: I think for the large maple leaf I am ok with a flatter layout. I
: have since modified my art idea after taking to Linda a little.
: She thinks the remaining real maple leaves I have on the deck do
: not look very good anymore since they have let go a little from
: the epoxy and looking kinda spotty. I think she is right so I am
: thinking to sand them out and to either create more metal flake
: maples leaves of a smaller size to replace the real ones or to
: create a pattern using a fleur-de-lis, Metis symbol and the big
: metal flake embedded maple leaf. The Metis infinity symbol can
: be "yellow" or
: "white-with-a-royal-blue-background" while the
: fleur-de-lis is a royal blue color. I am thinking of using
: automotive paint and the metal flake to do the fleur-de-lis on
: the front deck, then letting its blue color bleed to the rear of
: the kayak along the sheer panel and flow into the Metis symbol
: with a few flame-like spikes flowing out of the sheer panel
: wherever I am inspired to make 'em go. The blue color would then
: flow further to the rear and basically fill in the knob ends of
: the sheer panels as per Nick's design. This would create a
: fairly flashy final appearance but maintain my trademark logos,
: all symbols previously mentioned. This project is turning into
: something fairly bigger than I originally thought. That said, I
: haven't started my new job yet so I have time to make it work.

: Robert N Pruden

This sounds like a great project for paint, rather than epoxy.

Finish the base epoxy to protect the wood, then do the details in paint using masks and a sprayer. That way you can use metal flake auto paints, get fast cure times, and clearcoat on top to UV Protect. Be a lot faster than trying to color and apply epoxy, and you can get some really nice gradual fades from one color to another if that's what you are shooting for.

You could even apply metal flake in a clearcoat to specific areas after the color coat was done, and have an even metal flake over all the 'flaked areas if that was something you wanted. Otherwise each color area might have it's own directional properties. LPHV (low pressure high volume) sprayers have really come down in price, too. An airbrush could be used for fine details if needed. Just takes a little practice to get the flow control down.

StephenHJ
(Ex-graphic artist - used to LOVE playing with my airbrush...)