you can use a...

More Favorite Flake Roof Photography   (Click on any photo to see it full size)   The LA Roadster Show's about as good as it gets for finding customs and hot rods. Nobody argues that SOCAL was where it all started. Among all the cool rides Brian (from problemchildkustoms.com) and I saw at the 2013 event, we collected just a few of our favorite "Flaked Roof" examples to continue on what's been a popular story: Metal Flake Roof Dazzling Photos. So here goes... Which one's your favorite?           Turns out this is Eric Conner's custom 1950 Chevy Deluxe. I shot Eric's old truck at night and was really happy with how it turned out: Night Shots - Long Exposure (no, I'm not stalking him... The Fellas Socal are doing it right! Bo Swan's a Fellas too.)               I guess I'll close with this shot. This all black sedan had a crazy rainbow flaked roof. I shot the palm trees, then turned the photo around 180 so the trees weren't growing out of the sky. Kinda like this one, so I...

My Friend Made it Look Easy! Custom Metal Flake Looking for help with: How to setup a Harbor Freight paint gun for shooting flake. Please email me.   At car shows, especially the good ones in California, you'll see some stellar custom metal flake paint... like the shot below from the NorCal Knockout, the custom paint of all types is well represented.   See some amazing examples in this story: Custom Metal Flake Paint   After observing, and of course digging the look and appreciating the skill, I wanted to try it for myself. Then, my buddy Joel helped me customize a severely worn out plastic trim piece for my 1963 Falcon Wagon. Here's that piece:     I watched Joel do it, looked easy. Soooo... I tried it myself. Step 1: Base coat of gold     Step 2: FAIL!   So let's hear it... what'd I do wrong? Anyone willing to show me how it's done in a good story with a few pictures, please get in touch: Email pikesan   I'm especially looking for stories about how to set-up a gun for spraying flake, and something like,...

Custom Cars with Custom Paint - Favorite Flake Roof Photography (Click on any photo to see it full size) I've been meaning to write a post on custom paint and especially the amazing custom paint you'll find on lowriders and customs, especially in NorCal. With the great customs piling in at the NorCal Knockout, I finally got the shots I wanted. Lend a hand! If you know these cars, and more importantly, who the painter is... please leave a comment (you don't have to register or anything) and I'll add the info to this story. There's nothing I'd like to do more than give credit to these painters. Fantastic work! This is the roof of the 1959 Lincoln (pretty sure on the year) shown above. Rainbow flake with lace and darker flake fade. This car was a show stopper and won best of show. I know this was the roof of a 62 or so Ford Thunderbird. You've got it all here! Lace, multi colors of metal flake including rainbow flake and silver metal flake. There's even some flames... I'm running out of ways to say, Unbelievably cool. You'd...

How To Metal Flake Your Car Just because I love grease, doesn't mean that I don't love sparkly things too! Before going to Viva Las Vegas this year, I wanted to add a little bling to my 1955 Studebaker Champion with a metal flake paint job. Studie and I have been through a lot together in the five years I’ve owned and drove her. I’ve become attuned to her original patina’d coral and white paint job. So originally the thought of changing her exterior in any way made me nervous. But the more I thought about adding a subtle sparkle to Studie’s white roof portion, the more I liked the idea. Not knowing the first thing about how to paint, I was lucky to have an expert nearby. Pati Fairchild is the newest member of my car club, the Gasoline Girls. She also happens to be a professional paint and body chick who teaches the subject at El Camino College. After polling friends on Facebook and looking through various paint samples, I paid a visit to Coast Airbrush in Anaheim for my final selection. I went in knowing I wanted...