COOL FLAMES

There’s a lot to like in every issue of Roddin’ Arizona—local car show coverage, feature cars, classifieds, upcoming events, and enough speed equipment ads to convince you that your hot rod really does need just one more part.

But Mike Shundo of Dewey, Arizona may have discovered the paper’s highest calling: masking paper for painting flames.

Back in his Southern California days, Mike was known as “Flamethrower,” painting flames on hot rods, customs and chopper tanks. These days he cruises Northern Arizona in a slammed and flameless white ‘48 Chevy. Apparently, he saves his flames for everyone else.

For their wedding anniversary, Mike decided to surprise his wife Diane by laying a set of traditional ‘60s-style flames on her little black 1931 Model A hot rod sedan. Since I’ve always wondered how hand-painted flame jobs are created, I asked if I could watch.

Out came a roll of 1/8-inch pinstriping tape and a stack of old Roddin’ Arizona papers.

Mike forms each flame freehand, guiding the tape with nothing more than his index finger. He steps back, studies the shape, peels it off, lays it down again, then repeats until every flame tip looks just right.

Once the flame layout is finished, he masks everything that shouldn’t get painted with green Frog Tape and, you guessed it, old issues of Roddin’ Arizona. They’re the perfect size for protecting doors, fenders and quarter panels. There is one drawback.

“I start noticing classifieds and feature cars I missed the first time,” Mike admitted. “Next thing I know I’m standing there re-reading the paper instead of painting.”

Eventually, after every page has been thoroughly read, the paint gun comes out. He uses a Binks HVLP spray gun. It features a high volume spray with a low air pressure knob that allows him to turn the spray fan way down like an airbrush which minimizes overspray.

Randy Knight of Auto Body & Paint Supply in Prescott Valley supplies the tapes and paint reducers and mixes Mike’s urethane colors to order. The bright yellow goes on first, followed by a fine mist of what Mike calls ”Red” red around the edges and flame tips to create depth.

Then comes the challenge of making both sides match. Mike explained that if the flames don’t mirror each other, anyone looking at the car from the front with both doors open will spot the differences immediately. That means a lot of walking from one side of the car to the other adjusting the flame shapes until everything looks balanced.

Then, just when everything looked perfect, disaster struck.

A fly landed in the fresh yellow paint, wandered around flapping its wings, and permanently signed the artwork.

Fortunately, Mike’s neighbor, Rat Fink artist Luiggi Luggnutz, came to the rescue. Instead of sanding and repainting the area, Luiggi transformed the tiny mishap into a mini-kustom kulture masterpiece on both sides by painting a Rat Fink holding a dripping ice cream cone in one hand and an oversized bat-winged eyeball balloon in the other. It’s exactly the kind of solution old-school customizers like Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, Larry Watson and Von Dutch would have appreciated.

When the masking finally came off, the flames still needed pinstriping. Out came Mike’s long-bristle striping brushes, a can of One Shot Lettering Paint – and once again those faithful back issues of Roddin’ Arizona. The printed pages became his mixing palette as he reduced and thinned the paint to just the right creamy consistency before pulling long, smooth Process Blue stripes around each flame.

A clear coat sprayed over the entire masterpiece sealed the deal and Diane’s immediate reaction to her newly flamed hot rod was “Cool.”

So if you happen to see her cruising around town in her wicked black ‘31, take a close look at those flames.

They’re beautifully painted, professionally pinstriped… and quite possibly the best-read flames in Arizona.