bare metal effect in paint

Hello I was wondering how you go about prepping the metal and getting bare metal flames to show in paint.

1st. qustion what methods are there to get cool effects in the metal ie... wire brush,sander etc...

2nd question I understand how to get the effects in the metal but how do you keep the sourounding area around the flames or object you want smooth so the body looks smooth. Where the flames are the metal has a rough finish to get the desired effect.

3rd I take it you prep the metal tape the flames off then spray your base color then remove the tape pinestripe it then clear it correct. would you need to etch the metal with anything prior to clearing.All Help is greatly appreciated.Thank you, Scott

Hear is an example of what Im trying to accomplish.

^^^ IM DIGGIN THAT ^^^^ - NICE PAINT WORK !!!

My old Datsun has a bare metal iron cross on the corner of the hood- I know, it's outdated now, but it was the SHIT a few years back! We ground that whole area down to metal, used a DA with 80 grit to get the swirly effect, taped off the pattern we wanted, then painted the rest of the truck like normal. When we went back for clear, we laid on extra coats in that area to build it up, then pinstriped the edges to hide the paint edge. I don't think you can do a clean bare metal to paint transition without pinstriping, as there's a height difference and you'll get a noticable edge where the paint ends.
Good luck, and be sure to post up pics when you get it done!

-Phil at FBI

I knew I had a picture somewhere-

theres a forum in the craig frasiar section called clearing over bare metal. It looks badass but make sure you prep the metal really well or it will rust through the clear (will happen eventually anyway but later on)

I forgot to mention that. After sitting outside for the past four years, tiny rust spots are finally starting to show on the metal! I don't know if there's any way to stop it from happening, so be prepared to re-do whatever you do at some point!

Thanks phil for the info that maltese looks really cool. The one question I still have is after you grind the metal to the desired effect then you go on to tape what you want bare. under the tape that you want bare the metal will not be smooth because you ground it to get your desired effect. Do you just build up the paint to hide the roughness or is there a better method.
Thank you, Scott