2007 Toyota Tundra - Hammerstrike Paint Project

A couple issues ago, we gave an '07 Toyota Tundra a Fantastic Four transformation but the story doesn't end there. The Tundra belongs to Thor-not the god, but the maker of riding gear for the motocross market. It's a company with an epic reputation in the moto market that wanted a truck with a little urban flavor to flash its logo around town. Not wanting to settle for a vinyl wrap or similarly easy solution, Thor tapped the painters at Kelly & Son in Bellflower, California.Kelly & Son made the truck available to us for the Fantastic Four makeover. After that, Kelly & Son gave us the heads up about the truck's pending paintjob, so we thought we would shoot some pics. So here we are, with a paint tech story for you.

At first, we were skeptical of Kelly & Son's choice of colors for this project. Mitch Kelly mixed Crystal Black with Silver Star, both from PPG's Vibrance Collection, to get various shades of gray and silver, and kept some of the factory Tundra black. These are three colors one wouldn't expect to explode from the page ... but, this is the paint shop that gave us the candy orange and black Project Intimidator that we ran in our paint and body issue. Mitch Kelly and the rest of the guys at Kelly & Son-Tom, Jon, Shaggy, Brandon, and Jesse-are no slouches. Everyone involved made black, silver, and gray look pretty-darn good. Here's how they did it.

Our Tundra began with factory black paint, which was retained as the base color for the custom paintjob. Here, you see Mitch Kelly hamming it up for the camera as he color-sands the factory paint in preparation for another color. Sanding was done with a Quickcut sander and 600-grit SM paper. Afterwards, he wiped the freshly sanded paint with a tack cloth to make sure that it was nice and clean. You'll notice, too, that before this point the truck was masked to protect the parts in preparation for the next step.
Our Tundra began with factory black paint, which was retained as the base color for the cu
A darker blend of Crystal Black and Silver Star was shot onto the cab, tapering along the side of the body, and covering part of the hood, including a Thor logo stencil on the hood that you can't see in this photo.
A darker blend of Crystal Black and Silver Star was shot onto the cab, tapering along the
Then, the paper was pulled off and the side graphic was outlined with quick and careful applications of tape that were then trimmed to a perfect point.
Then, the paper was pulled off and the side graphic was outlined with quick and careful ap

A stencil of the Thor logo was applied to the doors.
Then, the sides were masked again in preparation for the application of more custom gray and silver paint onto part of the body graphic, and the surface was wiped down.
Then, the sides were masked again in preparation for the application of more custom gray a

Mitch shot a brighter, shimmery mix of black and silver to color the graphic and the Thor logo.
Mitch shot a brighter, shimmery mix of black and silver to color the graphic and the Thor
He wasn't finished, though. More tape was applied to prep another part of the graphic for color and more paper was applied to all sides to ready the truck for the next round of paint.
He wasn't finished, though. More tape was applied to prep another part of the graphic for
...and more paper was applied to the sides to ready the truck for the next round of paint.

Then, Mitch shot a gray blend of black and silver, which is darker than the silvery graphic, yet lighter than the gray blend used elsewhere. He laid that paint onto the exposed portions of the sides, graphics, part of the front, and the tailgate.
Then, Mitch shot a gray blend of black and silver, which is darker than the silvery graphi
Here, you can see the results, so far. Check out how the lines angle across the the side of the truck, and see how the Thor logo pops. More layers were shot here and there to place a Thor logo on the tailgate and a Toyota Logo across the rear quarters of the truck (we don't show this, however you can see the end result later in this story). Once all was said and done, Mitch shot PPG 41010 Clear and 3520 Hardener that mixes four-to-one with no thinner. He said this combination creates very little shrink-back and there is no solvent pop. He credits the screw-type Kaeser air compressor for its ability to remove oil and moisture from the air, which prevents fisheye effects on the paint.
Here, you can see the results, so far. Check out how the lines angle across the the side o

Here are the details on the hood of the finished project. Note the factory, black basecoat sandwiched by the dark gray and silver blend that also colors the abstract Thor logo.
Here are the details on the hood of the finished project. Note the factory, black basecoat
A better view of the graphics on the side of the truck. Black and gray never looked so good, right?
A better view of the graphics on the side of the truck. Black and gray never looked so goo
Here are close-ups of the Thor graphics. The first is painted on the C-pillars, while the second is on the doors.
Here are close-ups of the Thor graphics. The first is painted on the C-pillars, while the

Toyota's logo is faded into the sides of the truck bed in an understated, but still obvious, presentation.
Toyota's logo is faded into the sides of the truck bed in an understated, but still obviou
Here are more tailgate details.

From The Driver Seat

This was a routine project for Kelly & Son. It was amazing to see what could be done with gray, silver, and black. Mitch applied multiple layers of different shades, while checking them as he went along in order to manipulate the colors. If you know what you are doing, we suppose a paintjob like this isn't horribly difficult to execute, and fewer colors and less intricate graphics made the design of this paintjob easier. It's a great project for a shop that is on the go.

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Time Spent Working:	20 hours
Mechanical Difficulty	Advanced

Tools Used: A paint booth, a Sata spray gun, Kaeser air compressor for the spray gun, respirator masks, Quickcut sanders, 600-grit paper, Scotch-Brite pads, rolls of 18-inch-wide paper, masking tape, and handtools.

Coatings Used:PPG Vibrance Silver Star Basecoat 908418PPG Vibrance Crystal Black 908419PPG 41010 ClearPPG 3520 Hardener

Total Cost: