DIY Spectraflame Paint

I have been wanting to try my hand at a Spectraflame paint job for quite some time. However, I did not want to go down the airbrush rabbit hole. Good news I finally found a different solution that offers similar results. Below is the three step process of creating your own spectraflame paint job.

Step 1. Sanding: This is the step that takes the most time but is the most important. I start with 320-400 grit sand paper to remove the casting lines. Then I move to 600-800 grit to start smoothing out everything. Finally, I move to steel wool starting and "0" and ending at "0000".

Step 2. Polishing: I just started using the Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish shown below with a "bullet" style buffer on my Dremel on the low RPM setting. (I bought mine at Walmart for about $6) Use a liberal amount of the polish to make sure that you do not cause burn marks. Also make sure to wear eye protection and a grungy shirt this stuff gets everywhere.

View gallery image

Step 3. Painting: The paint that I used for mine was Krylon Stained Glass - Tangerine and Soft Blue. I bought mine at my local Ace Hardware for about $7. Micheal's also carries Red, Green and a darker Blue for about $10 or less if you use a coupon. The key is to use very light coats and about wait about 20 minute dry time between coats. I used about 5-6 coats on with the Blue and about 8-10 with the Orange. To get a darker or deeper color just apply more coats.

It is very difficult to get proper pictures of the final results but here you go.

This is a mock up of my Hot Wheels Redline McLaren M6A resto-mod that I am working on.

This is a mock up of my Hot Wheels Redline McLaren M6A resto-mod that I am working on.

Thanks for reading, I hope you learned a thing or two from this quick DIY write-up.