Everything you need to know and everything you need to do to have perfect paint on your specialty car. Whether it’s a concours-quality restoration or a ground-pounding hot rod, this book will fit your painting interests. The auto body and paint business is changing at an incredibly fast rate, mainly in response to environmental rules and regulations. This book emphasizes what parts of the job a hobbyist can, and should, do himself and what should be left to the pros.

Topics include:

• Tools, equipment, and safety
• Planning the paint job
• Environmental concerns; Types of paint and materials
• Removing trim
• Repairing damage/rust
• Prepping metal for paint/bodywork
• Applying fillers
• Applying sealers and primers
• Final paint options; custom paint options
• Custom graphics, flames, pinstriping
• Paint care and touchup

There are 275 color photos in this book.

Buy from Amazon
UK : How to Paint Your Car: Bk. M2583 (Motorbooks Workshop): 1 (Motorbooks Workshop)
US : How to Paint Your Car (Motorbooks Workshop)

Just Customz Review

When creating that head turning-jaw dropping project there is nothing that catches peoples attention more than a fantastic paint job. Unfortunately creating that awesome finish is often out of most peoples budget. This book is packed with photos and the latest information that will help the reader perform a lot of the manual labour and preparation or even spray the car themselves. The book covers a lot of information from buying the materials right through to spraying and finishing.

The book is divided into 11 easily digestible chapters each with lots of color photos supporting the text. The chapters are as follows;

• Automotive Painting Defined
• Automotive Paint Chemistry
• Supporting Products
• Tools, Materials, and Safety
• Bodywork
• Surface Preparation
• Masking
• Paint Application
• Extra Details
• Part Replacement and Reassembly
• Cleaning, Detailing and Maintaining

If you are looking to build a project on a tight budget (or even if you’re not) this book has lots of invaluable expert advice that will prevent the novice from falling into any unforeseen pitfalls that only an expert maybe aware of.

About The Authors

Dennis W. Parks began his professional publishing career as a freelance magazine photographer/writer in 1985. His work has been seen in more than 160 articles in Street Rodder, Rod and Custom, Hot Rod, Rodder’s Digest, Super Chevy, and Custom Classic Trucks, as well as several other publications. Dennis is the author of How to build a Hot Rod. Currently employed as a technical writer for a worldwide automotive service company, Dennis lives with his wife in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri.

David H. Jacobs Jr., has been busy writing books about different automotive topics since the 1980s. He like to talk to and hang out with experts in the field to learn how they best accomplish their work in automotive detailing, bodywork, painting, and the like. He appreciates and especially enjoys writing about their tips, advice, and tricks of the trade.

Even before the heyday of Von Dutch and Big Daddy, the ultimate way to personalize your car or motorcycle was to lay some wicked lines on top of the paintwork. Done with a steady hand and an eye for style, pinstripes speak volumes. In How to Pinstripe, acclaimed veteran striper Alan Johnson teaches you everything you need to know to get started, to further your mastery of the form, or to simply understand how a good design comes together. Following a primer on the history and evolution of pinstriping, this book launches into a step-by-step guide to the pinstriping process–from choosing paint and brushes that suit your style and abilities, to preparing surfaces, experimenting with symmetrical and asymmetrical designs, striping freehand, and using grids and patterns. While stressing the importance of finding your own style and having fun with the hobby, Johnson also explains the basics of color theory and unique considerations for antique and classic cars, hot rods and customs, and motorcycles. For more advanced pinstripers, there is also tried-and-true advice on apprenticing and working car shows. Illustrated with color photography throughout, How to Pinstripe is the perfect source for beginners and veterans alike.

Buy from Amazon
UK : How to Pinstripe (Motorbooks Workshop) (Motorbooks Workshop) (Motorbooks Workshop) (Motorbooks Workshop)
US : How To Pinstripe (Motorbooks Workshop)

Just Customz Review

In the foreword Roger Morrison says “In my opinion, a great pinstripper is like a sensitive piano accompanist for a solo vocalist. The piano supports and enhances the soloist’s performance without calling undue attention to him or herself.” which is very true of any good pinstripper. Alan Johnson has always produced some fantastic work which has enabled him to become Artisan of the pinstripping world.

The book covers all aspects of pinstripping from a brief look at the history, the tools required, design through to flames and inspiration. Every page in the book has one or two high quality pictures supporting the text to help the reader understand exactly what is being discussed.

While this book isn’t going to turn you into a pinstripping legend overnight it is certainly a good starting point and will give you the foundations to build on.

About The Author

Alan “AJ” Johnson caught the pinstriping bug at age 11, when his father took him to see Ed “Big Daddy” Roth at the New York Coliseum. After graduating from Newark School of Fine Industrial Art in 1968, Alan landed a job as art director at a New York City ad agency. In 1974 he moved his family to the country and started his own business, which still thrives today. Alan is also a consultant for automotive paint manufacturers and author of several how-to articles for trade periodicals. He has taught and demonstrated his pinstripping techniques throughout the United States, United Kingdom, and Finland. He recently launched his own line of signature brushes with The Mack Brush Company. Alan also offers his own limited edition prints of this unique American art form.

You can see more at http://www.alanjohnsongrafix.com.

Custom paint jobs are more popular than ever, and no form of custom painting is “hotter” than the flame job. This book will explain how to design the best-looking flames for a particular vehicle, how to transfer that design to the vehicle, and how to apply the paint. The process of painting the flames will be broken into major segments so that the reader can go as far as they feel their skills and confidence will allow.

- No other books focus exclusively on the art of painting flames
- Color photography and photo-heavy approach boost the visual appeal of the book
- Part of the fast-growing Motorbooks Workshop series.

Buy from Amazon
UK : How to Paint Flames (Motorbooks Workshop) (Motorbooks Workshop)
US : How To Paint Flames (How-To)

Just Customz Review

Whatever style of flames you are looking to paint on your customised vehicle this book will cover it. It includes painting of tribal flames, realistic flames, ghost flames and pinstripe flames in 16 extremely detailed chapters. The book starts with the basics such as design and inspirations through to the tooling that is required then 8 chapters showing the different flame styles and finally a chapter showing how to make those final finishing touches.

The Author, Bruce Caldwell, has been interested in the flame paint job since he was a young child and has pictures dating back to when he was 6 or 7 years old. Over the years he has painted many vehicles and this book aims to distill what he has learned to give the reader the right ingredients to feel confident in painting flames for the first time. The key things that he has learned are as follows;

• Design: The flames must be well designed.
• Flow: The resulting flames must be smooth and organic and have a natural movement.
• Color: The flames must be painted in a color scheme that works well with the vehicle that it is being painted onto especially if the flames are to be pinstriped.
• Tape: Masking off a good set of flames can take many attempts and the design shouldn’t be sacrificed for a few rolls of masking tape.
• Mistakes: Mistakes happen and this is usually what separates the professionals from the amateurs. Professionals will know how to fix them but hopefully this book will help.
• Clarity: A good clear top coat is the key to a fantastic paint job.
• Buffing: This is an art unto itself and is the point that the whole paint job comes alive.
• Striping: The majority of flame jobs are pin-striped as the final stage of the design that makes them appear to leap off the background paint.

This is a great resource for any budding artist or amateur looking to paint their first custom paint-job.

About The Author

Bruce Caldwell has been an automotive journalist and photographer since 1975 when he became and associate editor of Car Craft. He was feature editor at Hot Rod and editor of Chevy High Performance, Mustangs and Ford, Muscle Car review and Street Rod Quarterly. His work appears regularly in major truck, street rod, and performance car magazines. He has authored several automotive how-to-books. He lives with his wife in Woodinville, Washington.

Ford’s Mustang is the most popular American performance car of all time, and it’s supported by a huge aftermarket devoted to increasing its performance and improving its looks. Yet with all the parts available to the enthusiast, many owners are unsure how to go about modifying their car. That’s where Weekend Projects for Your Mustang comes in. It breaks 52 performance projects into doable chunks that the average enthusiast can manage in a single weekend. Projects include installing a supercharger, upgrading shocks, carbon fiber kits, and more. Each project is illustrated with clear step-by-step photographs to help the reader understand each step and captions that provide time-saving tips. Make your Mustang faster and better looking beginning this weekend!

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UK : Weekend Projects for Your Mustang 2005-today (Motorbooks Workshop)
US : Weekend Projects for Your Mustang 2005-Today (Motorbooks Workshop)

Just Customz Review

Dan Sanchez and Drew Phillips have written this book to accompany the massive amount of aftermarket products that are available for the latest Mustang since its launch in 2005. In all they have created a massive 52 projects to keep the reader going through the year. The book covers minor enhancements to the Mustang such as fitment of new body trim right through to some major work like installing a performance torque converter.

The book has 6 main sections which are:

• Engine
• Suspension
• Brakes, Wheels and Tires
• Drive-train
• Body and Exterior
• Interior

Each of the sections is sub-divided into a set of projects that can be performed and includes and estimate of the time taken, the cost, the skill level and the tools that will be required. In order to explain how to perform the task there are a series of pictures and short descriptive text. At the beginning of the project information there is also a useful sources section that can be used to locate the parts that are required which is something that is often overlooked in other books.

This is a great book for any Mustang owner that wants to improve the looks and performance of their car.

The trick parts and customizing magic used on the cars of The Fast and The Furious comes to sport compact car enthusiasts in this Universal Studios-licensed how-to book. Authored by Eddie Paul, the man who built the cars for The Fast and The Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious, this technical book shows how to transform a sport compact car into one of the flashy custom cars in the film. The book is a step-by-step how-to book, with color photographs taking the reader through the process of installing components and customizing parts. The 25 projects in the book include installing body kits and wings, installing high-end stereo and computer equipment, nitrous oxide kits, exhaust systems, applying graphic kits, selecting wheels and tires, installing underbody lighting kits, and much more.

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UK : The Fast and the Furious: 25 Hot Projects for Your Sport Compact Car (Motorbooks Workshop)
US : How To Build the Cars of The Fast and the Furious (Motorbooks Workshop)

Just Customz Review

There can’t be many car enthusiasts that aren’t familiar with the Fast and the Furious series. This book details how to create the cars of the Fast and the Furious with 30 projects that will change your car to a tuner car.

The book is written by Eddie Paul a former stunt man that has also created cars for xXx, Terminator 2, Gone in 60 seconds and Wild at Heart so he is writing from experience.

The book contains a blend of projects that you may want to undertake yourself or may want a professional to undertake depending upon your skill level. Each project has a 6 T guide associated with it to help the reader estimate the time and skill level required to perform the tasks. The 6 T’s are as follows;

1. Time : How long will it take to complete
2. Tools : What is needed to complete the project
3. Talent 1-5 : The skill level required
4. Tab: How much will it cost
5. Tip: A nice trick that will help the reader
6. Tech : What the desired outcome of the project is

The book is broken into 4 parts which are Tuner Basics, Interior, Exterior and Performance. The Tuner Basics part covers selecting a car to modify, designing the look and how to get your car in a movie. The Interior part covers the stereo system, plate flooring, gauges and roll-bars and cages. The Exterior part covers painting, graphics and body modifications. The final part, Performance, covers suspension tweaks, nitrous oxide, vertical doors and much more.

Although this is a smallish book it does cover a lot of topics in clear and concise way. There are lots of pictures to help the reader backed up by clear steps to complete the work.

Incidentally the Fast and the Furious collection can be bought from the following Amazon links;

Fast & Furious (2-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray]
2 Fast 2 Furious [Blu-ray]
Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift

If you are looking for free car wallpaper then please visitor the wallpaper section at Just Customz.

About the Author

Eddie Paul is a former Hollywood stuntman, special effects man, motorcycle fabricator, car builder, inventor, and president and CEO of five companies. He is the builder of cars and motorcycles in more than 100 feature films, including the Fast and the Furious, xXx and 2 Fast and the 2 Furious. He is also author of The Cars of the Fast and the Furious. Paul has appeared on the Discovery Channel show Monster Garage and has worked for Jacques Cousteau for seven years, as well as many of the biggest film producers in the world. When not busy on one of their projects, he and his wife Renee can be found riding their Boss Hoss motorcycles.

Whatever the vehicle – from classic hot rod to pick-up to chopper – a custom paint job sets it apart. But not all paint jobs are created equal, so how can you tell which style, technique, or scheme will suit the unique demands of your vehicle and budget?

Before making a big investment – whether you’re hiring a painter or doing the job yourself – turn to this book for a clear idea of what works and what doesn’t. Drawing on years of experience running her own custom painting shop,

JoAnn Bortles reviews the full array of options for paints, graphics, and effects. In an easygoing and engaging manner, and with photographs to illustrate her points, she explains the tools and techniques that apply in various paint schemes and shows what might work especially well in certain situations and for particular vehicles. Whether you’re looking for inspiration, considering color combinations or graphics, or simply wondering what to look for in a local paint shop, this book will answer your questions–and help you get the custom paint job that’s perfect for you.

Buy from Amazon

UK : Custom Painting Idea Book: Cars, Motorcycles, Trucks (Motorbooks Workshop): Cars, Motorcycles, Trucks (Motorbooks Workshop): Cars, Motorcycles, Trucks … Motorcycles, Trucks (Motorbooks Workshop)
US : The Custom Painting Idea Book: Cars, Motorcycles, Trucks

Just Customz Review

This is another superb book by JoAnn Bortles in the Idea book series. The book follows the same outstanding recipe as the other books in this series. Each of these books are highly visual and they are packed with stunning pictures guaranteed to inspire you.

The book is a good blend of motorcycle and custom car artwork ranging from the simple and effective to the more outrageous paintwork. JoAnn has broken the book into 15 easily digestible chapters which are as follows;

• What makes a great paint job
• How to choose your paint and painter
• Finding the right color
• Finding the most effective design
• Color and design
• Solid color as an Art Form: Motorcycles
• Solid Color as an Art Form:Cars and Trucks
• Flames and Motorcycles
• Flames on Cars, Trucks and Street Rods
• Graphics on Motorcycles
• Four-Wheeled Works of Graphic Art
• Murals on Motorcycles
• Murals on Four Wheels
• The very best

In the first chapter JoAnn outlines 5 simple rules to guide you in the custom design process. These rules are not only about the paint but what lies below the paint. After this she goes on to explain how you can select the right paint and painter for your vehicle. She explains the different kind of paints that are available and how they can accentuate the vehicle’s character in different ways. After this she covers the selection of the color and how colors complement each other with the use of a color wheel. The remaining chapters all give many examples of ideas that may help you decide on that jaw-dropping paintwork.

If you are thinking about painting you car and want to create a vehicle that will really stand out from the crowd then this book is a must.

About the Author

JoAnn Bortles is a nationally recognized and award winning custom painter. Her work has been featured in dozens of magazines and she has written four books on custom painting techniques for Motorbooks, including the best selling How to Master Airbrush Painting Techniques. She lives and works in Waxshaw, North Carolina, running her own custom painting shop, Crazy Horse Painting.

The ZZ Top frontman offers fans an exclusive look at his multifaceted interests and collections. Gibbons riffs on his childhood and adolescence in Texas, a recording career that has now spanned nearly four decades, and his life on the road, in which he has shared the stage with the likes of Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. The Good Reverend also profiles many of his favorite personal artifacts, revealing the tales behind dozens of guitars and outstanding rods, customs, and daily drivers, including Kopperhed, CadZZilla, and the Eliminator coupe.

Buy from Amazon

UK : Billy F Gibbons: Rock + Roll Gearhead
US : Billy F Gibbons: Rock + Roll Gearhead
Just Customz Review
There can’t be many car, guitar or rock enthusiasts that haven’t heard of ZZ-Top in most places in the world. This book is about Billy F Gibbons the ZZ-Top front-man and covers his life, cars, guitars and much more.

The first thing you’ll notice about this book is its size, it is a large hard-cover book packed with superb pictures documenting the life and passions of Billy F Gibbons’ (BFG) life. The book’s index reflects this very simply with only 3 chapters The Life, The Cars and The Guitars.

The first chapter entitled ‘The Life’ gives a fascinating insight into the life of BFG. He talks about how growing up in Texas strongly influenced the music that the create today and describes the music from the Texas/Mexico border as a kind of good, spicy hot soup which feeds his inspiration.

On every page of this chapter there are a couple of pictures ranging from the very early days (even beardless) to the modern day ZZ-Top we all recognise today.

The Cars chapter describes how BFG’s love affair with cars started when the won their first beat-up car from a local car dealer. One of his first cars was a 1960’s T-Bird “Desafinado” and was one of the 10 best customs in of the early 1960’s. From there he went onto build many other cars such as the Eliminator Coupe, Slampala and Kopperhed.

The Car chapter has lots of double page pictures of his most famous cars and bikes that will leave you feeling very envious!

The final chapter is dedicated to his other passion which is guitars. This chapter has a dazzling collection of BFG’s guitars from the mild to the extreme.

This is a great book and would be a good buy for any ZZ-Top, Car or Guitar enthusiast, the only problem maybe finding a shelf big enough to put it on.

The 1960s and early 1970s were the age of raw American automotive power. Whether it was a classic Hemi Cuda, Pontiac GTO, Charger, or Boss Mustang, big engines were king at local drag strips and cruises. Muscle Cars explores this era with a broad survey of classic muscle. Each chapter is organized around a theme (milestones, factory racers, etc), each model getting a four-page spread of full-color photography, performance stats, trivia, and more. Vintage advertisements, photos, and stories from the people who built and raced these amazing machines make the book a must-read for any fan of American muscle.

Buy from Amazon

UK : Muscle Cars (Gallery)
US : Muscle Cars (First Gear)

Just Customz Review

This book is aimed squarely at Muscle Car enthusiasts everywhere. The author and photographer Mike Mueller has packed the book from cover to cover with pictures of all the important Muscle Cars that have been built. The book consists of 5 sections broken down into logical sections which are Muscular Milestones, Factory Hot Rods, Lets Get Small, In Cahoots and Supreme Season. In each of these sections Mike details between 6 and 16 selected models with superb hi-resolution pictures and a short piece of text. Each car in each section also has a ‘Did you know?’ section with small interesting fact about the car that is currently being discussed.

Muscular Milestones

This section highlights the milestones in performance from the 1955 Chrysler C-300 through to the 1974 Pontiac Trans Am 455 Super Duty showing the battle that was fought between the various American car manufacturers to ensure muscle supremacy.

Factory Hot Rods

This section provides and insight into the process known as ‘homologation’ which is a derivative of the Greek homologous, roughly meaning ‘in agreement’. This was where a race version of a stock production car was made legal for road use.

During the 1950’s the NASCAR circuits were used as the battle grounds for these cars with Bill France’s circuit being a particular favourite. This section covers the 1962 Dodge Max Wedges 413 through to the 1970 Plymouth Superbird.

Lets Get Small

Small-block power was as good as it got in the pony car segment until market pressures from General Motors forced Ford and Plymouth to shoe horn big block engines into Mustangs and Barracudas in 1967. This section covers the 1966 Plymouth Barracuda Formula 5 through to 1970 Plymouth Duster 340.

In Cahoots

This section covers the small market that appeared to create hybrid cars by taking the engines from one car and transplanting them into another. The most notable of these were  Dana in California, Nickey in Chicago and Yenko in Pennsylvania. The cars covered here are the 1966 Shelby GT-350 through to 1969 Dodge Dart 440 GTS.

Supreme Season

This section rounds up the end of the muscle car era with the last Muscle Cars that were developed.

About The Author

Mike Mueller has worked as a freelance automotive photojournalist since 1991. A graduate of the University of Illinois’ journalism program, Mueller has held staff positions with Automobile Quarterly, Corvette Fever, Muscle Car Review, and Mustang Monthly, among others. A lifetime car enthusiast, Mueller has written and contributed to over fifty automotive books, including Motorbooks’ The Complete Book of Classic GM Muscle, The Complete Book Of Dodge And Plymouth Muscle, The Complete Book of Corvette and The Complete Book of Mustang. He resides in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Before beginning any custom car project, many choices must be made: body style, paint, upholstery, wheels and tires, engines, interior accessories, and more. By the end of the project, many thousands of dollars and hours will have been spent—and hopefully wisely. Before beginning your own custom car or hiring a builder, it pays to develop a vision for your car, how you want it to stand out, and what you want it to express.

In Custom Cars, noted author and moto journalist Alan Mayes explores each element of a custom car build in detail with hundreds of award-winning customs as examples. From postwar classics to more modern cruisers to complete custom builds, Mayes explains the various types of materials and styles available with hundreds of color photos to illustrate the challenges and benefits of each. Spend a little time designing your dream car with Alan Mayes’s Custom Cars and you’re sure to create a real head-turner.

Buy from Amazon

UK : Custom Cars: Coupes, Sedans, Pickups (Idea Books)
US : Custom Cars: Coupes, Sedans, Pickups (Idea Book)

Just Customz Review

I love this book – Alan Mayes has done it again with another superb book.

This is another book in the Motorbooks’ Idea Book series and follows the same winning formula. The books as the name suggests are aimed solely at providing the reader with inspiration for that next award-winning project. Some of the other titles we have reviewed are Hot Rods: Roadsters, Coupes, Customs and Automotive Custom Interiors Idea Book.

This book is divided into the 10 sections that are listed below;

1. Prewar Cars
2. 1949-1951 Fords & Mercurys
3. 1950s Cars
4. 1960s Cars
5. Show Rods, Trucks, & Late Models
6. Style & Flow
7. Chassis & Drive-trains
8. Front Ends
9. Rear Ends
10. Paint & Chrome

Alan Mayes works as managing editor for Car Culture Deluxe and Ol’ School Rodz during the day and in the introduction he explains his passion for Customised Cars. He also goes on to explain what, for him, makes the perfect custom car such as lowering and the various styles that are available.

The next 10 chapters all follow the same ingredients which are a short piece of descriptive text then lots of glorious pictures of some of the best customised cars around today. Each of the pictures is numbered and beside them is a couple of lines explaining why the picture has been included into this book.

This is an amazing book, in fact I may have to go and read it again….

About The Author

Alan Meyes is the managing director of ‘Old School Rodz and Car Kulture Deluxe, as well as author of Old School Hot Rods and Old School Choppers.

Since the 1960s, George Barris has been one of the world’s most famous car customizers, creating countless one-of-a-kind custom rides out of his North Hollywood shop. Given Barris’ proximity to Tinseltown, it was only natural that when the world’s most famous Hollywood celebrities wanted to have their cars customized, they turned to George. Barris Cars of the Stars features rare images of Barris with his celebrity clients and the custom cars he built for them, along with commentary and stories from the “King of Kustomizers” himself. Featured celebrities include such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, John Travolta, Sammy Davis Jr., Farrah Fawcett, Bo Derek, Ann-Margret, Neil Diamond, the Beach Boys, and many others.

Buy from Amazon

UK : Barris Celebrity Cars
US : Barris Cars of the Stars

Just Customz Review

You may not instantly recognise the name Barris but you will probably be familiar with some of his creations. When customers want a something unique they turn to George Barris – the King of the Kustomisers. As well as creating bespoke cars for the stars he also is responsible for designing and building cars for television programmes. These include the 1960’s Batmobile, the Munster Coach from the Munsters and KITT from Knight Rider.

This book has a great retro feel to it from the hundreds of glossy hi-resolution pictures of Barris cars to the design of every page. Each star’s car in the book has been given at least 2 pages in which there is a section about the star as well as a short section about the relationship George had with the star. George has created cars for many of the big names spanning 3 decades and this book includes over 60 of them including;

• The Beach Boys
• James Brown
• Bing Crosby
• Bo Derek
• Neil Diamond
• Bob Hope
• Elvis Presley

This is a great book for ‘dipping’ into when you have a spare 5 minutes as the sections are short and easy to read and the pictures are captivating.

About the Author

This book has been written by George Barris and David  Fetherston. David Fetherston has collaborated with George Barris in several books, including the Big Book of Barris and Barris Kustoms of the 1960s.