Get Shorty Paint Job - Project Get Shorty

When it comes to duplicating unique points of interest, a good idea is to create a pattern.

From there, cut out your pattern and place it in the desired spot and trace the area with a grease pencil. Then all that's left is to follow your trace with some Fine Line.

Like I've said before, I'll try anything once. True to my word I warded off evil spirits from naysayers and tried my hand at layout. I followed my own notes and this is what I came up with for the tailgate. Tech stories really do help!

After the graphics were laid out, I then used wax and grease remover to remove the grease pencil markings. From there I proceeded with more masking, being sure to leave only the scallops exposed.

At this point it is time to lay down the House Of Kolor Pagan Gold and UFC-35 Kosmic Klear (three coats of clear). Remember what I said about kandy colors in Part One? The amount of kandy laid down will influence the color's hue, therefore shoot accordingly. By the way, you want to try and do your layout, masking, and painting as quickly as possible. The longer you wait, the greater the chances are of the paint bleeding.

Take your time removing tape and paper! Tearing into things like it's Christmas morning can cause all kinds of damage, including pulling off paint. When it comes to pulling tape you want to slowly pull into the painted area. This method will actually "cut" the paint at the break in colors while you remove the tape. Once the tape is removed wet-sand the area with 1,000-grit sandpaper. It doesn't need to be perfect, just a little past scuffed up.

Regardless of how you go about it, there is going to be a break in the paint where two colors come together. Therefore, an ideal solution (plus it adds some pop) is to lay down some pinstriping along that line. Pinstriping can either be laid down before or after the final coats of clear. (Pinstriping under the clear looks cleaner, and is recommended if possible.) I had local Tulsa, Oklahoma, pinstriper, Ron Meyers lay down some lines before the final coats of clear.

Next up, the entire truck was wiped clean with a tack cloth and the final six coats of HOK UFC-35 Kosmic Klear were laid down.

Notice how rough and grainy-especially in the reflection of the fluorescent light-the finish is. The most common term for this is orange peel, for the obvious reason. It's because of this that cutting and buffing is needed.

The final steps kick off with more sanding. Follow the instructions put forth in Part One and only use the sponge block. Begin with 1,000-grit. This will knock out the majority of the orange peel.

The 1,500-grit will remove the scratches left from the 1,000-grit, and the 2,000-grit will do the same to the 1,500-grit scratches. Make sure to check your progress periodically by cleaning the areas with the California T-bar squeege and remember that the clear will be easier to cut through where the pinstriping has been laid down.

The last step is buffing, which is what removes all the sanding scratches and polishes the finish to a high, glossy sheen. Three pads will be needed: a 3M Perfect-It wool cutting pad and two 3M sponge-waffle pads. (I use the black waffle polish pads, but 3M does offer several other styles.)

I recommend a dual-sided wool pad, and waffle pads with soft-lips on them. These pads are more forgiving when it comes to burn through. Burn through is when you "catch" an edge and literally burn through the clear down into the basecoat. Not good.