I'm about ready to paint my 68 and am pretty well convinced to use a urethane BC/CC. Can I use this over laquer primer or do I need a sealer or urethane primer first? Most of the information I've read says to spray the CC very soon after the BC. I didn't know if this was a necessity or just an option to finish quickly. I am going to use late 68 SS stripes which will delay the CC at least a couple of days. Is there any concern in stencilling/masking over the BC? What preparation will the BC require after the stripes are painted? How do I handle the semi-gloss black out rear panel? Is there any need to CC under the Vinyl top?

Thanks Guys!

68 SS Clone http://my.core.com/~ss502

There are two ways to handle the "clear coating window" when applying graphics using bc/cc. One is to use single stage urethane color coat, then apply your graphics followed by clear coat. I did this on mine to paint the stripes, but would not recommend it. I did this on my car and was not satisfied.

The second approach is to shoot the base coat followed right away with one coat of clear, then after the tape time specified by the manufacturer, apply your graphics and then the remaining clear you think you need. My brother did this on his Z and things seem to go better.

The people that made your paint can tell you what your clear coat window is, but I'm sure it's not long as the base coat is not meant to be uncoated and that's way one coat of clear can buy you the time you need to paint stripes, graphics or what ever.

Not an expert’s opinion, but a wrencher who has tried a thing or two.


Larry tongue.gif

Yes, the window for your clear should be adhered to. I say the "best" way is to paint and clear as usual with two coats of clear and then color sand the clear on the whole panel and tape off your stripes. You can do it one of a few ways at this point, paint your stripe in single stage, or paint it in bc/cc and then polish the hole hood later. Or, paint the strip in base coat and then unmask it and shoot the clear on the entire panel. I don't make a big deal on the edge left on the stripe if you paint the stripe and clear or do it single stage. I just don't, I mean the factory didn't bury the stripe under clear did it? So, there is a little edge, so what? That is just the way I see it.
I would never paint the base and then tape on it for the stripe. The base is VERY delicate and can be damaged very easy. It takes a lot of experiance to pull that off, I say paint and clear and then paint your stripes.

a friend painted hiz Z stripes by painting the stripe color first, and then taping off and painting the body color. Not sure of the rationale, but there must have been some good reason for doing it that way.

The guy that is going to paint my car just did the same thing to another car. He painted the stripes first. Taped off the stripes and painted the entire car. Cleared the whole car with a little extra clear over the hood and trunk. He then sanded and cleared again. A final sanding/buffing and you could not feel the stripes at all.

I painted the area for the hockey stripe first then masked it off. Sprayed the base coat then cleared. This worked out best for me.

Did those of you who painted the stripes first use a single stage for the stripes?

Yes, mainly because I had a quart of black single stage.

My painter uses base + clear for stripes....I suppose because he tries to blend the edges so you cannot feel them.

One reason some people will base coat then shot two decent coats of clear before doing the stripes, is incase you get an area where your tape seam let some of the stripe color peek through. Its easier to sand it out and that area will be covered by more clear, and you'll never see it. You should wet sand the whole car before your finish coats of clear.

I have had good luck with taping to the base coat. Wait as long as you can to tape within the window, if its an hour longer you won't get hurt. Don't see how hard you can push the tape on! Remember when you shot your stripes to just cover the area well and smoothly, dont get it too dry, or you'll see it. You dont need more that good coverage, the least you use the easier to cover the edge with the clear. You can work the clear, but not whats under it. The factory didn't do it that way, but they also got over spray on the frame, if they even covered the rocker panels that well.

Thanks for all the help guys.

Dave