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The Return Of The Flamed
Beast
Randy Corson's New Liberator Tunnel - Part One
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Randy's
Original "Flamer" featured
here in June of 2002 |
After the basecoat layers are complete and sanded down, the first sets of
flames are taped. This is where real attention to detail matters. Being
precise here is crucial, and Randy invests six full days to tape the first
set of flames. There will be a total of three sets of flames to complete
this project. that each
set of flames takes 61/2 days to tape. This does not include masking,
spraying, and sanding.
After each set of flames is sprayed (in varying colors of marbleized pearls)
three heavy layers of clearcoat are applied, and then block-sanded down to
make the entire surface smooth.
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Yellow Is Out: The original color
scheme called for a final flamed pattern in yellow, as seen here.
After some consideration, Randy replaced the yellow with blue flames,
which better matched his vision for this project. |
Between coats and after the painting process follows many hours of sanding
with an 800-grit DA sander and hand blocking. “The sanding and buffing
takes about three days. After the wet sanding, I buff the boat with a heavy
grit rubbing compound, from there I use a polishing compound with a coarse
foam pad, after that, I buff with a final finish compound with a soft foam
pad, and finally, I wax my ass off!”
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A
Slow Process:
Cutting stencils that were traced off the left side to match them on
the right. Same process as in earlier flames. The right side photo
shows the third set of flames masked off and ready for paint.
Each
set of flames takes 6 1/2 days to tape. This does not include masking,
spraying, and sanding |
Left: Buffing
the finish:
The sanding and buffing takes about three days.
After the wet-sanding, the boat is buffed with a heavy grit rubbing
compound, after that polishing compound is used with a coarse foam
pad. The third step is a buffing with a final finish compound with a
soft foam pad. Finally, the finish is waxed.
Right:
The
final wet-sanding of the clear prior to buffing. The finish is
wet-sanded with 600 grit, then 1000 grit sandpaper.. Many people think
that sanding with 2000 grit is the best way to go, but all this does
is give you shiny orange peel. The 600 is needed to knock down the
orange peel flat. |
"After
the sanding I tape out the flames and mask. Then I spray clear adhesion
promoter again. For this hull, I used House of Colors pink in the front,
blending back into hot pink. I generally use three or four coats in this
step. Then I spray on another coat of Intercoat clear to protect the fade.
Now for the pearlcoat. I spray one wet coat of House of Colors silver
marbleizer. While it is still wet (you have up to two minutes) I use an
appropriate item to create a marbleized look. This is usually done with
Saran Wrap, although I used a wadded up plastic grocery bag. Whichever you
choose, simply dab it on in all different ways. Over the silver marbleizer,
apply two to three coats of candy pink topcoat. Once again, apply two more
coats of Intercoat clear. The picture of the marbleizer was taken before
the candy pink was applied. So far, it's taken nine work days to get to this
point."
Here is Randy's list of groceries for this job – casual do-it-yourselfers
need not apply!
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5 gals thinner-for
cleanup |
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2 quarts Bulldog
adhesion promoter |
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1 box 400 grit DA
paper |
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40 sheets various
grits of wetsand paper |
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14 rolls fineline
tape |
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15 rolls 2 inch
masking tape |
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4 rolls of 3/4 inch
masking tape |
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1 roll 36 inch
masking paper |
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1 roll 12 inch
masking paper |
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25 razor blades |
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1 quart of pink pearl |
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1 quart of hot pink
pearl |
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1 quart of purple |
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1 pint blue base |
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1 quart of pink candy |
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1 pint violet candy |
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1 pint of purple
candy |
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1 pint of blue candy |
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2 quarts of silver
marblizer |
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5 quarts of Intercoat
clear |
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4 1/2 gallons of
urethane clear |
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2 quarts of heavy
grit rubbing compound |
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1 quart of polishing
compound |
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1 pint high polish
compound |
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8 two-inch pile
buffing pads |
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5 1/2 weeks of
patience! |
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...and a little over
$1300 |
What's In Store
For Part Two:
Part Two of this
series will feature the rigging process of this boat, including custom
fiberglass work, special rigging hardware, and custom flamed paintwork on
the Mercury 2.5 liter engines.
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Contact Information |
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Custom
Body Works/Liberator Boats of Florida
3670 Jackson St. Port Orange, Fl. 32129
Phone:386-761-8050 days or 386-788-4378 nights.
Email:
liberatorboats@yahoo.com |
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