When I did a duco finish, I sprayed the center paint (silver in my case) first, then sprayed the black over it. Was pretty easy on a bike wheel turntable; just give it a spin & spray. The spinning really helps with runs, & causes it to set up quicker, it seemed.

I tried spraying lacquer thru my hvlp spray rig & a bunch of other stuff; got my best finish with rattle cans of regular paint, with a clear topcoat........marko

A Lazy-Susan set-up is a must to get good results. I used an old turntable with a board on top to hold the shell. 16 RPM spins the shell at just the right speed. You'll get a better fade where the colors meet if the shell is spinning when you apply the paint. I'm with Marko, I got excellent results with Krylon rattle-can paints.

John

This was also a question I had for a "future project" for me. I love the turn table idea John. I thought about turning a lazy Susan with a small motor but seemed like too much effort to build it, hence the back burner for an attempt. I have a few old wood MIJ shells I will experiment on. Thanks to Jay for bringing this up.

Michael

I think I'd paint the whole thing white first, then gold/silver, then the black.

Turntable is a nice idea but I've had some not-incredibly-terrible results running around the shell hollering "this is the way to do it!!"

That's a lie of course, but I'd still hit the shell with white first...

Mitch

I got a friend of mine to paint a WFL shell kit for me. He is an expert at matching and spraying. He primed/ sanded 3 times before applying the black. 3 coats of that with wet sanding in between. then he mixed the gold and applied it in thin coats. Acrylic paint, lazy susan gets you the best results and no rushing between coats.

drumfx,

I'd ask for my money back from your painter friend, those are absolutely hideous.;)

Hihi and they sound even worst than they look :D...

Mike, You can pick up a cheap turntable at Goodwill for $5. I drilled a center hole in a piece of ply wood so it would sit on the turntable and hold the shell. With the spin motion the drum literally paints itself. You'll need a steady hand but you'll get pro results.

John

I have a snare shell I tried to do some years back and it never panned out. I think I'll use that as my tester since It's mine. Only last real question is this - Do I place some tape to avoid gold going to far up or down on the shell? Or visa Versa for the black if Gold is done first?