Grand Sport Decals

[BlackNBlue95]

Hey I am just curious I know that alot of the gm decals for the GS stripe and hash marks are discontinued. Is there any aftermarket companies that make the striping decals?

I have been thinking of decals instead of paint because if I decide to they can be removed and being mine is a 95 admiral blue I think it would look cool with the GS theme..
-Rick

 

[Michael Malone Smith]

you also might want to drop Hutch an email at hutch@hashmarks.com Was reading in the Grand Sport Registry about this topic a while ago but can't remember the final out come. There was a problem I think....

 

[Vettelt193]

GM did not use decals for the whole GS. They did use them for the hash marks, and for the pin stripes down the skunk stripe (the pin stripes were actually thin admiral blue stripes, as the white was all painted).

Also There were different methods of painting the GS cars...
-some started all white, with the blue sprayed on after...
-some started blue, clear coated, white stripe painted, then cleared again....
-some had the entire white stripe painted, others have the small area on the roll bar, between where the targa top ends and the hatch lift peice begins as a white decal.

In my opinion, you can't make the whole skunk stripe a decal, it will (quite frankly) look like crap (it is really tough to make a wide stripe like that not have any bubbles, and most of the time decals are not shiny enough) Also, don't think you can just peal these things off... many times when you peal decals off factory paint, the clear coat comes off too.

 

[GS Diva]

you also might want to drop Hutch an email at hutch@hashmarks.com Was reading in the Grand Sport Registry about this topic a while ago but can't remember the final out come. There was a problem I think....

Michael,

I believe that was my problem that you read about! I was looking for the pinstriping for the rear deck as I had a minor accident with a Walmart 18-wheeler...if you can imagine!:eek
I was able to find some original GM striping in a vintage parts place in the Midwest, thanks to the Grand Sport Registry.

GM did not use decals for the whole GS. They did use them for the hash marks, and for the pin stripes down the skunk stripe (the pin stripes were actually thin admiral blue stripes, as the white was all painted).

Vettelt93, I need to clear up some misconceptions about the Grand Sport! The pinstripes are, in fact, comprised of both Admiral Blue and Artic White, 2-in-1. Secondly, the Grand Sports were all painted blue first, with white stripes added. There were no options as to blue first, white first, or any other way! This is a common rumor but with absolutely no validity!

Elaine

 

[Vettelt193]

Michael,

I believe that was my problem that you read about! I was looking for the pinstriping for the rear deck as I had a minor accident with a Walmart 18-wheeler...if you can imagine!:eek
I was able to find some original GM striping in a vintage parts place in the Midwest, thanks to the Grand Sport Registry.



Vettelt93, I need to clear up some misconceptions about the Grand Sport! The pinstripes are, in fact, comprised of both Admiral Blue and Artic White, 2-in-1. Secondly, the Grand Sports were all painted blue first, with white stripes added. There were no options as to blue first, white first, or any other way! This is a common rumor but with absolutely no validity!

Elaine

I was not intending to to say there was an option as to which way GM would paint a particular GS, just that they were painted differently. I will try to find the article I read about them that explained the process and changes throughout the production line.
I am sure you are right about the pin-stripes down the skunk being both blue and white.

 

[GS Diva]

I was not intending to to say there was an option as to which way GM would paint a particular GS, just that they were painted differently. I will try to find the article I read about them that explained the process and changes throughout the production line.
I am sure you are right about the pin-stripes down the skunk being both blue and white.

Bob,

I'm going to double check with the Grand Sport Registry about the "blue first/white first" theory about them being painted, and you look for the article. We'll meet back here with the info we find and compare notes!

As far as the pinstriping goes, as I said, I was able to find the original GM striping for the rear deck, and it definitely is a blue/white stripe. I can only assume the rest of the GS was done the same way.

Elaine

 

[Vettelt193]

From what I remember about the article: most of the GS's were painted as you described... Blue, cleared, white stripe, cleared again.... I remember the early production models were the ones that were white first... I think the article explained that GM did it because they thought they were going to have problems with the white over the blue (light over dark color). I think the blue over white scheme posed far more problems than that though (i think it was hard to get the blue to look right).... The article I read even explained how many coats of paint were applied at each step in the process.... now I gotta find it!

 

[GS Diva]

Bob,

As I suspected, this is an old wives' tale...here's the dope from the Grand Sport gurus --

"Q: I've heard that all Grand Sports started out as white Corvettes. Is this true?

A: No. This is another favorite old wives tale that insists that when GM was producing the Grand Sport, they started off with an Arctic White Corvette, then masked it off and painted the non-stripe areas Admiral Blue. There is an off white, primer base below the blue but its not an Arctic White finish coat. The rumor was probably started by someone who ran their fingernail over the pinstripes on a GS and noted that it caught on the blue, not the white, hence they assumed (incorrectly) that the blue paint was applied over white. The secret is that the pinstripes are not paint at all but rather tape with two paralell colors, white and blue. GM used tape for the pinstripes (and hashmarks) because they found it too difficult to paint. Understandable since the "skunk" stripe varies in width from front to back. "


It is believed that perhaps in pre-production various color applications were tried, but the end result is the above info.

Elaine

 

[Michael Malone Smith]

[
others have the small area on the roll bar, between where the targa top ends and the hatch lift peice begins as a white decal.

You are correct , the part about the small area between the targa and the hatch ,except all the GS coupes ( except maybe the first few) have this peice as a white decal because they found it too difficult to paint. This is a little known fact.:eek