[71GP76TA]

Thinking about replacing the stripes on my original paint '72 T/A. Has anybody ever done it without repainting the car?

[165th]

The old Pontiac Enthusiast has a great article on this topic. It was combined with some ink on my new stripe kits I had just put on the market.

It was titled Stripe Step up

Muscle Car Memories Restorations took Rocky Rotella's dad's Lucy Blue TA with 25 year old paint and removed the stripes, buffed out the old wax build up at the stripe edge, and installed a new set of stripes that are now sourced from Stencils and Stripes.

I can't seem to find a link to the article. A little help here please!

[nytrainer]

If they're not buried in clear it relatively easy to remove somewhat fresh stripes. Sometimes painters will use stripe(s) as a break line to blow in a repair. If that may be the case be careful as the repair paint can peel with the removal of the stripe (or you'll have a paint film "step"). If they're old and brittle it can be a pain. I've taken off stripes, faux woodgrain and even vinyl 90' stripes (3M Control-Tac) off the side of trains so I'm sharing some of the caveats I've encountered.
Start with mild heat from a heat gun and see how it goes. Helps to know the substrate too. There are solvents you can test too. But for example you don't want to use lacquer thinner to get residual glue off if it's original paint (and it evaporates too quickly anyway so you'd just be smearing the adhesive).
After all that's done it's best to buff the panels, You'll most likely see the ghost of the old stripes so make sure before removing the stripes the new ones are the same size.
Putting them on seems daunting but with a little soapy water sprayed on the panel you can move them around to exactly where they need to be, squeegee, remove protective film and you're done.
Easy peasy! Good luck.

[165th]

Found it:

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/hppp-...acing-stripes/

[71GP76TA]

Thanks!