Custom Painted Flames – The Fire Still Burns – Tech
Last month we took you deep inside the Martinez Custom Paint and Design facility in Orange, California, as Danny Martinez laid out a real fire paint job on a ’05 Fire Fighter edition Road King. Danny started with several layers of House of Kolor (HOK) Blue Blood Red basecoat, then laid out the rest of the paint scheme, which would be a mix of real fire and traditional flames.
If you missed out last month, here’s a refresher on real fire. It’s a style in which the flames are so realistic it looks as though they are actually burning across the paint. The process is based on laying down layer upon layer of transparent flames. The base layers are the darker hues then you build upon each layer with the lighter “hotter” colors. The flames are sprayed with an airbrush by freehand as well as utilizing pre-formed flame patterns to get crisper edges. In between the layers of flames, several hues of kandy colors are sprayed which, in conjunction with the layers of flames help give the overall effect more depth and realism.
With the real fire finished all that was left was to outline the negative traditional flames with some pinstriping, spray the clear coat, buff everything out, and then bolt it back onto the bike.