Replacing pinstriping... better left to professionals?

[baxtej44]

The pinstripping (red on my truck) is slowly coming off in a few spots, and I was wondering if that is better left off to the professionals or not?


I don't have past history with it, or pretty much anything auto wise, unfortunately




Also, wouldn't mind redoing my bedliner and spraying bedliner underneath/on the mud rail along the bottom of my truck either. Would prevent the rust that seems to be popping up on my truck out of nowhere I hate rust, and I can't personally fix it.

 

[dirtsquirt]

very very very simple

 

[baxtej44]

very very very simple

okay, well it won't be happening super soon, but what are some general guidelines I should follow?


I.E.
brands
materials of the pinstriping
tools i will need (heat gun, etc)
time it takes
weather guidelines
surface prep

 

[BeefStew42791]

the most important thing to find out is it either painted on or pasted on. Painting, yes get somebody good at it lol..pasting, my 8 year old cousin could do it. I'm sure it would help to at least watch a youtube video or something about it. Assuming its a paste job, you shouldn't need any tools other then (1) a clean truck, and (2) an exacto knife to cut the stripe at the gaps. Don't do any surface prep other then cleaning your truck. As always though its much better to do it on a nice sunny day. It shouldn't take long at all either, just make sure the stripe follows the right line, follow the steps of gettin it on there and ur good. Youtube is your friend

 

[baxtej44]

the most important thing to find out is it either painted on or pasted on. Painting, yes get somebody good at it lol..pasting, my 8 year old cousin could do it. I'm sure it would help to at least watch a youtube video or something about it. Assuming its a paste job, you shouldn't need any tools other then (1) a clean truck, and (2) an exacto knife to cut the stripe at the gaps. Don't do any surface prep other then cleaning your truck. As always though its much better to do it on a nice sunny day. It shouldn't take long at all either, just make sure the stripe follows the right line, follow the steps of gettin it on there and ur good. Youtube is your friend

it's pasted on, because in spots it's peeling off


what can i do to keep it straight? put a piece of painters tape off first or something?

or does it automatically stay in a straight line otherwise it will crinkle/wrinkle up?

 

[BeefStew42791]

Ok, then what you wanna do is get the rest off. Paint detailers use this thing made called a Gum Rubber Wheel, and its basically a 5-inch diameter rubber 'eraser' used to remove stickers and decals and other gummy, sticky stuff. Or, if your planning on only doing this once, there's a product called Lift Off. It comes in a spray can and what it does is after you spray it on and wait however long, it'll penetrate the glue holding the stripe on and seperate it from the clear. The stripe should wipe right off, but it shouldn't hurt the clear in anyway, no guarantee on polishes or waxes or anything though. I've seen this stuff round places like Lowes/Home Depot. It should only take about 10 to 15 minutes and then your ready to wash your car!
You could put painters tape on there to give you a base line, it would certainly be helpful in that if you make any mistakes its not gonna be that big a deal since its not your final app. When I said straight though I didn't mean like level or anything, its straight as in following the body lines of your truck. The wrinkling shouldn't happen unless you've got it goin at a pretty extreme angle as far as straightness is concerned, but if you don't keep a measure of taughtness on the stripe when its applied then it could crinkle up. Then again though you don't want to go all hercules on it, its not a rope or anything haha. You want just enough to keep it from binding up on itself. What might even be a good idea for you is after your application area is dry enough, take masking tape or painters tape or something and mark first the beginning and ending marks of the stripe, and then with a pencil, mark on the tape the level that you want the center of the stripe to correspond to. Then you might wanna run your masking tape length wise either below or above the stripe, making adjustments along the way. ALSO as you apply the stripe DON'T run your fingers along where its already made contact with the car, make sure you hold it just ahead of the contact area, this makes sure you don't stretch the material too much or even rip it (OUCH)

 

[baxtej44]

Ok, then what you wanna do is get the rest off. Paint detailers use this thing made called a Gum Rubber Wheel, and its basically a 5-inch diameter rubber 'eraser' used to remove stickers and decals and other gummy, sticky stuff. Or, if your planning on only doing this once, there's a product called Lift Off. It comes in a spray can and what it does is after you spray it on and wait however long, it'll penetrate the glue holding the stripe on and seperate it from the clear. The stripe should wipe right off, but it shouldn't hurt the clear in anyway, no guarantee on polishes or waxes or anything though. I've seen this stuff round places like Lowes/Home Depot. It should only take about 10 to 15 minutes and then your ready to wash your car!
You could put painters tape on there to give you a base line, it would certainly be helpful in that if you make any mistakes its not gonna be that big a deal since its not your final app. When I said straight though I didn't mean like level or anything, its straight as in following the body lines of your truck. The wrinkling shouldn't happen unless you've got it goin at a pretty extreme angle as far as straightness is concerned, but if you don't keep a measure of taughtness on the stripe when its applied then it could crinkle up. Then again though you don't want to go all hercules on it, its not a rope or anything haha. You want just enough to keep it from binding up on itself. What might even be a good idea for you is after your application area is dry enough, take masking tape or painters tape or something and mark first the beginning and ending marks of the stripe, and then with a pencil, mark on the tape the level that you want the center of the stripe to correspond to. Then you might wanna run your masking tape length wise either below or above the stripe, making adjustments along the way. ALSO as you apply the stripe DON'T run your fingers along where its already made contact with the car, make sure you hold it just ahead of the contact area, this makes sure you don't stretch the material too much or even rip it (OUCH)

what do i do about spots where the striping needs to switch directions, like around wheel wells or whatever?

 

[BeefStew42791]

Thats also where a good stencil made of masking or painters tape would be useful. Its also a good idea to take a pic of the truck on a sideways view for reference later. As far as actually manipulating the stripe, what that takes is kinda similar as when applying it straight: keeping a steady (but not too firm) grip on the stripe with your rear hand, and smoothing the stripe onto the truck with your front hand, lock your arm's so as to hold their shape. Then simply rotate whichever way you need to, up or down. Be sure not to use extreme angles however (like 60+) or else binding may occur. Sometimes simply eyeballing it may even need to be done..if your a good eyeballer.