Thread: Flat paint trend???

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Hey paint! I turned 61 today LOL! I always liked the laced look-I have thought about doing a retro looking car like that.

I am also a fan of "gloss", but I think I have a conflict. I like to see something that is not the same "rubber stamp" style that I have looked at since 1958, when I got interested.... but I do like them based on a traditional look.

I just finished a '40 Ford coupe that is flamed in classic shapes, but with a "twist" that I haven't seen done before. The guy won't let me show it yet, but his few friends (who are my age) :-) seem to really like the it!

I think that a car loses some of the individuality, that hot rods should have, if they look exactly like the "black '32 roadster with red interior and Torqthrust wheels" that have seen at least 300-400 times. I believed the idea was to personalize the cars. {:-(

I guess I am different than most enthusiasts, as I work for others, and have to try to understand what THEIR vision for the project is. The "game" now is to take the ideas they have, and do the best I can to make it attractive to all who see it. If I was painting my own cars, the schemes would be much more limited by my own preferences.

I have enjoyed the flat paints for that "variety" they have brought, but it will become too common, and people will lose interest. That was my reason for this thread....to see if I was sensing a new direction in flat paints?

Originally Posted by ohekk

I'm waiting for the lace paint to reappear as a trend...and leisure suits!

Lace will be back! When the 'flake shows up, lace will not be too far behind.

....I just hope you are wrong about leisure suits! Hey! ....How about a leisure suit with an "Iskenderian Cams" logo embroidered on the back?

Originally Posted by HOTRODPAINT

Lace will be back! When the 'flake shows up, lace will not be too far behind.

It's funny you mention flake, on the way to the shop this morning I got stopped behind an old school mid 60's Ford panel van painted in the heaviest flake I've seen in a long time. Most likely a new Planet Color tri stage from the looks of it.....Makes me think I need to do something really funky when I finish welding the patch panels in my shop plow truck (87 F250 4X4 beater) this spring.....I'm thinking maybe PCLD2 over PC2710 out of their Sweet Tones collection of colors. Think of it as a old school flake in a tri stage deep red pearl........



Bill S.

How's this for flat?
My opinion is it's still got "the look"

That works well with the 40s-50s look, which obviously this one has! Nice job.

Originally Posted by mrmustang

Think of it as a old school flake in a tri stage deep red pearl........ Bill S.

Deep reds are my personal favorite. That would give it an exciting but sinister look, and it would look "bigger than life" in 'flake!

Originally Posted by bigdude

Hey paint! I turned 61 today LOL! I always liked the laced look-I have thought about doing a retro looking car like that.

I did a lot of lace in the '70s, then in the '90s on Harleys...but it was things like spider web patterns, and abstract patterns. I figured that painting flowered lace all over their bikes would get me "snuffed". :-)~

I still buy lace and curtain materials, whenever mama drags me to JoAnn's. I found out that lace patterns are usually on the market for 3-6 months then they are gone. However, you CAN always buy "chantilly lace" which is one of the most classic paint patterns.

I also would like to see the seventies stuff come back, like 'flake, the psychedelics on album covers, and some of the other stuff like "fish scales", "endless line", "freak drops", "panel paint", and so on. It was more popular on drag cars and bikes, than on rods, but it would be fun, and get lots of attention.

I want to do the flat paint on my rat rod because I know I'm not going to get the body work 100%, but I do want it painted in color. all in all it will be quite unique

Originally Posted by Matt167

I want to do the flat paint on my rat rod because I know I'm not going to get the body work 100%, but I do want it painted in color. all in all it will be quite unique

I like the sound of that flat purple you mentioned. :-)

I just finished painting a "bobber" style chopper for my nephew painted in flat black with the tin's Olive Drab Green and a flat white star on the sides of the tank. It looks WWII which is what he wanted. He is currently in the army in Alaska and will be done in October. It's not my style... but a chopper done in a WWII style did turn out pretty good. In work like this, it's his cycle and he wanted it this way.
Jerome

It sounds like a nice approach, and you are right about it being his bike, and should make him happy.

I have seen painters take a person's idea, and change it so much it isn't recognizeable. I try to do the opposite, by trying to get the kind of look they see in their mind.

I do concept drawings for people outside Arizona, so I don't get to spray them. I guess some painters have to "make it their own design", so I always have to warn the builder that they need to impress on the painter that it should look... "a little bit like the drawing they provided". {:-)

I'm getting ready for paint on my 47. I'm torn between going gloss or flat. thinking or sour apple metallic. then using a flat clear. whhat are the pro's and cons of flat vs gloss? if this going to hijac a thread, I'll repost as it's own. thanks.

Flat Vs. gloss... These are only my own experiences and opinions. :-)


When using flat paint:

Using primers results in rapid fading. I've seen black epoxy turn gray with white steaks in 2-3 years. They were never meant to be exposed to light permanently. I recommend catalyzed urethene.... either a single-stage with flattener added.... or you can add flattener to the final clear coat on a two or three stage job. The single-stage job below still looks good after about 12 years.

Full-flat finishes tend to be more "even" than semigloss, which can look "splotchy".

If you get a scatch, you cannot polish it out.

Some people complain about finger prints being highly visible.

It should be a little less expensive, as the bodywork can be less perfect, and you skip the sanding and buffing part of the job.

They are currently popular, but the black has been overdone for about five years, and is due to be "out of style" in a few more.

HotRodPaint
So true on individuality and taste. Every once in a while someone really gets it wrong! In High School, one of the quieter kids built up a 72 Firebird. Really nice car. He must of had cash, because everything was the high end stuff for the 70's era. One day he came to school with it after painting it. It was a creamy pastel purple, with a bright green shamrock clover painted in the center of the hood. The purple itself sort of emasculated the car, but what was worse was the contrast of the pastel purple, with the primary solid green clover.
Like you say to each their own. I'll stick to the basic solids for right now, and paint my truck candy apple red.