Good evening Gentlemen. Just a quick note. Just got back from Tunica, MS. and won $900 on the blackjack table. Anyway. I am looking to have my 67 painted. The paint shop tells me they would rather paint the bb stripe on the nose Vs. use the stencil kit. Can anyone lead me in the correct direction on this one? thanks in advance.

I am curious as to why they would want to do it that way. The only thing that comes to mind readily is they fear the decals.
They can be difficult if you don't know what you are doing, so I wonder if that's it.
I have painted them on but, in my opinion, the decals are far easier and less time comsumming.

FWIW, the paint will be more durable and could be touched up if needed, and they were painted on originally. Decals are easier, but the sun plays havoc on them, remember the TA's from the late 70's ?

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69 rallye green X77 Z/28,1967 SS 396 Conv. 1974 c-10 454 swb

A stencil is not the same as a decal. I believe you mentioned tthey do not want to use a stencil. To me thats a kit that provides the correct tape lines and spacing for the border and main stripe. are they saying they want to "freehand" this operation? if they're good and have the correct width tape I would let them do it. If your talking about installing a decal which is stick-on vinyl I would opt for the paint either with or without a stencil. IMO

John

The Bumble Bee is an easy stripe for any decent painter to set up without a stencil. Painting the stripe is the best method. Just center the stripe on the valance, use a 4 in. bar with an 1/8" gap and a 1/8" stripe on both sides. On the fender sides, just arc the stripe to follow the contour of the fender. Give him a picture to follow. As for the RS or SS gap, it's a 2" break with the letters centered in the gap. then the stripes carry down until just above the bumper bracket. There they are cut on a angle
(approx. 30 degrees) I would also recommend clear coat first, then stripe (rough stripe edges can be sanded down), then clear again over stripe. Good luck!

John

im just wondering, what did the factory use paint or decal? i am going to be painting my car soon and would like to know for originality sake. thanks.

Doesn't the bumble bee paint go on top of the base prior to the clear?

I may be wrong but unless the strip went onto the door it was paint. The part on the door was a sticker. The reason for this was the doors were painted off the car. The strip didn't always line up when the doors were hung so they went to stickers to avoid the problem.

I don't think cars were shot with clear back then.. The base/strip/clear would not be correct.

Unless the painter is well versed in the 1st gen. I would insist on them using a stencil. And even then do the research yourself unless you don't mind having 6cyl stripes on your car like mine!!

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...Dennis
The Cars:
'69 RS Convertible w/SS trim (http://www.camaroslimited.com/memberscars/den.htm)
'96 Z28SS #1679 of 2410 (http://www.camaroslimited.com/graphics/memcars/96ss.jpg)
The Club:
Camaros Limited Nor-Cal (http://camaroslimited.com)

I would use the stencil kit. I have seen alot of ss stripes done by hand and none of them look as good as a stenciled stripe. I have the full stencil stripe on my car (no decal) and I am very happy with it. Erik

I recomend to use the stencil. They just have to use the wet system when applying it, it's not too difficult anyway. I already installed, for the first time ever, the side "SS" stripes on the fenders and doors of my 68 and the results were great. I suppose some bodyshops fear to peel the base paint when removing the stencil after painting the stripes, that's the reason the manufacturer recomends waiting one or two weeks after you paint the car and then use the stencil.
Buena suerte...

[This message has been edited by ORENCH (edited 02-07-2001).]

Base coat with one to two coats of clear. Wait one to two weeks, wet sand the whole car stripe it, then three to four more coats of clear. Wait one to two weeks wet sand and buff, buff, buff, buff.
!!!!!!!!!!! http://www.camaros.net/forum/eek.gifShow car http://www.camaros.net/forum/eek.gif!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is my plan for my 68. I will go either with stencils or free hand (taped to the manufacturer's dimensions)stripe. No stinking vinyl for me.

[This message has been edited by 1st & 2nd GENGuy (edited 02-07-2001).]

Opps! I stated something that wasn't correct, the stripe is not centered on the valance. It's about 7/8" back from the front edge, and the entire width is 4.2" total (sorry). The factory used paint for the bumble bee (laquer) and used a stencil to shoot it. If you want to spend the bucks on a stencil, go for it. I had to stop the bleeding somewhere, so I decided to freehand it with 3M striping 1/8" tape. The paint will still leave a hard edge and that ridge in the valance and on the fender tops is prone to some lift up and you'll get a fuzzy stripe in those areas. That's when the base/clear/stripe/clear works great. You can knock down the edges with 1500 grit and clean up the fuzzy edges without hurting the base coat. I actually painted my car apart and had to pre assemble the fenders & valance on saw horses to mask my stripe. Then I broke it apart again and shot everything. This way the stripes and paint got right in to the fender/valance seams perfectly. After the final clear, sand & buff (more like sand,sand,sand, & buff,buff,buff) you got a damn good lookin' stripe. One more thing on the stripe, GM did not use "spray bomb" white-white. See your paint dealer for the right code of white and have them mix it. My color was Artic White (I think?, I'll get the Dupont formula if anyone wants to know) It's one of those little details that looks right.

John

[This message has been edited by John Doyle (edited 02-08-2001).]

my 67 is (still) in the piant shop ,when I decided to put stripes on it (68SS i LIKE THEM BETTER)my paint man told me he would rather hand tape it than use a stencil kit
and he isn't going to charge anything extra for it http://www.camaros.net/forum/smile.gif ,but now I wonder if I should tell him I want a stencil used?

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stock? 67
hidden 69

IMO, the first thing people notice on our cars are the stripes and the wheels. Given what a good paint job costs, I feel it's cheap insurance to buy the stencil. Have the painter put it on then double check the position in person and then have him spray. I would also recommend finding detailed pictures of a car with stripes like you want and giving those to your painter for reference. A bad stripe job will turn an great car into a joke.