finishing with metal flake

[tobox]

Hello,
Is it a crazy idea to try brushing on a finish containing metal flake? The flake would be the same as is used in auto refinishing and the medium I'm considering would be a water based lacquer or urethane. I've only seen reference to metal flake finishes being sprayed on. And since the flake itself is pricey, I thought I'd see if anyone had any experience with, or thoughts about this.
Thanks!

[Tom Hintz]

If you are going for a traditional metalflake look, yes, it's a bad idea. If you want something that looks very different, (not bad looking actually, but very different) streaks of flakes, a brush works.
Metalflake is very hard to do right with a good spray gun, and not a good plan with a brush. I used to have a guy that painted my race cars that for a time were metalflake, and I was amazed at the process to get it right.

[crashfixer]

I spray metal flake often in my line of work and I can tell you that it will be right next to impossible to brush it on and get a good effect from it.And another misconception about the price,the metal flake are not that high.You can get a 4 oz can from the House of Kolor for under 40 bucks.

[okie]

I use glitter in routed groves sometimes then polyurathane over it. Las project was a big pic frame for a friends wedding present. Routed the couples name in the oak frame and put in blue glitter then let poly drip from the brush to fill the rest of the grove. Also had a walnut inlay. Wound up on the guest book table just inside the church door. You could put a thin coat of poly or such, sprinkle the glitter to the desired coverage and then put a thick coat of poly over that when it is dry. The glitter looks about like metal flake I think and comes in a shaker bottle for a couple of dollars in the craft section of dept stores.