Palm Tree GT
All pictures are © ronsterart 1999, do not copy any of this page without permission from the webmaster.| Featuring the water base Lexan paint by Faskolor & custom graphics from the webmaster. |
| This was a custom paint job from the begining...one of a kind, so I had to show a few techniques that I used to make it. All of which are very simple, but maybe a little time consuming.
This palm tree was designed with green masking tape on a special cutting board, then transfered to the truck. All of the details in the leaves were not cut out until the masking was put on the truck...otherwise it would be to flimsy and difficult to put on. Notice the headlights and grill are masked. No sticker kit came with this top :( |  |
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| After everything is masked I start with the dark color...black. I basically put a glow around every line and faded it to solid on the back of the truck. |
| After the black is somewhat dry I shot some Faskolor purple on. I normally paint a color in 3 coats. The first is a very light dusting just to seal down all the edges in the masking and create a good base, then I follow up with a few more coats until no light shows through...drying inbetween with a hair-dryer. Be careful not to shrink your masking because it will lift a few edges and cause the color to bleed underneath. |  |
| I sprayed the neon red next. Notice the paper used in the top picture to keep the paint from overspraying onto the other flame. This is what seperates the amateurs from the experience painters. I put a horizon across the headlights and grill & made the special tips on the palmtree red. Neon red takes several coats to make it red instead of pink. Next I painted in the neon yellow...taking several coats to make it opaque. |  |
| To make sure the neon colors stand out...I back them with white...this will also protect the color when I paint in the palm tree and the bottom stripe. For the tree I wanted something a little different, so I custom mixed some paint together to come up with a bright lime. I sprayed the tree and the strip solid with that color. Then I was thinking with all that work creating the masking...I gotta do something else with it. So before I put the white behind it to brighten things up I sprayed some stock green around the outside of the palm tree and at the back of the truck on the line. This will make a very subtle and smooth fade. Finished off with a bright white backing and removed the window masking. |
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| Notice how smooth the fade on the palm tree and the strip at the bottom of the truck is & how the pearl purple lookes like blue in some light angles. Overall I think this one turned out pretty smooth...I hope this helps someone paint their next rig. Later. |
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