Getting ready to paint my Cutlass and soon and I will be adding a W-25 hood and W-30 stripes. I'm looking for a recommendation on which stencil company to go with. I've found 3 different companys tht make them but looking for opinions from someone who has used the product. any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks! Chad

 

I used Stencils and Stripes,really good guys to do business with, Takes about a week or so get them. http://www.stencilsandstripes.com/

 

what companies are you considering ?

 

I have heard they all need tweaking, not sure if they all come from the same place. I used the one from the parts place - the hood was perfect the deck lid was perfect the curves over the wheel wells had to be tweaked.

 

I agree

 

I've been looking at stencils and stripes, phoenix graphics and I found one other other place that was quite a bit more expensive. Not too worried about prices, just want it to look good.

 

Are you doing the decals or paint?

I'm just getting ready to take mine to a shop for paint/body and the body man seems like he wants to steer away from painting it on. He recommended single stage cause its cheaper because obviously it will leave a ridge if theres no clear over the painted on stripe.

A waterbourne base/clear system will cost substantially more as opposed to a single stage job. If you want painted stripes it seems the only decent option wouild be a base/clear system.

What type paint system are you going to use?

Has anyone seen the decals and how do they compare to painted on stripes? I too share your task of choosing paint system and stripe options...

 

My stripes are from Phoenix Graphix. They have been on for 4 years and still look lke new. Easy install too. Obviously yours will be a lot more involved but I was very happy with the quality from PG.

 

The stripes will be painted on. My body guy says it's gonna go like this..2 coats of baroque gold base, 2 coats of clear, color sand, paint the black stripes, 2 more coats of clear, color sand again, 4 more coats of clear, color sand and buff/polish. Pretty sure there isn't gonna be a ridge I found the Pg stencil kit for $160 and was leaning towards that one. My body guy said he used a hood bird for a T/A from them and it turned out good. Any more suggestions? All input is appreciated!

 

That is who I used.

Came out great.

 

Definitely no ridge with that kind of work!

That job will be so deep looking that you could almost dive in!

I want my stripes painted on as well but I'm not sure that my body guy (if I pick him of course) is so confident that its the right choice. He really seemed to be leaning towards me buying the decals so it truns out perfect and much less expensive.

At the end of the day I may just go with the BC/CC waterbourne system and get them painted on properly. I'm worried about how the decals will look against the paint and generally not a huge fan....

 

If I were you, I'd find a body man that is willing to do the job right. My personal opinion is that decals look cheap. The factory didn't use decals so why should you have to? Somebody is being lazy. My car came from NC and was owned by an 80 yr old mechanic. This thing was untouched right down to the factory plug wires and spiral shocks. At some point in it's life, a shed or garage collapsed on it and put some nasty dents in the roof and RH door. My guy spent almost 10 hours working on the roof with a stud welder and some fancy hammer and dollie work to get it straight again. He's been let go from every bodyshop in town for being too slow, but I'm not concerned about speed, I want it right. He has a 67 camaro that he's had for years, the only thing left thats steel is the roof. glass clip, doors, quarters, hood and deck. It's straight as an arrow and the paint looks like you could go for a swim. The best part, it's gonna be around 3K for the whole job. We've been taking pics as it progresses, I'll post them up when I get a chance.

 

Awesome, I'd love to see pics.

I agree with you on the decals. I think of the look as well as down the road when you go to wax it - how if you get too close to the decals you need to use a thumbnail to get rid of that dry white wax!

I dont think he is so much against doing it - just that he felt it would be a much cheaper route for me I guess. Im still undecided, it'll depend upon the total cost he gives me on single stage vs bc/cc.