I've been reading this thread, and what a long yet super read it is, and I was thinking about the problem with metallics or metal flakes with roller painting the auto. I'm restoring a 74 Sleeper Satellite and am definitely on a budget, so I can empathize with everyone here.

I was looking at a website that sold micro flakes for clearcoats http://www.paintwithpearl.com/PWPinstructions.pdf
and for airbrushing. These flakes are substantially smaller than the ones used in the seventies. Their instructions are to apply them in a clear coat then cover them with two to three coats of clear coat without sanding in between the coats. Now, how would you do this without compressors and still keep it viable without a budget. Couldn't you apply your basecoat, get the auto painted the color you wanted, then apply the clearcoat that Rustoleum manufactures, then while it's wet, have a small baby powder bottle filled with the micro flakes and cast them with a simple squeeze of the bottle onto the still wet clearcoat? It's a variation of the hand cast method used in the fifties, but I would think that the dispersal would be a bit more controlled with the squeeze bottle. Either that, or mix a tablespoon of the microflake into a clearcoat and use a hand spray pump bottle to mist the clear coat onto the basecoat. Wouldn't this work and still give you a metallic paint job with a roller?

I have a roadrunner bulge hood for the Satellite. I'll post the before pictures and the after pics on this idea. Heck, I'll use both methods, one on the rr hood, and the other on the stock satellite hood to see which is more effective.