Need taillight restoration help

[wylde8]

Has anyone restored a set of the standard taillights for a 71-71 Charger?  I'm not sure how to go about recreating the black pinstripe that goes around each lens.  I just fixed all the broken corners and cracks in mine, but am not really sure what approach to use for the repaint.  Considering the curves and the fact that the stripe is in a recessed groove, I tend to think that masking it off would be very difficult.  Anyone have any tips or ideas? 

[ipstrategies]

I am in the process of doing my 71 tailights also. I was thinking of going to an art store and looking for some small brushes and or paint pens wth small tip. The worst part of my tailights are the black stripes are wore. Lucklily I have an extra set that I can try it out on.

[69fourspd]

Have you looked into purchasing a flexible pinstripe to use as tape?  Most body shops have many different widths, which you could match with the inner recess. The corner turns may be tricky, but with a little patience you could achieve nice results. 

[wylde8]

Well, I tried using some fineline tape I have lying around, but I couldn't get it to bend enough to make the curves.  Maybe I need to try some different tape or pinstriping.  I had never thought of trying to freehand the stripe on with a small paintbrush.  Knowing me, I probably couldn't keep my hand steady enough to make the black lines straight. 

[Drop Top]

A steady hand and a small paint brush is the easist way to do it. To keep your hand steady just lay the ball of your hand down on the part. Start from the top and work your way around. Keep plenty of paint on the tip of your brush. When you need more paint on the brush. Overlap where you left off by just a little. Just be sure you dont lay your hand on wet paint.

[Arigmaster]

Tape off the large areas as close as you can to the area you want painted and then use chap-stick along the edges where you don't want the paint to stick. I use this method on emblems and on some plastic pieces and it works great.

When you peel the tape off just use a soft cloth with hot water to remove the paint on the chap stick. Try this on an old plastic part if you want to practice first. I do this with emblems all the time.

[Drop Top]

What a cool idea. I never thought about that. Cool just plan Cool. 

[wylde8]

Chap Stick is a good idea.  I had already tried doing one with vaseline, but it was too messy to be able to apply along the lines to keep them straight.  Thanks.