2007 GMC Yukon Custom Painted Flames - Flames Pattern

2007 GMC Yukon Custom Painted Flames Finished Hood

Flames will never go out of style. There, I said it. Yes, current trends are leaning towards cleaner one-color or two-tone styles, but flames are Americana and when you pull up to a show or a buddy's house with a nice set of hot-rod licks on your ride, a statement has been made. Apple pie, baseball, and flames—it's red, white and blue for the custom world. The laying down and painting of flames shouldn't be seen as mysterious, it just takes a smooth hand, creative brain, and some patience. Here are the basics on how to turn your daily driver into a real head-turner by applying some hot-rod-infused style in the form of a flame paint job.

To help us pull off the paint chores, we teamed up with Westcoast Racecraft and "Bigg" Mike Royall of Airbrushzone, both in Phoenix. Mike was an Honorable Mention in '08 for House of Kolor's Prestigious Painter Award and he was happy to fill us in on some of his painting secrets. In a matter of a few days, this silver '07 GMC Yukon was forever transformed with two sets of flames, in two different colors—House of Kolor Apple Red Kandy and Orion Silver. If you've ever wondered how flames are done or if you’re ready to add some to your truck, this story is for you.

Arriving at Westcoast Racecraft, in Phoenix, Scott Bevan began the paint prep process by first disassembling the truck, wet-sanding the body, wiping down the body with a tack rag, and then taping off the areas that were not to be painted.
Arriving at Westcoast Racecraft, in Phoenix, Scott Bevan began the paint prep process by f
Then it was time for "Bigg" Mike Royall, of Airbrushzone, to step in and start working his magic based off of the supplied rendering.
Then it was time for "Bigg" Mike Royall, of Airbrushzone, to step in and start working his
Using fine 3M green tape, Mike began laying out...

...the flame pattern on the hood and sides.
Typically, Mike would then use large sheets of paper and chalk to leave an impression of the flame pattern (from the taped-off edges) and then place the paper on cardboard and go back and use a pounce wheel on the paper to leave small holes for the flame pattern outline. The paper is then transferred onto the truck and powder is applied to the paper and it seeps through the pounce wheel punctures. This in turn creates an identical flame pattern on the other side of the truck to be taped off. For this Yukon however, he opted to go freehand on each side.
Typically, Mike would then use large sheets of paper and chalk to leave an impression of t
With the flame pattern recreated on the hood and sides...

...Mike began laying the secondary flames that will be painted silver and will appear to be behind the candy red primary flames.
...Mike began laying the secondary flames that will be painted silver and will appear to b
One of Mike's tricks of the trade is to slightly scratch the primary flame pattern into the basecoat with an X-Acto knife.
One of Mike's tricks of the trade is to slightly scratch the primary flame pattern into th
This allows a sharp edge to be present in the basecoat after the first color is applied and makes differentiating the silver areas and areas that need to be taped off for the red flames much easier.
This allows a sharp edge to be present in the basecoat after the first color is applied an

Once he had scratched the primary edges into the basecoat, Mike applied large sheets of tape and then proceeded to squeegee it flat onto the body, eliminating bubbles.
Once he had scratched the primary edges into the basecoat, Mike applied large sheets of ta
He could then start weeding out the flame pattern to be sprayed silver. The areas masked off are the areas that will remain the original basecoat silver. It may look tricky, but all the areas not covered in tape will receive the House of Kolor Orion Silver.
He could then start weeding out the flame pattern to be sprayed silver. The areas masked o
Mike was now ready to move onto the actual painting process. For best results, he used paint products exclusively from House of Kolor, with the primary colors being Orion Silver, Apple Red Kandy, and ample amounts of Mini Silver Flake.
Mike was now ready to move onto the actual painting process. For best results, he used pai