2 Stage vs Single Stage on a Repaint

[Capflyer]

I would like to repaint new colors on the stripes on my plane leaving the main color (white) untouched and looking for some expert advice on selecting which system to go with. I have no idea if the existing paint was a single stage paint or BC/CC but there is a ridge where the lines are painted leading me to believe it may be a single stage paint job. Does this really matter though? I guess my thought is that if I spray a BC/CC system on the stripes then I'll have an even larger ridge than exists now and if the original paint was a single stage spraying the CC over it to blend in the stripes might look funny. My initial thought is to just go with a single stage paint and not worry about the ridge. Am I even thinking clearly?

Soooo, any advice on how to proceed?

 

[aerhed]

Hi, if you have a ridge it just means the stripes were layed on over the base coat, which is the most common/easiest way. If it was cleared overall then the ridge would be less abrupt (kinda like a fillet). Anything you do over the stripes will make the ridge correspondingly taller. You could mask just outside the stripes then sand down the ridge & stripes a little. This would soften the ridge, but if you don't sand perfectly you will leave an outline of the old ridge. Only way I know to get "ridgeless" stripes is to double mask. That leaves both colors at the same height. Quite a bit more work. Alternatively you can "bury" the whole thing under a bucket of clear but it may peel, crack, or yellow.