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What I do when doing a precise cut with the vinyl fine-line tape is to leave the end a bit long, 4-5", place a razor blade on top of the tape where you want to make the cut, and pull the tape against the blade instead of pushing the blade into the tape. Don't apply too much pressure to the blade and make sure it's nice and sharp!

good tip! thanks!

kaw-a-holic wrote: What kind of tape are you using? Napa carries good pin stripping tape. Ask the guys at Napa paint shop what they would do and what paint they recommend. I can't wait to see your finished product. It's going to be a cool paint job.

The orange tape is vinyl, seems ok although it sometimes doesnt' stick super well on the bends. The yellow tape cost 2x as much and hardly bends at all. I don't know why anyone would want it... a waste of $

I did more masking of the pinstripes and did a test also. Heres the test


Top line has 2 coats, bottom has 1. 2 is definitely better. There are some slightly rough edges which is making me rather concerned about doing this. I don't want to mess up all the paint I did underneath the pinstripes! Click the pic to make it bigger and u can see the roughness I think.

I'm thinking maybe I should look into a tape-on stripe that can be clearcoated. Anybody know of tape like that?

here's more of the masking.

The masking is done but I'm nervous about putting the paint on. I really don't want a bunch of rough edges... Maybe I need more tests first.

I'm researching pinstripe tapes. There's plenty available, but I don't know if they will make such sharp bends.

3m blue fine line vinyl 1/16" for super tight turns 1/8" probably be small enough for it all 1/4" to back it up just because

clear sand reclear til edges are gone

are you saying to shoot clear on top of the rough edged pinstripes and then sand?

after art work Clear then block sand and re-clear to eliminate the hardline ridge sometimes a couple times if needed
I have also seen guys who use a midcoat clear to protect each layer before adding additional artwork (stripes)
incase it stinks they can sand back to the before and tryagain

I see, thanks. That's a clever way to do it.
I just found some 1/8 white vinyl pinstripe tape to experiment with. Seems pretty flexible. This may be my best solution. We shall see. I need to do some tests. Pics to come.

good luck looking forward to the pics

I haven't had anytime to do any painting the last year or so but I still keep up with a couple custom painters
and am still learning the guys from the local paint supply can be a wealth of info but they are giving advice for
blending panels & general painting rules that custom paint(ers) throw(s) completely out the window.

I did a lot of pinstripe practicing with paint, masking, and vinyl tape. I decided to go with the vinyl pinstripe tape.
Here it is with clear on top.


Looks great from a few feet away, but what you cant' see is the rough surface. This kinda shows it.