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Painting stripes

5K views 19 replies 12 participants last post by  larryagray1@verizon.net 
#1 ·
I'm looking at having the stripes painted on and re-spraying the clear coat over the entire car.

Estimate price is $2,100. I figure this is probably a little on the high side, but don't really know. The shop is reputable and gives a lifetime warranty on the paint job. They claim to use top quality paint, not the cheap stuff that will look bad after a few years. Bumpers, etc... will be removed and painted separately then reinstalled after drying.

I'm ready to do this because my car is black and was covered in swirlies from the dealership's "detail" people before I ever bought it (it was outside on the lot for months). I've been going insane trying to minimize the swirlies, and I've about had enough of it. At this point it's either re-spray it or trade it on a 2010 in any color except black. If I'm going to re-spray the clear coat, I might as well get the stripes painted on.

My car is black with alloy stripes, but I'm considering having red stripes painted on instead of alloy. I just like the look. If I have the stripes painted red I'll probably have the red cobras and SHELBY lettering installed as well. What do you think, would this be a bad thing to do? If so, why?

Any thoughts, advice or opinions are welcome. Thanks!
 
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#3 ·
I'm looking at having the stripes painted on and re-spraying the clear coat over the entire car.

Estimate price is $2,100. I figure this is probably a little on the high side, but don't really know. The shop is reputable and gives a lifetime warranty on the paint job. They claim to use top quality paint, not the cheap stuff that will look bad after a few years. Bumpers, etc... will be removed and painted separately then reinstalled after drying.

I'm ready to do this because my car is black and was covered in swirlies from the dealership's "detail" people before I ever bought it (it was outside on the lot for months). I've been going insane trying to minimize the swirlies, and I've about had enough of it. At this point it's either re-spray it or trade it on a 2010 in any color except black. If I'm going to re-spray the clear coat, I might as well get the stripes painted on.

My car is black with alloy stripes, but I'm considering having red stripes painted on instead of alloy. I just like the look. If I have the stripes painted red I'll probably have the red cobras and SHELBY lettering installed as well. What do you think, would this be a bad thing to do? If so, why
Any thoughts, advice or opinions are welcome. Thanks!
First of all, $2100 is about $1000 too cheap. No, I'm not kidding.

Second, to do the stripes, they'll have to rough the clear anyway and reshoot parts of it. Any custom shop will be able to get everything to match up without re-clearing the car. There's actually a good amount of clear on them from the factory. The "detail" goobers would have had to go DEEP into it to really screwed it up.

Finally, the biggest problem with having anything painted on a solid (non-metallic) car is matching the orange peel. It's not a flaw in painting. It's there for a reason. It gives flat, solid colors a source of light refraction. Take a black or a torch red car and flat-sand it. It'll take all the orange peel off but it'll look like crap. The color will just "lie there". It's a common practice on show cars but people spend every minute of their days polishing and waxing them.

After they shoot your stripes on they'll need to make sure that IF they re-apply clear that it's uniform with the rest of the car.

The good thing about it being the top of the car is that there is the natural break from top to side. You MAY want to consider using the factory tape stripes on the lowers if it's a daily driver. Cheaper to replace pieces due to rock chips, etc than to have them re-painted.

Try this. Go to a paint supply store or perhaps a body shop and get a sample of 3M Hand Glaze. Since you're going to have them painted on anyway, find an area on your hood (like near the cowl) where you can see the swirls. Use an applicator BY HAND in back and forth motions. Do not let it dry. Use a soft (microfiber is good) cloth to keep rubbing it til it's gone.
See if it helps the swirls. Your cuts may be too deep for the hand glaze, but it's doubtful that they're too deep to have them removed with compound and then a glaze.

Enjoy your ride and happy holidays.


bj
 
#15 ·
Try this. Go to a paint supply store or perhaps a body shop and get a sample of 3M Hand Glaze. Since you're going to have them painted on anyway, find an area on your hood (like near the cowl) where you can see the swirls. Use an applicator BY HAND in back and forth motions. Do not let it dry. Use a soft (microfiber is good) cloth to keep rubbing it til it's gone.
See if it helps the swirls. Your cuts may be too deep for the hand glaze, but it's doubtful that they're too deep to have them removed with compound and then a glaze.

bj

I tried the 3M Hand Glaze after reading an old post of yours bj.

The only problem was that after I was done with the one spot, it looked so good that I now have to do the rest of the car. You suck! :lol:


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#4 ·
07Ebony: That's probably worth a try, assuming that I can locate a high end detailer here in the Florida panhandle. I'll look into it, thanks.

VNMOUS1: Good info, thanks. I've tried Meguiar's Show Car Glaze (both by hand and using a 6" buffer) with no good result. I'll have to look for some of the 3M product. It is a daily driver, and I'm planning on having a Ventureshield clear bra (thanks to Grabber for the great write up and pictures on that product) applied to the front of the car whether it gets painted or not.

I can't decide what I really want to do. Probably the best decision is to try a good detailer first, then go with the clear coat respray if I'm unhappy with how that turns out. I'm worried that 6 months after I have it resprayed the swirlies will be back. This is my 1st black car and it is driving me crazy.

If I do have the stripes painted, they'll stay alloy though. I'm decided on that, at least.
 
#5 ·
The 3M stuff is completely different.

Remember, you'll have to have your car sanded down past the clear coat to re-shoot it. I'd suggest a very high end paint shop rather than a detailer to see if it can be taken out before going to the hassle and expense of sanding it down.

As for a clear bra..PLEASE do not use one of those on a car that's been repainted within the past 12-18 months. You'll be really sorry. Paint breathes. Clear bras, regardless of what they tell you, don't. At least not enough. I saw one a couple of weeks ago on a Lexus (done at a high end shop where they did my tint) and it had absolutely demolished the paint. Mold!

bj
 
#8 · (Edited)
Sn8kbyt turned me onto Wizards products (www.Wizards.com) I love the Mist and Shine and the Polish. I have not one swirl or scratch on my 09. And to boot it is a stripe delete so all you see is the black paint. Try to refrain from using a buffer on black paint, that will cause swirls. Always do it by hand in a back and forth motion never in a circular motion (like an electric buffer). This will help prevent swirls. Lastly, if you must use wax (I almost always just use polish) I use a product called Collinite. Great stuff leaves a brilliant shine and you only need to use it once a year (www.Collinite.com). A friend of mine gave some to me and I don't believe it can be purchased at the retail stores ie: Auotzone. He had his friend who owns a Cadillac dealership order it for him. No doubt black is a gigantic pain in the butt to keep clean but when it is all shined up nothing looks better.

Good luck
James
 
#10 ·
Find a local "high end" detailer. He will tell you if he can straighten it out after an initial inspection and possibly a free trail on a small area of it.
And after you get it done don't even consider going thru a car wash again. I take mine to the quarter wash and blow dry it with a leaf blower. It only gets a micro fiber rag put on it to wipe off the drips from the mirrors and for the spray detailer after the wash.
Its a DD, but only in good weather, so it does'nt get mud thrown on it. Its hard to keep a black car swirl free if it gets driven in rain because that fine dirt scratches the heck out of the paint when you wash it even by hand.

You don't own a black car...it owns you.
 
#11 ·
I have a deposit on a 2011 GT500 and ready to order when the banks finally open. If I can't get the color combo I want, I will have the stripes painted on. I have contacted a local custom painter who actually is renown for his 427 Cobra body painting w/stripes. The painter quoted me 2000.00 for the center stripes and 800.00 for the rocker panels stripes and respray the clear coat after. This guy does very high end custom work and I trust his abilities.

With that said, I have a friend that does detailing, and some of the before and after pics he takes are totally incredible. I have seen black cars with swirl's, scratches, oxidation etc.... and after the experience of a talented detailer, the results are just amazing. Going the detailer route will differently be cheaper compared to painting. So if the swirl's are what the problem really is, go to a experience detailer and try that, if it doesn't fix it the way you want, then you are only out a couple of hundred dollars. You can always go the painting and respray clear route after that. Just my 2 cents.

PCW
 
#12 ·
Well, I told them to go ahead and paint the stripes on. Alloy.

I just hope it turns out as well as the shop says it will. It won't be done until the middle of next week, and I'll be gone on a trip for our 25th wedding anniversary when it's finished, so I won't see it until the 21st.
 
#14 ·
Anybody like the idea of wet-sanding? Where are you located dude? If anywhere in the NY/NJ area I got a guy who had spent 12 hours on my M5, making the black sapphire paint look like brand new. He also said he rushed it. Using Dawn to strip the old wax off, claybarring the shiz out of the car, and then using a nice big halogen to expose all the swirls in his garage, he proceeded to use his buffing tools (after taping all the accessories off) and after that process, used 3 stages of glaze.

If anything man, look into vinyl for the stripes! I think repainting would hurt the value! :(
 
#16 ·
Had a 79 T/A black, and swore I would never have another black one. then I
saw my 08 black with red stripe, and guess what. Anyway, were red stripes
available on black in 09? Thought it was only 07 & 08? Mine was a $1,400+
option, that includes different interior. Seat surfaces are red, & door panels
are red & black. Looks cool with red stripes though. Only made 331 redstripers
in 08. 110 white with red & 131 black with red. Mine is 118 of 121 black with
red. Also included cool front floor mats with big red cobra snakes on them.
Have never used, and included the car cover. Sent a pic. to give you an
idea of how it looks.
 

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#18 ·
Stopped by the shop on the way to work this morning. They have the stripes painted on everything but the roof so far and hope to have the job done by the end of the week. Still a work in progress, but it's looking really good. I can't wait to see it when it's done.

The only down side I can see to having the stripes painted on, besides cost, is the front bumper. There are two small divots in the bumper where the holes for the front license plate bracket would go. The vinyl stripes covered the divots, but they are obvious with the stripes removed. A small thing that won't bother me, but it may bother someone else that is thinking of having it done.
 
#19 ·
The bodyshop can fill/repair the tag bracket holes.They will probably do that anyway for a smooth finish.Call to make sure.Bumper repair is required by insurance companies depending on the damage and all shops should be capable,Plenty of products on the market to do it with as well.
 
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