Before I lay on some stripes over orange solid base I was going to shoot a coat or two of intercoat to protect the base from the masking tape and stencils. If I am using hardener in my base will that be enough to protect the base from tape damage without using the interclear?

Also, since intercoat is basically a clear basecoat wouldn't the interclear be possibly damaged by the tape anyway?

Thanks guys.

The problem with basecoat is that it is soft and easily damaged. Even a little P1500 scratching will be visible through the clear as the lay of the flake is disturbed. With solid colours it is possible to tape (carefully and only once dry) but not with metallics or pearls. Adding a little hardener (usually only about 5%) to base does improve its ability to withstand stone chipping but doesn't do much for its propensity for surface damage.

An intercoat clear provides the protective layer over the surface of your base to help prevent damage. If the surface of the intercoat clear is damaged (mildly, say to grey Scotch scratching levels) it won't show through since the next coat will fill the scratches and the underlying metallic or pearl has not been disturbed.

Thanks, I'll stick with my original plan!

you wont see the tape lines on the intercoat, but youll have to harden that as well if you did the base,

And I did use hardener. I figure why not? FWIW, the stencil did leave a residue on the interclear but I can't see any evidence of it in the clearcoat.