[Benji]

Ok gang, I ordered a stencil kit for my 1971 442. When it came I opened it up and discovered I got a stripe kit instead. I can't return it now, so here is the plan. Spray my DuPont Chroma base, wait two hours, apply the stripe kit, then clear the entire car with Chroma Clear V7500S. Any painting experts out there that has done this? Will the solvents in the clear lift the vinyl tape off the surface?

Benji

[drgnwgn289]

You can do it, but it won't be smooth unless you put on about a trillian coats of clean and then sand it back down...vinyl is WAY thicker than paint.

[Halloweenking]

Second that. Vinyl stripes, decals and striping tape have been cleared over since custom painting was done. Like Drgnwgn stated many coats of clear with wetsanding between is the only way to get a smooth surface. With a razor blade and some vinyl mask you can make a stencil from the decals pretty simply then just try to sell the decals or keep them for later on or whatever you want to do.

HK

[Grashopr]

I third the motion..however...WATCH OUT! Some stripe kits are made from vinyl that release vapors when heated (like in the sun). If you put clear over this type of vinyl, it will push your clear up and either make air pockets, or push it completely off. Your paint job will look 1000% better if you take HK's advice and use the stencil kit to tape off the area you want to paint with 3M blue 1/8" fineline tape and spray the color with basecoat paint, then clear the entire car. The edge will be 'flatten-able', and the car will look right. Anytime you put vinyl on a car, when you wax it, you will get that wax white line at the edge of the vinyl where you have a hard time rubbing it back out. If your determined to use the vinyl, call the manufacturer to make sure that it's coverable with urethane clearcoat.

The 'hopper