From start to finish

[Stan@1stPlaceRace]

Hardcore painters will yawn at this but maybe somebody can take some inspiration.
I was going to enter this body in the winter paint contest but christmas happend and it did not get done in time. Its still not done but here is a little insight into the process.
1st pic is of the design, ready to mask. 2nd pic is of the body with all masking cut and black shading of rips and flames that protrude through the rips.The 3rd pic is after blue metal flake has been applied in a createx clear coat medium.(Pictured is my vl airbrush with the largest nozzle installed). Dont ruin a good airbrush with metal flake!!

[Stan@1stPlaceRace]

Next is some createx auto air irridescent purple, then the main body color is finished with irridescent blue.Time to remove the rips mask and go to friggin bed!

[Stan@1stPlaceRace]

Here are some more pics. The 1st one is after the rips have been removed and the flame shading has been completed. The 2nd pic is after the rips have been sprayed with red metal flake in createx clear coat medium. The final pic is after the rips have been sprayed with createx auto air flame red. Since I used metal flake I need to remove the flame masking ASAP to insure clean lines.

[PyroMike]

:cool: Lookn' good :cool:

[Stan@1stPlaceRace]

There have been a few steps done between the last post and the first pic here. After the masking was removed I checked all the lines of the flames and removed rough spots with a Q tip stick cut at a sharp angle/fine edge.Then I touched up a few tiny spots with a paintbrush. After I was positive there were no debris in the flame area I applied a light coat of Createx clear coat. as seen In the 1st pic in this post.Next pic is after the createx flor hot orange was applied. Pic 3 is after the Hot yellow was applied. This now needs to sit overnight before I back it with gloss white. I will start the wing ( checkered ) now.I still have 2 days before I will finish it. The white needs to sit for 24 hours before I put the clear protective coat for maximum durability.

[nitroracerx7]

That looks simply wicked cool! Love the lay out..as well as color choices/placement. I see you use "Q-Tip" sticks for 'weep' clean up (?) Have you ever tried to use a bamboo skewer? -found by the hundred at the grocery store- Man oh! man....do they do a wicked great job of 'erasing' those oh so unpleasant mistakes at the edges. They can also be used -with a piece of fuel tubing slipped over them- to hold wings and such for easier painting. Try em..you'll like em. :cool:
nx7

[Stan@1stPlaceRace]

Here is a pic after the white undercoat and clear protective coat has been applied. The white dried for over 24 hours before the clear protective coat was applied. The window masking was removed immediatly while the clear coat was still wet. Due to the clear coat it the glitter the window masking was basically glued to the paint and it had to be cut with a exacto knife before it would peel off clean.Also in the pic is the wing in progress.
Hey nitroracerx7 Thanks for the kind words, I use q tips because they will remove small bleeds but are not really stiff enough to damage the paint that is supposed to be there. I have some tiny balsa sticks that I use for more stubborn areas if needed. If I need to remove bleeds from a very fine area like a flame tip I will use a old airbrush needle.

[Stan@1stPlaceRace]

I will be posting a few more pics of this body in a couple of days, after I get a chance to take some pics outdoors. Here is the body finished.(pic 1 ) I painted the wing the same colors as the flames and mounted it with some extra pro line hardware. The grill and light decals that parma includes are lame so I used J concepts stickers avaiable direct from Jconcepts or www.maxxtruck.com Now some advise, If you are painting your own body it is hard to take this much time. Most of us want it done yesterday. Get a extra body when you get ready to paint, and paint a simple design or 2-3 color fade. Paint your nice body at a more reasonable pace. Take a look at the 2nd pic. All 6 of thse bodies including the xciter in the previous posts were painted at the same time. It is impossible to rush when you have more going on than 1 body in production..

[Stan@1stPlaceRace]

I need to adjust my camera exposure a little. The flame colors did not come out right in these pics.

[Stan@1stPlaceRace]

Alright, this is it. Here are some good pics and some final thoughts.

I did not mention that only curved lexan scissors were used to trim the body.

The longer the body is allowed to cure the better. 10 days will make the paint rock hard.

This design, especially if only flames are wanted is EASY! These are abstract flames and are much easier to do than simple flames that you are trying to get uniform. I have done this design, with and without rips probably over 100 times, and I think I have gotten better.But the 1st time I did it I was supprised how easy it was.

Anyways I hope somebody will look at this and give it a try. Thanks for watching. I encourage anybody who is painting there own body to take inspiration from my website.Most of the good stuff is on the back pages. Stan www.1stPlaceRace.com