As some of you know who have been following my posts I have recently had my 1967 red GS400 convertible repainted in the factory Apple Red along with other upgrades to bring it back to factory specs as much as possible for a 56,000 mile car. This past Saturday after we completed all but a few items on the car I took it too the pin striper for the replica pin stripes as close as possible to factory stripes which back in 67 were applied with a roller. In today's world there are few actual stripers left who do it by hand. Most in the striping business use the tape method which my guy uses and it turns out great. I thought I would post the steps used to make it a success. To get the two stripes the correct width and spacing apart, or as close as possible to factory specs, we evaluated several pre-made tapes from Finesse Pinstriping Inc. the company who provides a variety of choices for stripe thickness and spacing. See photos below. I chose the F-6 tape since it came as close as I could eyeball the stripe thickness and spacing in between. The stripes are 3/32" and 1/16" thick with 1/8" spacing in between. The stripes and spacing in between stripes seemed correct from the manual and from numerous photos I have of original 1967 cars and their striping. First, the striper wipes down the car carefully, then using the measurements I gave them from the Buick manual they put markers 1/3 of an inch (in this case 3/8") from the body crease to the top of the first stripe as shown in the manual. Once the markers are in place they apply the special tape to the car lining up the top stripe with the marker where it is supposed to be. Once the tape is applied and checked for straightness, the pre-cut tape where the stripes go is removed revealing the body paint. The striper then hand paints the horizontal opening between the remaining tape. The paint is fast drying so portions of the car are done at a time, then remaining tape removed and viola!, beautiful stripes appear. The end result gives the car a touch of class and makes it look factory again. This is the third car the father and son team have done for me and they charge $100 a side or $200 for the complete job which took about an hour. I have included photos of the Finesse Pinstriping brochure we used to select the F-6 tape we used. You can go on line and buy the tape and paint if you are inclined to try it yourself. The guys I use have done it for many years and they know how to end a stripe at door joints, around key holes, etc. as the factory would have done. They service major body shops and car dealers in the DFW area and are know as pros. Hope you all had happy Father Day celebrations Before stripes lining up the tape with markers (marker in his mouth, not cigarette) applying paint between the tape openings carefully ending the stripes at the door opening results you see the tape on the left with openings and lined up with marker and finished stripe on the right Finesse Pinstriping Inc. pamphlet We chose F-6 pattern
Will do Nick and will take photos at or after Denver. Loading it in the trailer tomorrow and still have tweaks to do.
Reminds me of when I had mine striped only my guy did it without the stencil tape. He used specific sized fine line tape and then eye-balled it. Tedious work the way he did it but in the end it turned out well.
