Spraying Flake

I need a few pointers on laying down flake. best gun, best method, etc etc. Got the paint thing pretty much figured out, need some help / advice, as to equipment etc. Opinions on the Roth guns, or???

 

how big a flake do you wanna shoot?

i mix mine with auto air colors transparent base and it works like the dickens. none of that pesky flash time and bothersome recoat windows.

if aac scares you, hok sg150 is an excellent flake carrier.

Roth guns are overpriced.
Airgunza from iwata available at coast airbrush $99-129.

bury flake in a high quality, high solids clear.

be careful when block sanding.

 

I second what alteredpilot says, I use the HOK SG100 or SG150. I also spray my flake wet rather than dry like those flake buster jammies.

 

I priced bot of the Roth guns and they're $99.50 each. anyway i'm about to spray flake myself, so any tips or pointers would help me out too. like what works best to mix it with cause i've heard several different ways to do it. i'll be spraying roth monster flake and the smaller one.

 

ok not to hijack this thread but i am going to spray flake very soon and was wondering do i need a metallic basecoat for the flake to "pop" off of?? i would like the roof basecoat to be the same color as the the trim line but its not metallic??? thanks guys

 

Nope. When you spray colored flake over a base, it works best to have the base be a shade or 2 darker than the flake itself. That is what gives the flake the pop. What are you trying to accomplish?

 

im trying to go for that photoshopped look of the car but i wanna keep the shade of the roof the same as the trim but flake the roof...heavily, how much flake do you think it would take to do the roof (2)4oz jars? or maybe just one? i have no clue billy

 

I usually mix one or two tbsp, per RSP (ready to spray)qt,,

a 4 oz jar will look like its still full once your done flaking your roof...

 

shoulda added,,,if you are spraying the big flake,,,i prefer a gun with a 2.0 tip.....

if its the micro flake,,i have sprayed it with a tip as small as a 1.4


regardless of what size your spraying..,,,just make sure to keep it moving inside the cup,,,it wants to settle at the bottom because its heavier...if your using a gravity gun/hvlp..it will have a tendencie to settle at the bottom and thats not good in that case,because that will clog up were your material goes into the gun,,,,you can throw a couple nuts or marbles in there keep it shaken up..,,.

 

Yup, ditto both posts. One jar will more than do a roof. I use 2-3 sometimes 4 plastic spoonfuls per RTS qt. Big flake gets the 2.0 HF $10 gun, normal sized stuff gets a 1.7. When you spray a large panel (roof, etc.) split the panel so you can agitate the material as often as possible. Don't worry so much about the blend of the clear as how even it lays out.

 

awesome, thanks everyone this is very VERY helpful!!

 

I've never had to put a marble in the cup or anything but be sure to take out the filter in the bottom of the cup or you won't be flaking anything.

 

What is the largest tip if you say 2.0? Which gun and which has the largest tip? I've got some ultra large flake I want to experiment with. As far as the the first question, practice on some junk sheetmetal first before you do the real thing. There's a lot less headaches.

 

A local guy near me who sprayed lot's of flake back in the day always grounded steel car's with a chain attached to a body panel to the ground.

Said it kept the flake from standing up from static electricity and the flake generally "flowed out" better.

His car won Best Paint at the 1978 Car Craft Street machine Nationals. (metalflaked Corvette)

 

Look at cheap ass Primer-guns.... some have 2.0+ tips. No need to spend a ton of cash on a "flake gun".... spend your money on guns for base and clear (especially basecoat!!!) I have an older SATA from the late '90s and I dig it!

-ns

 

wanta talk flake call me 408 561 5744!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

I just bought 3 cans of flake from you 2 days ago. Best price anywhere. I like the Roth Flake, good size, easy to work with, not too small, not too 70's jet boat.

 

Alex won't steer you wrong! And if you get bored go here... http://www.bikernet.com/garage/PageViewer.asp?PageID=1864

I usually use mini and ultra-mini together on my 'flake jobs (below) but if you go with the big stuff use a big tip like these guys are saying. Make sure you have enough to do the job and do a test first, like on a local kids skateboard or something...Thanks to you, he'll be the instant KING of the neighborhood. Have a ball man!

www.condercustom.com

 

i'm with conder on this one.
bass boat flake is kool if you're going for the overkill factor, but for overall glimmer and glint, i like the mini and micro or ultra mini for class factor. its easier to buy in the clear and block sand, less 'dark sides' in the flake coverage, and just plain sparklier!


AND you can get away without having to buy a special 'flake gun'!

 

sure would like to see the whole car looks amazing

 

I've been messing around with autobodysource.com lately as I get ready to refresh my painting skills, if that helps.