Painting Multiple Stripes on Conversion Van

[ChevroletR]

Hey guys, so I have a 97 E-150 Conversion Van that I have to paint several shades of blue/gray stripes and one thin red stripe on the door and fender and I'm wondering how to go about it. I have everything based and cleared in white and my cousin told me to get HOK Shimrin SG100 Intercoat Clear to clear each color of stripe as I finish it.

Does this mean to lay one stripe at a time (obviously), base it, and clear it with the Intercoat clear, then wetsand it or lay the other stripe till I have all stripes done, sand them all and clear the panels?

I've seen some posts on here talking about just base-coating one stripe at a time and clearing everyting when they are all done. Is this a good procedure as well? And the fine line tape won't pull the base off? Thank you very much in advance

Ryan

[Len]

The problem with clearing them all at once is that you could damage the base by taping on it AND/OR the base could be out of the recoat window when it's time to apply the clear.

Can you show us a picture of the stripes?

[ChevroletR]

Ok so maybe base, then clear each stripe individually? Should I wetsand the stripe before I lay the next one?

Here are some pics





The paint on the door fades from a silver up to a light blue...fun


I need to do that to this side:


What grit should I use to prepare to lay the stripes and throughout? Thanks again

[Len]

I would probably sand the surface with some 600 wet sandpaper to prep the surface for the paint. I'd apply my first stripe and clear over it then apply my second and clear over it. I'd do all my stripes with clear over them then I would probably scuff the work and apply a final two coats of clear over the entire repair in order to eliminate the ridges between colors.

[ChevroletR]

That's what I was leaning towards. So I would sand the stripes all at once when they're done and clear the door and fender, correct? Thanks a ton Len. I'll let you know how it turns out!

[Len]

That's what I was leaning towards. So I would sand the stripes all at once when they're done and clear the door and fender, correct? Thanks a ton Len. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Yes, that's right. When you shoot your second and third coats of clear over the entire panel slow down a little (but not too much) over the stripe so that you apply a little more on the stripe. This will give you a little more film build to work with when sanding and polishing.

[ChevroletR]

Great advice, thanks Len

[88GT]

Myself, I would have used an intercoat clear to speed up the process and to reduce film build. Maybe do 2 stripe colors prior to an intercoat. Unless the rest of the van had the stripes painted after the white, I would have done the stripes first

[ChevroletR]

I have the HOK intercoat clear. So you're saying lay two stripes in bas and clear two at a time with the intercoat clear? yeah the stripes were painted after the white

[88GT]

If thats the case, I would do every other stripe in one session, intercoat, scuff and do the others along with the red and then clear. I would scuff the whole door first so when Im done with the stripes I dont have to scuff anything. Just spray clear.
I hope your charging enough. Your're gonna need a half pint of each color. Thats gonna add up

[alaskajeff]

Is one medium-wet coat of intercoat clear enough between stripes? I haven't used intercoat-just curious.

[AfterBurnerInc]

In my experience, I would NOT clear after each color, for 1 the mil thickness of clear by the time you're done will be astronomical...As long as the surface is prepped properly, you will have NO problem taping with fineline over fresh base... The majority of the work I do is MULTI layered graphics I have most certainly exceeded the basecoat window on MULTIPLE occasions and have YET to experience any delamination issues... the only time I would personally suggest the intercoat clear is when using Candys or dyes, as it will keep the dye from bleeding up into the topcoat, or into the color on top of it... Now for the disclaimer... Just because I have done it doesn't make it right, and everyone does things a little differently to achieve the same finished result... I simply wanted to give insight as to what has worked for me... Hope it goes well for you...

[Len]

In my experience, I would NOT clear after each color, for 1 the mil thickness of clear by the time you're done will be astronomical...As long as the surface is prepped properly, you will have NO problem taping with fineline over fresh base... The majority of the work I do is MULTI layered graphics I have most certainly exceeded the basecoat window on MULTIPLE occasions and have YET to experience any delamination issues... the only time I would personally suggest the intercoat clear is when using Candys or dyes, as it will keep the dye from bleeding up into the topcoat, or into the color on top of it... Now for the disclaimer... Just because I have done it doesn't make it right, and everyone does things a little differently to achieve the same finished result... I simply wanted to give insight as to what has worked for me... Hope it goes well for you...

What kind of paint would you use? My paint is out of it's recoat window in 6 hours.

[FastFreddyTX]

If you dont want to wait for clear to dry between stripes, you could try a product like ppg's dbc 500 it's listed as a basecoat blender, but it's really just a clear basecoat. I use it to mix pearl powders and candy concentrates, I also spray it down before I shoot silver to make the flake "lay down" it will work for intercoat as well and dries in minutes. I always keep a quart or two handy. It costs about 35 Bucks a quart where I get it. Also use the thin blue smooth plastic tape from 3m to prevent bleeding. Regular masking tape will bleed.

[souz3]

I once read that if you shoot a fine layer of intercoat clear before the base color it will seal the edges and prevent bleeding. I personally have done this and it works, not too heavy, just enough to seal.