2FST4U Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 I picked up my vista blue on Monday. I absolutely love the car!!! The Le Mans stripes are a different story. First they aren't centered and the way they joined the sections on the front bumper is terrible. Not much better over the spoiler. I'm going to sit back and wait I have a feeling Ford is going to get lots of complaints! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dropping__Chronic Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 I picked up my vista blue on Monday. I absolutely love the car!!! The Le Mans stripes are a different story. First they aren't centered and the way they joined the sections on the front bumper is terrible. Not much better over the spoiler. I'm going to sit back and wait I have a feeling Ford is going to get lots of complaints! Drive fast enough that the stripes center themselves. Or alternatively, Sell it as a one of a kind Shelby Cobra GT500 with unique stripe modifications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpretzel Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Drive fast enough that the stripes center themselves. Or alternatively, Sell it as a one of a kind Shelby Cobra GT500 with unique stripe modifications. Uniques stripe modifications. That's pretty funny. Although, I doubt 2FST4U see s much humor in it since it's his car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2FST4U Posted September 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Uniques stripe modifications. That's pretty funny. Although, I doubt 2FST4U see s much humor in it since it's his car. Great idea! I don't know if I'll ever sell this car but now I have one of a kind. My god I can't believe how my car's value has increased. Kinda like a mis stamped coin from the mint! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alloy Dave Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 I picked up my vista blue on Monday. I absolutely love the car!!! The Le Mans stripes are a different story. First they aren't centered and the way they joined the sections on the front bumper is terrible. Not much better over the spoiler. I'm going to sit back and wait I have a feeling Ford is going to get lots of complaints! If they would get the stripes really crooked, it may have a nice checkerboard appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StangFinally Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Even with the wait so far, I don't think I would take delivery if I wasn't satisfied with the stripes, or even the paint for that matter.... Haven't seen your car, but if you are not happy with it, I would have the dealership replace the stripes.... Bert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfarmdog Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 How bad are the stripes? Will it show up in a picture? Take one and post it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VNMOUS1 Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 I have seen what everyone is complaining about the way the stripes lap at the two areas mentioned. I don't understand the complaint, it is a compound curve how do you think you would improve the look? You can't just butt up two pieces at the curve because as it gets hot and cold you will end up with a nasty looking joint? I think Ford did a great job with what they have and sure as heck looks better than what I have seen dealers apply and better than previous year cars with stripes. Well, thank you Stevie Wonder! The answer is simple....and expensive. You have to die cut the stripes from a mold to that specific shape. The keyword here is MOLD. You can't take linear, right angled materials, bias cut them and make curves by overlapping and make it look any better than this is. It is the cheap, crappy way of doing it. I love my car, but I'm paying a couple of grand to do what Ford should have done in the first place....painting the damn things on. Every custom painter I've spoken with has just shook his/her head and can't believe how bad it is. I have had 4 of the stripes replaced and they all still look as crappy. Go to a dealer that has an aftermarket company stripe their cars and see if you can find overlaps like the ones on the edge of the GT500's ducktail or on the front face of the front bumper. You won't. And what's even better is the fact that Ford ONLY sells these things in a full kit, so down the road if you screw one up you have to buy the whole shootin' match to get anything replaced. Count on anywhere from $2,000-$3,000 to have you stripes pulled, the clear sanded, stripes painted and all surfaces re-cleared. DON'T let them cheap out like Roush and shoot them with the parts still on the car. They don't even remove the bumper covers! I've seen a dozen of them with paint up to the grill and not under it. A great painter will remove everything but the roof. They'll also paint around surface edges, for example if you're sitting in the car, you'll see paint all the way to the trailing edge of the hood and it actually wraps under and around the edge to the underside of the hood. It ain't cheap. Oh...and don't paint on the side stripes. You'll be having them repainted every year if it's a "driver". Leave 'em taped. Easy and cheap to repair and unless you're showing your car at Palm Beach, no one will look/check/care. They all look at the hood. bj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VNMOUS1 Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 You must have better painters than we do in my state. I would not let a shop re-clear a brand new car and expect it to last as long as FACTORY. I plan on keeping my car for a very long time and don't plan on repainting it every 6-7 years (which is the average lifespan of a good aftermarket paint job). I agree that they should have been painted on to begin with, but the deal is done. I work around auto wholesalers all day and one of the first things they look for is a repainted car because they know it's not worth as much. Unless you spend several thousands of dollars a keen eye can spot a repainted car. I would almost think a better option would be having a Vinyl Sign Shop (who designs and letters auto's) to recut and apply stripes, but as you said you need a mold or a very smart person to figure dimensions. Still overall I don't think they are that bad. signed, Stevie I see. My guy's a couple of grand minimum. He's been in business for nearly 25 years. Take a look at the link and some of his work. It speaks for itself. He's painted over 20,000 vehicles in his career. And he's not even in MY state. I'm in the 3rd largest city in America and couldn't find anyone with this guy's talent, so I went to him, behind the Cheddar Curtain, in Wisconsin. Worth the trip, worth the dough, and I'm not even remotely concerned about the lifespan of the work or the value of my car. I've never seen such positive word of mouth about a craftsman. My brother-in-law does this same level of work but is 2,000 miles away. He says this guy's beyond "the real deal". http://www.cpvehicles.com/showroom.php Enjoy. bj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutter Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 I see. My guy's a couple of grand minimum. He's been in business for nearly 25 years. Take a look at the link and some of his work. It speaks for itself. He's painted over 20,000 vehicles in his career. And he's not even in MY state. I'm in the 3rd largest city in America and couldn't find anyone with this guy's talent, so I went to him, behind the Cheddar Curtain, in Wisconsin. Worth the trip, worth the dough, and I'm not even remotely concerned about the lifespan of the work or the value of my car. I've never seen such positive word of mouth about a craftsman. My brother-in-law does this same level of work but is 2,000 miles away. He says this guy's beyond "the real deal". http://www.cpvehicles.com/showroom.php Enjoy. bj Yeah...this guy could paint my stripes any day....damn...slick work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratnacage Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 I work around auto wholesalers all day and one of the first things they look for is a repainted car because they know it's not worth as much. Unless you spend several thousands of dollars a keen eye can spot a repainted car. On a high-dollar/collectible car such as the Shelby, the keen eye isn't enough. Dealers taking one in on trade, or wholesalers will use a device that measures paint thickness in microns (non-invasive/non-destructive test). Whether or not the eye can detect it, any deviation in paint thickness across the car is enough to devalue it. Unfortunately, it happens that people who repaint a bumper or panel simply to fix a scratch or blemish, scuff, etc, actually do more harm to the value of their car than if they just left it alone, although, again, this applies mostly to high dollar, collectible types. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUFDRAFT Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 I hate technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owenkelley Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 I agree with your statement about the poor quality of the striping. I mentioned this a couple weeks ago in another post. To me the worst spot is on the rear spoiler, where the two pieces of stripe meet. A friend of mine saw one last week at a carshow and said it looked better, but it still wasn't great. I haven't heard this complaint about the striping on the GT Mustangs, but I haven't looked at one that close to compare. I hope Ford gets enough complaints that they do something to fix the problem before mine is built. One of my friends said that 20 years from now at carshows people will know it has the factory stripes because of how crappy they look! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomAce Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 I agree with your statement about the poor quality of the striping. I mentioned this a couple weeks ago in another post. To me the worst spot is on the rear spoiler, where the two pieces of stripe meet. A friend of mine saw one last week at a carshow and said it looked better, but it still wasn't great. I haven't heard this complaint about the striping on the GT Mustangs, but I haven't looked at one that close to compare. I hope Ford gets enough complaints that they do something to fix the problem before mine is built. One of my friends said that 20 years from now at carshows people will know it has the factory stripes because of how crappy they look! This one's simple... Buy a 'vert, no stripe issues! Just my thoughts there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnut Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 I agree with your statement about the poor quality of the striping. I mentioned this a couple weeks ago in another post. To me the worst spot is on the rear spoiler, where the two pieces of stripe meet. A friend of mine saw one last week at a carshow and said it looked better, but it still wasn't great. I haven't heard this complaint about the striping on the GT Mustangs, but I haven't looked at one that close to compare. I hope Ford gets enough complaints that they do something to fix the problem before mine is built. One of my friends said that 20 years from now at carshows people will know it has the factory stripes because of how crappy they look! Given the fact that the stripe department is holding up the cars and Ford did not anticipate all the orders for stripes, it seems reasonable to assume that the well done cars were done by the experienced techs and the poor jobs done by the trainees. My car looks great, well as good as vinyl will look. So, take it back until they get it right. They shouldn't look crappy, but remember they are vinyl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbornitz Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 I see. My guy's a couple of grand minimum. He's been in business for nearly 25 years. Take a look at the link and some of his work. It speaks for itself. He's painted over 20,000 vehicles in his career. And he's not even in MY state. I'm in the 3rd largest city in America and couldn't find anyone with this guy's talent, so I went to him, behind the Cheddar Curtain, in Wisconsin. Worth the trip, worth the dough, and I'm not even remotely concerned about the lifespan of the work or the value of my car. I've never seen such positive word of mouth about a craftsman. My brother-in-law does this same level of work but is 2,000 miles away. He says this guy's beyond "the real deal". http://www.cpvehicles.com/showroom.php Enjoy. bj When I was living in Milwaukee I had these guys spray in my bedliner on my truck. They did a great job on that. But while I was there I got to see some cool Sh!t. These guys are good and know what they are doing from what I saw. What's wrong with the cheddar curtain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VNMOUS1 Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 When I was living in Milwaukee I had these guys spray in my bedliner on my truck. They did a great job on that. But while I was there I got to see some cool Sh!t. These guys are good and know what they are doing from what I saw. What's wrong with the cheddar curtain? Oh....uh....nothing. bj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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