Alligning stripes

[CapeCoralCobra]

I'm just about ready for paint and will be doing 1/4" stripes along side the usual stripes. I'll be painting the body off the frame, putting down the stripe color first and then taping them off to to do the body color. So, should I mount the body, hood, and trunk lid on the frame before taping off the stripes (and then remove it again for body color), or do I just line up the hood and trunk lid on the body off frame (on body buck) to tape the stripes? This won't be a show car, but my concern is having the stripes match at the hood and trunk gaps, especially since I'm doing the 1/4" stripes. I believe many professionals do it off frame, so any tips?

[EdG]

Let me weigh in here since nobody else has so far, Aligning the stripes took my wife and I over 6 hours. (eternally thankful), so plan on this activity taking some time to accomplish.

My car was on the paint buck and I installed the hood and trunk using spacer blocks around the edges of the hood and trunk and temporary washers to lift the hood and trunk to the "level" position. Once I got it to the correct position, I used wide blue painters tape to hold the hood and trunk in position while I was installing the stripe tape.

Before painting I found the center of the car, and drilled several holes on the center line using a #50 dill bit in several inconspicuous locations.(underside of the radiator open, under rolled edge in cockpit, etc) When I needed the center line to set up the stripes I used #50 drillbits as anchor points. Carefully measuring off the center line for the for the stripe edges. Once the correct starting point was located, I pulled blue striping tape the full length. You need gentle pressure and patience for placing the stripe tape. If it doesn't go down the first time, try again. You get about three tries before you need to throw that piece out and try again. Pulling the full length will assure that the stripes will line up across the cowl , the hood and the snout.

When all the stripes are in place, the tape crossing the gaps can be cut with a razor blade and rolled over the edge.

Couple of additional hints: 1) Wear some type of a glove, latex or cotton to keep your hand grease off the stripe paint. 2) Nothing on these cars in straight or completely on center. The final decision on placing the stripes is using you eye, if it doesn't look right to your eye then don't be afraid to move the stripe tape until it looks good to your eye. 3) You'll be looking at the stripe tape from 2 or 3 feet away and will see a bunch of nits, most people looking at your car will be looking from 6 to 8 feet away and a lot of those nits will disappear.

Good luck and HTH
Ed

[CapeCoralCobra]

Thanks, Ed. I was just about ready to give this a bump back to the top since I had no response in two days. I appreciate you sharing your experience, good information. I knew it will take several hours to do the tape, and would take more hours to mount the body, get it "set", and take it off again after taping. Are you happy with the allignment of your stripes? Thanks, again.

[EdG]

Yes, I am pleased with the alignment of the stripes. The look "right" in areas that catch your eye. Like going around the hood scoop.

Ed

[steve benevides]

measure/tape...remove tape,tape/eye it,remove tape/eye and measure ,do it until it looks right because its there to stay.