I have a Chevelle I will be painting in a few months and I have a question about the stripes . On the original cars the stripes were not buried in clear and you could feel the lines where the color changed. I want to keep the car original and do the same with bc cc. I have painted the car before with lacquer and just scuffed up the paint to paint the stripes on with more lacquer and it was no problem. Can I scuff the clear and then put the bc color for stripes on without a problem ? If I wait and clear over the whole car at one time I would think you would lose the sharp lines where the color changes. Thanks for any advice on this.

Answer is 'yes' -- but I think you really mean you are going to shoot a single-stage for the stripes, not a base coat - right? Otherwise you'd need to clear over those stripes and they would end up buried.

Hit the to-be striped area with 600 grit or equivalent pad and/or paste.

The car will be red with white stripes. I thought I would shoot the red base coat on the car . Then shoot the clear on the car and buff it. Then tape for the stripes and sand the area that will be white. After the white bc is on I figured I would shoot the clear on the white. I just did not know if the clear would react with bc on top of it or if it would stick very well. I want to be able to buff the whole car to get a smooth finish. If I went single stage for the white stripes can that be buffed ? Thanks

Why not shoot the white basecoat you know the stripes will be , tape your lines. Shoot the red around it. Smooth out your edges and clear it all at one time?

Or spray extra coat of clear on your white white/red edge line And wet sand it smooth

Is single stage how guys are painting the stripes on ? I am trying to find out the best way to do this and keep the sharp edge on the stripes. I just hope to have them look as good as the rest of the paint after I buff it. Thanks Chris

I would not advise to make stripes with single stage. You're essentially leaving a unprotected edge of single stage paint from your tape that could chip/peel off

If you want to keep the sharp edge then just don't sand the edge..but you need clear coat to lock it in which is why you should use and base coat clear coat system..

I have seen the stripes buried under a smooth clear coat but I just don't like the way it looks and I am trying to keep the car original as I can.

If you spray enough basecoat to a tape hardline and spray clear over it, trust me it won't bury it.

He was asking about an OEM original/authentic process. Those stripes were single-stage and painted onto the car after the car was painted.

If prepared correctly you will not have a problem of chipping. If prep is done wrong or if you wait too long to remove the tape (or you remove the tape incorrectly) then yes, you can get chipped/ragged edges.

The idea of shooting the stripes to a hard line then clearing over it to that same hard line WILL almost guarantee that you'll have clear delamination over time, unless you bury the stripes in clear.

Personally, I do like the stripes buried under the clear but I can understand if you want the car to be like original why you want them on top of the paint.

Look at pages 52 and 53, here: https://books.google.com/books?id=5APAz ... &q&f=false

For decades I've been shooting single stage over properly prepared BC/CC with no issues for a factory correct stripe appearance, so have others I know in the resto business. Buried stripes are incorrect and points will be deducted for them. I'm old school, I don't like buried stripes unless it's custom work where it is required. If stripes are chipping on the edges then the prep was wrong.

When the stripes are minimally cut and then buffed there will not be very hard tape edge. It's softened by the process and looks fine.