1971 LT-1 Stripe Question

[Paul C.]

My 1971 LT-1 is War Bonnet Yellow and has a white stripe--it should be black. The stripe is not painted on but a stripping material like a decal. What is the point reduction for this?

What happens if I have it removed and replace it with a black stripe decal--not painted?

If I have it painted, it won't be covered by clearcoat and would appear raised. What's the deduct for that?

Can you just spray the black strip and then clearcoat that area. I know nothing about car painting.

Thanks Paul

[Terry M.]

Re: 1971 LT-1 Stripe Question

My 1971 LT-1 is War Bonnet Yellow and has a white stripe--it should be black. The stripe is not painted on but a stripping material like a decal. What is the point reduction for this?

What happens if I have it removed and replace it with a black stripe decal--not painted?

If I have it painted, it won't be covered by clearcoat and would appear raised. What's the deduct for that?

Can you just spray the black strip and then clearcoat that area. I know nothing about car painting.

Thanks Paul

Your 1971 did not originally come with clear coat. The black stripe was painted over the WBY paint. In NCRS judging you will receive a far greater deduction for the clear coat than you will for the wrong stripe color. There is a Standard deduction for the clear coat, but I don't have those materials with me and I don't want to guess at it.

There is no standard deduction for the stripes so you will get a variety of opinions on that subject.

[Paul D.]

Re: 1971 LT-1 Stripe Question

Terry, In your opinion, would the tape stripes on Paul's car now be considered "pin striping" and suffer the big point penalty? If your answer is yes, would he take a lesser hit if he just removed the tape altogether and presented the car sans stripes or maybe with just the LT-1 decal? Chip.

[Paul C.]

Re: 1971 LT-1 Stripe Question

anyone have any idea a ball cost to get the LT-1 stripes painted on the WBY?

[Kevin G.]

Re: 1971 LT-1 Stripe Question

anyone have any idea a ball cost to get the LT-1 stripes painted on the WBY?

Hi Paul, Sorry I don't have an idea as for the cost to have them painted on, but wanted to add the stripes were painted by using a stencil. This stencil not only allowed for the stripe but small perforations (approx. one inch apart)from the reliefs on the stencil, can be seen on originals. It takes a good eye to see these little marks but they can be noted for deduction by an observant judge.

[Terry M.]

Re: 1971 LT-1 Stripe Question

Terry, In your opinion, would the tape stripes on Paul's car now be considered "pin striping" and suffer the big point penalty? If your answer is yes, would he take a lesser hit if he just removed the tape altogether and presented the car sans stripes or maybe with just the LT-1 decal? Chip.

That's an interesting point of view Paul. I hadn't thought of it.

An individual judge might also take that point of view, but I would appeal that to the National Team Leader. I can't speak for the 1970-72 Team Leader, however.

[Alan S.]

Re: 1971 LT-1 Stripe Question

Hi,
Since the stripe is described and discussed as a separate item, but within #2 Body Paint in the TIM&JG, would it be appropriate for the judges make a deduction of some amount for the tape stripes from the Paint total points available on the Judging Sheet for Item #2?
Regards,
Alan

[Mark E.]

Re: 1971 LT-1 Stripe Question

Your 1971 did not originally come with clear coat. The black stripe was painted over the WBY paint. In NCRS judging you will receive a far greater deduction for the clear coat than you will for the wrong stripe color. There is a Standard deduction for the clear coat, but I don't have those materials with me and I don't want to guess at it.

Can you clarify this? My understanding is that GM cars of this vintage were sprayed with acrylic lacquer. Clear coat isn't used with solid colors since the color coat is buffed out. But metallic colors are top coated with clear acrylic lacquer to provide the material needed to color sand and buff.

[Thad L.]

Re: 1971 LT-1 Stripe Question

I think a couple hundred bucks! Not counting the cost of the masking.
Thad

[Terry M.]

Re: 1971 LT-1 Stripe Question

Can you clarify this? My understanding is that GM cars of this vintage were sprayed with acrylic lacquer. Clear coat isn't used with solid colors since the color coat is buffed out. But metallic colors are top coated with clear acrylic lacquer to provide the material needed to color sand and buff.

In the 1970-1972 time frame NO clear coat was used as a top coat at St Louis for Corvette production. Metallic colors used clear (sometimes as much as 70%) as a carrier for the pigments and metallic content, but that is not the same as a clear top coat. In production the pigment and metallic content settled to the bottom of the paint layers, leaving a majority of the clear nearer the top of the paint layer. To the best of my knowledge overall color sanding was not done at St Louis either. There was likely some spot sanding to remove/minimize paint divots, but overall color sanding was too labor intensive for production. The horizontal surfaces (called the A surfaces) received only a buffing. Most people would call it a quick buffing.

There is some debate as to whether a clear top coat was ever applied to production Corvettes at St Louis. I have heard there was some base/clear applied late in the life of the St Louis Corvette Plant, in 1981, but I would defer to those more knowledgeable in 1980 and 1981 production.

[Mark E.]

Re: 1971 LT-1 Stripe Question

Thanks Terry.

Not using clear on metallic lacquer colors is unusual from my experience. Lacquer dries with a satin finish so some level of polishing is required to create an acceptable finish. Polishing a metallic color coat results in a mottled mess as the various levels of metallic are removed at different rates. I worked for a small body shop for a couple of summers in the late '70s (Coast Corvettes, now a much larger business), and my impression is that cars with a GM factory acrylic lacquer metallic had a thin coat of clear. It was risky buffing those since it was easy to burn through the clear, leaving the mottled look I mentioned.

So if St. Louis didn't use clear over metallic colors, how was the lacquer buffed out without leaving a mottled look? Is it possible the guns were reloaded with clear for the last couple of coats without cleaning after applying the color coats? (That's a common practice, and similar to what you're describing.) Or maybe they mastered a process so acrylic lacquer dried with an acceptable finish without buffing? (I've never seen that, but I guess it's possible.)

[Alan S.]

Re: 1971 LT-1 Stripe Question

Hi Mark,
Remember, for 1971 the bodies went into an oven 3 different times after the body paint was applied…20 minutes immediately after painting, then again for 40 minutes after the 'blackout' was done, and then again into a "re-flow" oven at 280 degrees. It then went on to be "polished".
This process was described in detail in the Oct/Nov 1970 issue of Corvette News which introduced the 71 model year cars.
There's even a photo of a "New vapor reflow gun that makes imperfections vanish"!!
Quite a different paint process than was going on in most body shops across the country spraying lacquer at that time.
Regards,
Alan

[Mark E.]

Re: 1971 LT-1 Stripe Question

Thanks Alan. I inherited virtually all issues of CN a few years ago, so I'll look up the article.

Getting back to Paul's question- Were the LT-1 stripes were painted after the paint ovens, so they would have a definite raised edge?

And speaking of CN, isn't there an article profiling one of the guys who painted these stripes a StL? I thought he did it by hand with a brush, but maybe he sprayed it with a stencil as suggested above... I'm now motivated to look for it.

[Alan S.]

Re: 1971 LT-1 Stripe Question

Hi Mark,
The info about the painting of the stripe and the fellow who did it is in the same CN issue.
Regards,
Alan

[Paul C.]

Re: 1971 LT-1 Stripe Question

Thanks for the pictures. I don't think I'm play painter. I'll pay a professional to do it. Thanks to everyone for all your help and explainations.