Ramblur.....A most excellent post! You must have a few years on you or you must be wiser than average..............it's a compliment.
The top '40 Ford coupe was painted by Von Dutch, and owned by Manuel Gonzales, and the '40 sedan was owned by Bob McCoy, and painted by Ray Cook. What do these two '40 Fords have in common, then? Well, both cars were "flamed" using a technique that was developed by Von Dutch. Instead of blending the flame colors using a spray gun, the flame color blending was done by spraying multiple coats of different colors over the top of each other, then wet sanding thru the paint with 600grit paper in different areas, to different depths, to create the fades and blends on the flame's "licks". Von Dutch was still doing this type of flame color blending way up into the '70's. Manuel Gonzales' beautyfull Lost Hot rod ! Got some other pictures or threads about this Rod ?... Thanks to post here http://irishrichcustomcycles.blogspot.com/2009/09/von-dutch-monday-iv.html
Jerry Weesner's '40 DeLuxe ForDor- My Dad flamed his daily driver in the early 70s, it was almost the Bob McCoy layout with a few differences. The fades were just rattle-canned- I've never understood the reason for rubbing through layers of paint for blending, if you already were spaying the paint on? It has sort of an abrupt, primitive look with almost a linear brushstroke effect, maybe that was what they were after?
Some HAMBsters say flames are not traditional for gassers but this thread shoots that theory down in flames.
The Jalopy Journal
