Part One: Flame On!
1. Before any tape was stuck to the truck, the paint was scuffed with 400-grit paper. This provides the proper tooth for the new paint to bite and allow for proper adhesion. After consulting with Jason about design ideas, Blake laid down a centerline and started the negative flames. These will stay body color and only receive an outline with pinstriping paint, but they still need to be laid out entirely before moving on to the second set. | 
2. Blake used 1/4-inch fine-line tape for the initial design because the tape will bend around the curves instead of bunching up like wider tape does. The main reason Jason wanted a dual set of flames was the front-end color. The double set allowsyou to retain the base color on the grille and bumper. If he had chosen a single set, the whole front end would end up being silver. To make that all work, Blake had to design the flames to not only flow down onto the fender but also cover the whole front. | 
3. After the driver side was complete, a transfer pattern needed to be made to duplicate the flames on the other side of the truck. A piece of masking paper large enough to cover all the tape was used. Blake used the centerline laid earlier to position the paper so he can flip it over and line it up on the other side later. |
4. With the paper tapped down, Blake scribbled a crayon back and forth over the area. The crayon leaves a darker line when it crosses over the tape, producing a perfect outline of the tape stuck to the hood. | 
5. The paper was removed from the hood and laid atop a piece of cardboard. A pounce wheel is used to punch holes along the lines. A pounce wheel looks like scaled down version of a spur - you know, like the cowboys wore back in the day. The holes are the key to transferring the design. They allow a marking powder to pass through the paper and leave a dotted line. | 
6. Here, Blake is tapping a small bag filled with a pink powder (like baby powder) over the pattern. As we mentioned earlier, the powder will pass through the holes left by the pounce wheel and stick to the truck. Blake flipped the pattern over to create a perfectly symmetrical design. |
7. Here you can see the dotted line left by the pouncing technique. Now Blake can just follow the dotted line and make a perfect copy of the driver side. | 
8. There are two ways to complete the masking of the negative flames. One method is to use an assortment of wider tapes to fill in the middle of the design. The second is to use a roll of quick mask to cover everything and then come back and cut out what you don't need. Blake prefers to use the quick mask over straight tape. He said it works faster and produces better results. | 
9. Using a razor knife, Blake cut through the quick mask, being careful not to cut all the way through the tape below. All he wants to do is score the quick mask, not cut a trench in the hood. |
10. Because these flames are negative, the outside edge of the tape is what matters,so the tips need to be shaped with the razor knife. | 
11. With the negative set all masked off, Blake proceeded to lay out the second set. Once he completed the driver side, Blake used the same pouncing technique to duplicate the design on the other side. | |