Now that our weary Cheap Street '70 Chevelle has been tuned up with such pricey goodies as a 502, nitrous, and a 4L80-E, the "Cheap" moniker no longer rings true.
And, with 10-second timeslips on the books, we figured the Chevy needed an image update. Hasta la vista Cheap Street, and welcome "Mean Street," the new name for our in-house project.
With the new name we needed a new look. What better way to score a new paint look than with help from Original Parts Group and Car Nation Auto Body. Follow along to see how to add factory hood stripes. Your Chevelle may not run as well as ours, but it can easily look as good.
 We ordered a stencil kit (PN...  We ordered a stencil kit (PN 269117) from Original Parts Group for painting factory-type hood and decklid stripes similar to those on '70-'72 Chevelle Super Sports. The kit comes with the stick-on stencils, a scraper tool, striping tape, and instructions. |  Thoroughly clean the hood...  Thoroughly clean the hood and decklid, then, using a spray bottle, apply a light coat of water (with a few drops of dishwashing soap for lubricity) to the to-be-painted surfaces. |  Carefully pull the paper backing...  Carefully pull the paper backing off of a stencil and align it with the body panels (each stencil is labeled with its proper position). Use the supplied plastic scraper to carefully squeeze out any small air bubbles trapped between the stencil and the paint. |
 Allow the stencil to dry for...  Allow the stencil to dry for about 20 minutes, then carefully pull back the clear plastic covering and remove the proper die-cut portion of the stencil kit as indicated by the instructions. |  Using the supplied striping...  Using the supplied striping tape, finish the stencil line by applying the thin masking tape (arrows) between the hood's front and rear stencils. Mask off anything that you don't want painted (like the rest of the car). |  Use 1,000-grit wet/dry sandpaper...  Use 1,000-grit wet/dry sandpaper to wet sand the stripe area to slightly rough-up the texture so the new paint will adhere to it. Afterward, clean the sanded area to remove any dust, debris, or moisture. |
 Moments before applying the...  Moments before applying the stripe paint, wipe the hood with a painter's tack cloth to remove any small bits of dust or lint. Apply several light paint coats to avoid runs or sags. |  Different paints cure at different...  Different paints cure at different rates; you need to remove the masking paper, and then the stencils, while the paint is still a bit tacky. Allow the paint to dry overnight, or longer, before touching and/or buffing it to smooth the inevitable raised edges where the stencil was. Done! | |