If you’ve followed our flame article series, you’ll appreciate that there is a lot of planning, creative energy and pure talent involved in laying down a COOL set of HOT licks. We’ve been fortunate to see it all in its entirety and to photograph the entire process.

Speaking about the entire process, there is one critical step remaining. Specifically, outlining the flames with pinstriping. While this is not a mandatory step, pinstriping provides definition and an edge to further define the boundry of the flames. As you’ll see, it will complete the design and help to emphasize the shadow. Pinstriping flames is also a traditional way to finish the flame job.

Like the colour of the flames themselves, the pinstriping can be any number of colours. However, Ron has suggested process blue as the correct accompaniment and we agree.

When you reflect on the entire process so far, you could, in theory, have 3 artisans involved in the process. That is, the designer, the layout artist and the painter. The pinstriping artist would be the fourth.

Equipment for this step is minimal – a small Russian squirrel pinstriper’s brush and the House of Kolors striping urethane paint. We should mention that before the pinstriping went down, the flames were sealed under a coat of clear by Dave Bell and then sanded.

Ron loads his brush with thinner then paint and then brushes the paint out on phonebook paper to distribute the paint into the brush and get rid of excess. With a very steady hand, he contacts the surface and lays down a stripe in one continuous movement. He reloads his brush and the process continues. As with the other steps, this is amazing to watch. With few corrections Ron moves from lick to lick and inner to outer curve.

Ron touches down on the hood first and heads for the first curve.

The effect is immediately apparent.

When striped on both sides, the tips are solid blue - nice.
Ron will return to the gaps after the job is finished and wrap the pinstripe inside.

Half the hood done. As I said above, the benefit of the pinstripe is obvious.

A side by side comparison.

Striping requires being able to conform to all sorts of positions
while maintaining accuracy, flow and consistency.

Speaking of consistency, check out the consistent width here.

Ron completed this lick from tip to inner curve in two strokes.

This photo provides a good comparison of two licks with drop
shadows and the difference that the pinstripe makes.

Here's a side before striping.

The other side partially completed.
Note: Ron couldn't get at the bottom front of the hood side so we had to take it off.

This was a lot easier for Ron (obviously).
The bottom lick is very close to the bottom edge of the hood side.

Completed and back on.
At this point, Ron completed the job by doing all the gaps.

Scroll up nine pics for a comparison with the half finished hood.

What can we say? An awesome job.
Can't wait to see it under clear.