Painting stripes

Rusty105

Promoted Users
Just doing some research here, not ready for this stage, but I figure never to early to learn.

I want to paint stripes over the top of my 65 Mustang, when eventually painted. I have been watching a few videos and seen a couple different ways of doing this.

One way was to paint the entire car in the main color. For arguments sake lets say blue. And then tape and mask on the base coat (not cleared). Then shoot the stripe color, say white.

I have also seen where they lay down the stripe color in the general area of the stripes, like over the center of the hood, roof, and trunk. Then they mask off where they want the stripe to remain and shoot the main color over the entire car. Removing the mask at the end reveals the stripe. Some guys used a clear coat in between the colors, some do not.

So... the question is, what is correct? My 'guess' is shoot the main color, use intercoat clear, mask and shoot the stripe, then clear over everything. Mind you , I have no idea.... My main concern is having the stripe and main color look like they are two different heights.

Thanks!!

Rusty
 
I know there are alot more experts here, but my considering white stripes mean you need more coats of white to cover the blue, so the stripe is going to be higher, where if you paint the white first, then blue, then clear together, you are closer to the same height. If you wanted black stripes, that will cover quick and not have a big difference if you do them on top...

Most say you do not need the intercoat clear, I like it as a little insurance, something tape can leave residue on that you can scuff off without getting into the white. if you are planning on 6 coats of clear, they will look more blended if you put the white on top, but its more based on coverage.

We are currently figuring out ghost stripes, which will be very thin.
 
neither way is wrong. as a general rule of thumb you shoot the smallest color first so the stipe color would go down, mask stripes away then shoot the overall color. there are exceptions to this however and it depends on your colors. for example an exception would be your painting the car yellow with black stripes. yellow doesnt cover worth a crap and it always needs to go over white so in this case you paint the car yellow, mask the stripes then paint black. no intercoat needed. just wait a couple hours before you mask.
 
I agree with Jim C it depends on color combinations, if you do the color of the stripe first once you tape them off you should sand the over spray to smooth out the area, however to get the best finish meaning a completely flat clear coat i would recommend double clear coat on all the panels that have the stripes or the whole car for a show quality finish. I always say if you’re going to do it, do it right the first time!
 

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I'm planning SS stripes on my el Camino project as well, and like you spent some time researching it.
Even went so far as to paint a test hood (final will be an SS hood, so I had the flat one available to practice on)
After research, I decided to go with: Base color, Intercoat clear, stripes, then clear over base and stripes.
As others have mentioned, quality tape is critical.
I also learned the hard way that not all automotive masking paper is the same. Different products are intended for different uses. Some will bleed when you spray directly on them (like at the edge of a stripe.)
My painting mentor also suggested a few extra coats of clear around the edges of the stripes, since that will be a high spot and you want plenty of material when cutting and buffing.

I've attached a pic of my test hood.

Also, for fun, included a shot of the Harley Ghost flames I did earlier this year, using the exact same sequence. The flames and lettering are buried in the clear, you cannot feel them at all.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

2nd stripes done.jpg


Harley flames 3.jpg
 
Like Jim C said, for striping a hood, intercoat is really not necessary. Complex striping or multi layered graphics done over a number of days...... yes. Simple stripe........ no. It just adds unnecessary labor and expense. Do it as Jim outlined and you will be fine. :)
 
I learned the hard way to use intercoat clear when using those fancy stripe kits from Phoenix graphics. The adhesive leaves a residue and it makes a mess of the base when you try to remove it.

Don
 
I learned the hard way to use intercoat clear when using those fancy stripe kits from Phoenix graphics. The adhesive leaves a residue and it makes a mess of the base when you try to remove it.

Don
When I talked to the sales guy at SPI, he said (para phrase) "You can spray the stripe directly on the base. If anything goes wrong (residue, minor bleed, etc.) good luck fixing it. If you use intercoat, you have a chance to fix it."

Made sense to me.
 
Those fancy stripe kits are a joke. The vinyl they use leaves residue and the line isn't very clean, either. Only used them once because the customer supplied them.
I watched one YouTube video of a guy doing Chevy SS stripes. He bought the Phoenix kit just to get the corners for correct size/radius as a guide. Then threw the kit away. Funny!

Not all stencils are created equal. I got the ones for the Harley project from https://www.vinylines.com/ absolutely top notch.
 
Those fancy stripe kits are a joke. The vinyl they use leaves residue and the line isn't very clean, either. Only used them once because the customer supplied them.
I’ve used them a couple of times where the patterns were complex. Yes they are a joke, but not so funny when the residue sticks to the base. Intercoat would have made it a lot less stressful…. :D

Don
 
I vaguely remember the measurements they provided were taken off an unrestored vehicle and they were different side to side. Personally, I would rather have them equal than "factory" correct. I would imagine the stripes were different on every vehicle because they were done by humans in a hurry. I have never had anyone complain my stripes were too nice, and not sloppy enough:)
 
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I learned the hard way to use intercoat clear when using those fancy stripe kits from Phoenix graphics. The adhesive leaves a residue and it makes a mess of the base when you try to remove it.

Don
its funny being an industrial painter and having masking reps come in constantly saying how easy their tape is to remove. I always tell them it makes a difference when you use a crepe product and solvents are being absorbed. All the, dont worry about baking the tape to 140 only is guaranteed if you put tape on something just to bake it at 140. Its what so many people miss.

We do alot of shapes, masks, so we use a plotter or vinyl cutter daily. Believe me, trying to make that 3" round on a chevy rally stripe, then making it match the 1/4 and 5/16 is tough. Especially if you are trying to do the front starting on the header panel and the other angle is there too. I say 3" round because that is the circle of the grill in the cowl panel. I have wasted alot of tape.
 
Either way, make sure you buy quality tape for masking your lines. Bleed through makes for unnecessary work - ask how I know. LOL
I should have followed my own advice.
Notice the nice clean line at the top next to the blue. That was the right tape but being in a hurry I used 2" wide yellow tape to mask off the rest and it came back an bit me.
What is the best way to fix this?
Adhesive Tape damage.JPG
 
If its adhesive then youll need a few rags and mineral spirits or 710. If its just tape marks then you can just go ahead and clear it being its a solid color.
 
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