stripe and exterior paint

[chin_k]

My 2000 Chinook seems to have the stripe glued on, since it is thicker than the rest of the white paint on the body. But it is possible that it was painted on. Have no clue when it come to vehicle paint. Can someone tell me how it was done in the factory? Like the various coatings on the fiberglass, and how the strips are applied, and if there is a clear coat underneath the strips, or it is applied after the strips were applied? I assume it is not vinyl.

The main reason I want to find out is there is a layer of clear material that is delaminating from the Chinook stripe (and not anywhere else on the white area), and I want to understand if it is a plastic layer, or it is clear coat, etc..

[Blue~Go]

The Concourse stripes in the "racing" livery are paint with a clear coat applied over them. The clear coat can delaminate over time with UV exposure. That's very likely the "flaking" you see.

The "true" fix is to have it re-painted. That said, some here have had good results with carefully prepping and applying clear coat from a can. There is mention of it (with product details) in some threads.

There is also a thread in the reference section on stripe paint color codes. Reason we started a thread is that Chinook put these on paper stickers on the door jamb and in many cases they are illegible by now. I could still read mine - as could some others - so we started a reference thread. They are typically available automotive colors (IIRC my blue ones are GM truck colors).

The white areas are just the fiberglass gelcoat. If these are getting chalky they can be buffed out like a boat. So essentially, they molded a white/gelcoated shell, then in certain places painted over it (then clear-coated over the paint only) to make the stripes.

BG

PS: The striped/non-swoopy Premiers are vinyl stickers over white gelcoat. The swoopy paint jobs on both Concourses and Premiers are paint.

[chin_k]

Blue:
So there is no clear coat over the white area; the stripe is painted over the gelcoat, and have a clear coat on top of the stripe? i think I got it now.

A followup question for you. After I buff the gel coat, I just applies automotive wax over it, or this is not the right way to deal with the gel coat?

[Chinnin-about]

I redid the stripes on my 1990. I got the paint color match from NAPA auto parts superstore. They have a scanner that does an incredibly accurate match. There are others with this technology as well. I then had them load the paint into rattle cans. Turned out great.

On the gel coat, I used Maguires RV and Marine Oxidation compound, which works great ( after a deep pressure wash to get dirt out of cracks, etc.). Use a wool pad on your buffer, stay out of the sun, and use medium speed. May have to go over it more than once depending how bad it is. Then you wax with a good Carnuba wax.

[Chinnin-about]

In process.

[chin_k]

I think the stripe looks fine for most part, just the clear coat is coming off. Do people sand off the old stripes and apply new paint and new clear coat, or they can just apply the clear coat directly on the old paint?

[Chinnin-about]

I think the stripe looks fine for most part, just the clear coat is coming off. Do people sand off the old stripes and apply new paint and new clear coat, or they can just apply the clear coat directly on the old paint?

Well, there's a thread on this forum where freshening up the clear coat did the trick. Depends if you can ease the edge of the existing clear coat, and lightly sand it all to accept the new clear coat without hurting the paint. In my case, the paint was too far gone.

[Blue~Go]

Blue:
So there is no clear coat over the white area; the stripe is painted over the gelcoat, and have a clear coat on top of the stripe? i think I got it now.

Yes, that's it exactly. The "raised edge" you notice is where the clearcoat ends and the plain gelcoat begins.

A followup question for you. After I buff the gel coat, I just applies automotive wax over it, or this is not the right way to deal with the gel coat?

If you want to see how others do it, quite a few boating guides explain the process. Essentially you are removing a very thin layer of the oxidized (flat appearance) gelcoat and making it shiny again. You do this by starting with the roughest grit that is the least rough you can get away with, then go finer and finer. So you might use a more heavy duty compound, then a lighter one, then a polish, etc. (or some use wetsanding in lieu of the first grit). The idea is to go rough enough to remove any oxidation/issues, but no rougher because you want to save as much material as possible. It's not super thick, but thicker than paint.

In the old days I used to rent a million pound, all-metal Milwaukee buffer. Now I use a Makita 9227 - a great tool and my arms still work the next day (which they didn't after hoisting the Milwaukee all day) A "homeowner" type buffer will not cut it (I've tried). Also, at first I was too tentative, even with the Milwaukee. Then an old hand came by, grabbed it, and went to town and (although I was envisioning him going RIGHT THROUGH the hull), the result was .... gleaming boat! Then I just had to do the other 99% of the surface...

Here is an article that goes into detail. Some might find it to be too much detail, and/or everything might not apply, but I found it very useful, and modified some of my methods even after doing several boats that had come out reasonably fine (those were in the pre-Internet "dark ages").

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-main ... h-wax.html

I've used Meguiars, 3M, and then recently Presta products. I think they can all work well and to some extent it's what you get used to. I like Collinite 885 fleetwax for a good old-fashioned wax with UV protection.

By the way, wax doesn't really add shine. What I mean is, if you wax over a dull fiberglass, it might briefly look shiny but not "really." Instead, think of wax as the protectant you put over the shiny base (that you have created).

BG

PS: I should mention that some people use a coating type product like Mop N Glo or .... I can't remember the name right now [okay, it randomly popped into my head: Poli-Glow] but there is a marine product that is similar. Essentially, the reason the boat stops shining is that the surface is no longer completely flat and doesn't reflect light in the same way anymore. Compounding/buffing removes the high spots and now it shines again. The Mop N Glo type product fills some of the low areas (as I understand it). I believe it can build up or deteriorate (like a floor wax) and then you strip it and do it again.

I'm the type who likes to do it the first way, but both have their fans.

[kdarling]

Here's the best clear coat fix post:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=336

[chin_k]

Thank you for the info, guys. I will try this later in the summer and see if I can get it to shine better.