pinstriping running...

..if gas is spilled on it. i had the tank replaced and repainted by cliff's in conn. i live on long island. hate to have to go back there.

here's what it looks like,
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/29251424@N00/4311806092/
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/29251424@N00/4311806084/
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i did clean the smear.
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my question is, can i apply gloss clear rustolem to it to seal it against gas, or do i have to get it back to cliff's in conn.?
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http://www.cliffscyclerevolution.com/
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they haven't responded to my email yet.

Pinstriping shouldn't run if gas is spilled on it! I'd take it back to them and tell them to use the right striping paint...Used to be striping lacquer in the old days, I don't know what is used nowadays.

Today's materials are different, and it's not unusual for even the old 'One Shot' paint to be affected by gas spilled on it...the only reliable cure for that, in my opinion, is to lay a coupla three coats of clear over everything after the pinstriping is done. And if someone else did your paint job, take it back to them to have that done... If you don't know what you're doing around paint, it could turn out worse than it is right now!!!

If he used One Shot which I have been using for 30 years I wonder what he thinned it with. He has a good reputation I am sure he would fix it.

What I like to do, ideally, when I'm gonna have something striped, I'll lay down the base, then a coat or two of clear...I'll let that set up for a day or two, maybe longer, then I'll color sand with 600 or finer...then I'll have the pinstriper do his thing, normally with One Shot, or whatever feels right to them, then I'll let that age at least a week...then I'll lay a couple of coats of clear over that...

It's important not to let the clear get too thick...at the same time, you don't wanna sand thru it when you're color sanding...There is also some risk involved... sometimes the One Shot will react with the clear, either when you lay it over the first clear coats, OR...more likely...when you lay clear over the One Shot...

Such are the pain and tribulations of being a painter...

Clear coat

On an Accord I bought a few years ago, the dealer installed pin-striping. He also dribbled several drops of paint on the body work. He used tar remover to get the mess off several days later after I pointed it out to him. I do not think that paint is what it used to be from the factory. I would also suggest clear coat too.

I'm told that one can put some activator in the One Shot to make sure it is compatible with the top coat, but since I'm not a striper, I can't guarantee whether that's true or not...but what I make sure I do is coordinate with the striper so that he and I know what we're both up to! I haven't dealt with stripes much, or in a long time, but, there have been times along the way...