I'd really like to get a set of stripes for my car, but I am concerend about the long-term effects. After having stripes on a car for an extended period of time (five years, for example) will there eventually be clearcoat/paint damage underneath them?

Just wondering.

 

I wouldn't think they'd 'damage' the paint other than possibly keeping the paint underneath from fading with the rest of the car...

 

Right, but I would assume if the car didn't sit in the sun too much that would not be an issue.

I mean...would the vinyl adhesive somehow weaken or break down the clearcoat/paint somehow after a long period of time?

 

Absolutely... if you keep her under cover most of the time, I think it'd be a non-issue too!


While I doubt it would, I am not an expert, so I don't want to say yes or no... I did a quick web search though, and didnt see anything saying anything in particluar about them being bad for the paint.

Maybe DuPont or PPG or another company would be helpful if you sent them an email?

 

I had pinstriping on my TA when I bought it, and I took it off right away. Underneath was a horror story. It looked like it melted down into the paint... under the sideview mirror on my driver door there was a little indention about 2 feet long. I was like WTF!!! I don't know how the striping did it, but it did. Now with actual STRIPES I don't think that would be happening, but I thought I'd just let you know of my case. Oh yeah BTW the pinstripes were on the car from new (99) to June of '02. So yeah.

Nate

 

yeah same here, i peeled the stripes off my friends TA with him, looked like total ***, it looked baked and cracked, i think it has something to do with the vinyl heating up and holding heat ontop of the hood itself that is already retaining heat just my .02 though hope it helps.

 

Some of the adhesives will attack the clear to some degree. Depends on the stripe manufacturer and the clear coat. Some clear coats absorb the adhesive and swell, just like tree sap can cause swelling when not removed promptly. Buffing can help to some degree, but sometimes not. The paint can also get "soft" from this exposure.

GM has a tendancy to put on striping that is designed NOT to come off, while other companies like Toyota use less aggressive adhesives.

In my experience aftermarket stripes are of the less aggressive variety. With those you have to worry more about paint fade variation issues than damage.