Red Camaro, orange Camaro, blue Mustang-is this you? We look at 5,000 cars during the Car Craft Summer Nats alone, so we've seen every type of paint job imaginable. The musclecar hobby is making a huge comeback since the import scene ebbed a bit, so that means more competition at car shows for that glittering trophy (if you are into that sort of thing) and more guys vying for that crowd of dudes offering street cred.
Pete Santini has been painting cars since the late '70s. Inspired by the choppers of that era, his art is combination hot rod and outlaw biker. His office has several cool helmets and tanks on display. The shop is smeared with color. | 
The test subject is a '69 Impala that is going to get a blue candy top with some metalflake accents. We're thinking this would look good on a rear valance or as a highlight on the roof if the car is painted all one color. We saw a metalflake job on a dashboard that was so subtle we almost missed it, and we think firewalls and SS stripes would look cool with flake as well. Our cars are from the '60s too; why do the choppers get to have all the fun? |
The surface prep for metalflake jobs is the same as any other paint job. If you are spraying over existing color you'll need to scuff it with 600- to 1,000-grit paper to kill the gloss. If you are working with bare metal, use some primer/filler, block-sand it with 320-grit paper, and finish with the finer grit. | |
Last summer the things that got the most attention, aside from ludicrous power from surging big-blocks, were interesting and different applications of hot rodding mainstays, most notably custom paint. Now let's not get crazy here; we're not talking full candy glitter and murals of nekkid Aztec warriors enjoying the lamentations of the women. We are suggesting you use techniques from other motor-vehicle cultures in small doses to sweeten up your ride. Just don't overdo it.
Since we've only heard of such techniques and never really tried them, we called Pete Santini of Santini Paint and Body Werkes in Westminster, California, to get a lesson on something that isn't just a coat of base and a coat of clear. Please use sparingly.
What about metallics?
The difference between metallic paint and metalflake, as Santini puts it, is "the difference between fine sugar and the chunky healthy stuff." If you want to see stuff in the paint, use metalflake; if you want a little more shine, use metallic. "If you want chocolate milk, put chocolate in the milk," says Santini.