1955 Chevy Bel Air - Bellflower Bel Air

I then laid out the center pattern freehand, mimicking the hood bird's shape.

Here, the upper and lower fender scallops are taped, each 2 inches wide.

By the time I finished laying out the quarter-panels, roof, and trunk, I had peeled off quite a bit of tape that just didn't suit the eye. I think I went through six or seven rolls of fine-line tape.

I then wiped down the entire ball of wax with 3M adhesive cleaner.

Here's the starter paint kit from Summit Racing. It consists of mixing containers, stirring sticks, a tack cloth, strainers, and an air line filter for the HVLP paint gun.

Masking paper is a must when doing such a project and is available in various diameter rolls from Summit Racing. Although it's tempting to save money and use newspaper, it's important to realize that newspaper is porous, allowing paint to "bleed through" and it also contains a good deal of lint that can blemish the painted surface.

Before applying the initial coat of primer, the entire scallop surface was scuffed using a Scotch-Brite pad.

The three parts to Summit's primer kit include the epoxy primer itself (PN SUM-SWSP210G), epoxy hardener (PN SUM-SWSH211), and VOC reducer (PN SUM-SWSS120G).

It caught me by surprise when it took nearly four hours to mask off the car, but 'tis the nature of the beast when doing such a project. Careful prepwork at this point makes for less work later.

Two coats of primer are all that's needed before we apply the color. I'm using an HVLP gun to apply both finishes.

Summit's Bomber Blue Metallic is the color I'll be using for the scallops, sans clearcoat. The basecoat (PN SHZ-SWBC517V) mixes two parts to one with the reducer (PN SHZ-SWBRV580Q), and 1 ounce of hardener (PN SUM-SWSH622Q) per quart; all of which are California VOC compliant.

After 24 hours of cure, I carefully peeled away the tape, always conscious to pull away from the layout to avoid peeling the finish.