This might be a bit too much of a specialized question, but the may be a top gun painter like nullarbor who can help.

Another of my many stuff-ups today was with my stripe.

After masking & painting I left it for a about and hour before removing the masking.

It turns out there was a bit of a ridge, caused by the stripe being a build up paint, but then also from I'm guessin soft paint being pulled about by removing the masking.

So I didn't check for this at the time, and now have the clear coat over the top. Bugger.

It is better to let the paint fully harden before removing any masking, or remove it early so gravity can correct any ridge that forms while the paint is still soft enough?

But if I had discovered it before the clear coat, what could I have done? Rubbing with wet and dry would have caused a mess. And you're not meant to scuff up metallic before the clear coat right?

Is this ridge going to cause me troubles in the future? I'm thinking specifically about the clear on it being buffed off.

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"Life is not like a box of chocolates... it's more like a jar of jalapenos. Whatever you do today, may burn your arse tomorrow."

You will always get a ridge it will never flatten out. The only thing you can do is clear the hel out the car like 5 coats and then flatten in back with some 800 sandpaper till ther is no edge left.... Be carfull but, you dont want to rub through....

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If it cant be fixed with a hammer it cant be FIXED!!

I learnt years ago that it's better to let the paint harden before removing tape.

A few times in the past when I pulled tape off with soft paint, some of the paint would peel away with the tape.

These days I buy the '14 day masking tape' (blue colour) and I don't remove it for at least 7 days after I paint.

That is my method, and others might do things differently.

If you have concerns of the paint lifting you could run down the side of the tape with a scalpel/razor/whatever before lifting the tape.
Whether it will lift or not depends on the number of coats, lots thin coats won't let the
paint build up on the edge as much as less heavy coats.

I don't see what your fussed about? Yes theres a ride, my union jack has a ride between each colour but that's the way it is. When you go the easy (and crap in my opinion) and use tpae for the stripes there is a ridge.Gravity wont fix it as then the paint will shift and your perfect lines will no longer be perfect and if your painting the striped onto paint underneath it will always be a ridge you cant add and somehow not add. If you care that much yes clear coating the car many,. many, many times then polishiong or rubbing down will probably level it it out but why?

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1964 Morris 850, 1330 Supercharged - 81.8hp atws.
1975 Leyland Mini S 1100S powered - Nice and reliable.
1977 Leyland Mini LS - Project LS-T

when i had the stripes pained on my new shell, they guy had a real hard time with them. but it was a dark colour on white...


depending on where the stripes are, and i know you have already painted them, but would you be better off using vinyl????

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78 Leyland Mini - Prince

When you buy the striped paint do you have to specify the width of the stripes to the guy who mixes it up or does striped paint allow you to paint stipes of any thickness

i see that Anton chose to have JAM painted in one red stripe he must of told the piant mixer he wanted to paint a stripe on a B Double

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Let me be clear. I expected the stripe to have some ridge.

But what happened is that as I pulled up the tape, in one small spot it cause the edge to sit up higher than the rest of the stripe, forming a little serated egde. I didn't notice at the time and it hardened like this and I cleared over the top.

Question is, could I have done anything about it if I noticed it before the clear coat? Maybe touched it up with a razor blade?

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"Life is not like a box of chocolates... it's more like a jar of jalapenos. Whatever you do today, may burn your arse tomorrow."

No there is nothing you can do about it except sand and start over again...... If you have scuffed the surface properly, painters scotch brite (grey) or minimal 800 wet and dry the paint shouldnt peal... Wich is what its done, its pealed in a tiny area. It must of been just a little shiney or maybe it wasnt clean... Could be a houndred things....

Mike

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If it cant be fixed with a hammer it cant be FIXED!!

I'd recommend masking the stripe with some 3M fineline masking tape, its actually a vinyl tape rather than paper and will give you a clean edge and will lift off cleanly too. My interpretation of what you've described is that paint has seeped under your masking and leaving the serated edge.

My personal preference particularly if your spraying acrylic lacquer is to remove the masking after the paint is touch dry and still soft.

At the time if you noticed it you could have tried to clean up the edge with a razor blade but it would all depend on how steady your hand is.

If the edge is annoying you now you could always paint a tiny pinstripe on the edge of the stipes in a different colour?

Im with pete on this one also...In my youngre years build plastic models I paint with tape and lifted it while it was touch dry

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

Why does that not surprise me, you'd paint anything!
KB

ive always removed the masking as soon as ive finnished spraying, that way the paint doesnt crack or try and grab to the masking as its lifted upwards with its little bit of hardness

I've tryed that but it pealed paint, new paint, not the paint im masking. Which isn't good, the other thing is I don't leave the masking tape on longer the nesecary as it tend to peal the paint under off, I know it says 7 days or wateva but I've used that 7 days 3M stuff and it pealed paint off with only being on there less than 24 hours. I have acrylic paint which might make sense as it's acrylics not nearly as hard as 2-pak or enamel.

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1964 Morris 850, 1330 Supercharged - 81.8hp atws.
1975 Leyland Mini S 1100S powered - Nice and reliable.
1977 Leyland Mini LS - Project LS-T

Hi Zizzle, i think most everyone here is right (to a degree). I had an edge on every change of colour when i sprayed the flag on the express but i also knew this would happen and sprayed 1 coat more of each colour than i would have if there was no lines to mask...
after i had finished all the colours and was ready to apply the clear i went over the entire car with 1000 grit wet and dry... very fine and very lightly... this got rid of about 80% of the edging. 3 coats of 2k clear later and a day to let it rest i rubbed it back again...very lightly... before applying the final float coat (2k clear). works a treat and the edging is no longer there at all. (pity i wasnt happy with some other things thoug as now i am rubbing back again to apply one more coat...)

...but if anyone does a similar thing like masking and spraying lines like this the way to go is one more coat than you think you need, rub back, apply clear, rub back, apply last coat of clear. sounds like a lot of work and is a pian in the arse but worth it for that different effect.

Hope it all goes well...
Cheers, Bryan

BTW, for this type of thing use a vinyl masking tape against the edge of the line... the vinyl will shrink back away from the paint as the paint drys ( shrinks back something like half a poofteenth so you cant tell but usually separates from the paint slightly) personaly i dont wait for the paint to dry hard but i have done in the past and 6 of one half a dozen of the other... depends on your paint i guess..