Paint and Body Pros And Cons To Seperately Painting As Opposed To Everything Bolted In Place.

[CarMichael Angelo]

Whew,.....the title is so long I almost don't need to add this, but as the title asks what's the down side to painting the car bolted together as opposed to apart.

I plan to paint the thing myself. I also planned to paint it with the doors, hood, and trunk off.

But,.....this is me were talking about here.

Just as sure as I write this, I will take bets and give odds that I'll f up the paint trying to bolt the pieces back on after they are painted. But if I can't expect to get as good a job with the panels in place I'll forego that.
On one hand, being able to permanently bolt this junk on the car, align everything while its in primer and then not have to worry about a chip afterwards is a good thing, on the other, being able to break up the job into smaller little jobs is attractive as well,.....

So that's the topic, and the dilemma.......your .2?

 

[Boosted92LX]

Whew,.....the title is so long I almost don't need to add this, but as the title asks what's the down side to painting the car bolted together as opposed to apart.

I plan to paint the thing myself. I also planned to paint it with the doors, hood, and trunk off.

But,.....this is me were talking about here.

Just as sure as I write this, I will take bets and give odds that I'll f up the paint trying to bolt the pieces back on after they are painted. But if I can't expect to get as good a job with the panels in place I'll forego that.
On one hand, being able to permanently bolt this junk on the car, align everything while its in primer and then not have to worry about a chip afterwards is a good thing, on the other, being able to break up the job into smaller little jobs is attractive as well,.....

So that's the topic, and the dilemma.......your .2?

It's really easy to scratch during assembly. I'm no pro, but I'd jam it and hit where the fenders mount with a touch up gun so it's not bare, hang the fenders and doors, then shoot it. Maybe @Davedacarpainter can lend insight.

 

[Black1987]

I've done the backyard spraying both ways. As long as you have an extra pair of hands for assembly and you mask off the edges in case you bump them your fine.

I liked the coverage I got on the hood, doors, and trunk better spraying them apart.

 

[90sickfox]

My .02 is.... Jam the doors and trunk....separate the front nose from the fenders and the back bumper from the body...about 1/2 inch then spray. It gives the same sprayed apart look. Clean behind the fenders and nose and the rear bumper and body as much as possible...its amazing how much dust a HVLP gun can find. If you go that far might as well remove the window and door trim along with removing the rear quarter glass. Painting fully assembled puts paint in the crevices between parts....sometimes it can lead to chipping and peeling. To get a factory type paint job the car needs to be disassembled at least the fenders need to come off. Once you paint the inner fenders, core support, and hit the jams you can realign the fenders....line them up...and then gap the nose and bumper. That way you don't have to touch the fender bolts after paint. If you are doing the engine bay i suggest do that when the fenders are off. Just my .02

 

[Noobz347]

Wait a tic... What did you do on the LAST car?

What portion of it did you say, "I don't wanna do it like that again"?

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Wait a tic... What did you do on the LAST car?

What portion of it did you say, "I don't wanna do it like that again"?

The last car was surrendered to a buddy deal. That is the reason I'm painting the car myself, because I dont wanna do it like that again.

 

[Noobz347]

Ahhhh.... I sea.

 

[rdharper02]

How well can you mix it and are you going single stage? The better you can, the more likely the paint will match (ish). Lighter colors tend to be even easier to pick out as the paint will appear different under light due to the inability to stay consistent in the mix. So, if you have a proper mixer, and more than enough paint, go to it. If not, well you can always blend if needed. I've seen the worst of this with orange. A buddy with a paint shop decided to disassemble a eclipse and paint it orange for a customer. Though he got paid extra to "total color change" even the inner fenders it did not quite come out right. The guy was actually pretty talented and a stickler for mixing and measuring. The end result was that we reassembled and ghosted the whole car to get it to blend. I thought it looked great in about seven shades of orange. Ultimately, it would have been better to spray the backsides and undersides and then shoot the exterior after assembly.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Thanks guys, I guess the common consensus is to spray the parts that can't be gotten to, and assemble and paint.

I'm still a little away from that though. I still haven't got the main body primed, and blocked. If I get that done then of course that could happen. Guess I have a new goal.

 

[Noobz347]

Like sealing the entire body to be completely water-proof!




It's an amphibian after all.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Like sealing the entire body to be completely water-proof!




It's an amphibian after all.

REPTILE my friend,......no water to swim around in for this bad boy SW desert, only found in Arizona.

 

[Noobz347]

Damn. I thought I was onto something.

 

[Boosted92LX]

I was waiting on that. I didn't want to beat on Noobz today.. Lol. Not like he wouldn't do it back... Haha.

 

[TOOLOW91]

Didn't have an issue when my car was shot with it all together . We painted the trunk and the jambs as well with no interior but the dash in the car . Under hood was painted on the car at my request because of how well we had it aligned .

Some over spray made its way on to the upper intake but that was it . Hope that gives you somewhat of an answer .

Pros- Less stuff to scratch re assembling . Paint and color are going to lay the same .

Cons - Seams may fill with paint between bumpers and moldings depending on what's on the car and how heavy it lays . This could cause a place to start cracking paint or make an issue if a part needs to be removed at a later date .

Edit - don't mint fester the molester tapping the door off . That picture gets cycled often for a good laugh.

Sent from my iPhone using my fingers while my auto correct makes me seem illiterate

 

[faastfe]

Whew,.....the title is so long I almost don't need to add this, but as the title asks what's the down side to painting the car bolted together as opposed to apart.

I plan to paint the thing myself. I also planned to paint it with the doors, hood, and trunk off.

But,.....this is me were talking about here.

Just as sure as I write this, I will take bets and give odds that I'll f up the paint trying to bolt the pieces back on after they are painted. But if I can't expect to get as good a job with the panels in place I'll forego that.
On one hand, being able to permanently bolt this junk on the car, align everything while its in primer and then not have to worry about a chip afterwards is a good thing, on the other, being able to break up the job into smaller little jobs is attractive as well,.....

So that's the topic, and the dilemma.......your .2?

You Can Do it mike, Take it apart and do it the right way. You will be happier when its done.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

I just caught this thread Mike.
I'm doing mine off since the color covers so well. If you do this, just be sure the panels are hanging like they would on the car. You've seen my thread and how I painted the doors and fenders.
I'm not real sure about your orange though. Do a spray out to see how many coats it takes to reach your desired look. If it's 3 or 4 coats, you should be golden to shoot them off.
Pay close attention to exactly how much air pressure you are using and your gun settings from the first panel and be sure to duplicate that throughout the spraying process. That large flake will be finicky to variances in those areas.
Try to shoot them all in roughly the same temperature as well.
I have a booth to shoot in so it's easier for me.
Putting panels back on isn't really a big deal as long as you are careful. Like mentioned before, use tape on corners to protect against accidental bumping.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Didn't have an issue when my car was shot with it all together . We painted the trunk and the jambs as well with no interior but the dash in the car . Under hood was painted on the car at my request because of how well we had it aligned .

Some over spray made its way on to the upper intake but that was it . Hope that gives you somewhat of an answer .

Pros- Less stuff to scratch re assembling . Paint and color are going to lay the same .

Cons - Seams may fill with paint between bumpers and moldings depending on what's on the car and how heavy it lays . This could cause a place to start cracking paint or make an issue if a part needs to be removed at a later date .

Edit - don't mint fester the molester tapping the door off . That picture gets cycled often for a good laugh.

Sent from my iPhone using my fingers while my auto correct makes me seem illiterate

JEEZ! A fresh red paint job is a thing of beauty! Sweet car man.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

I just caught this thread Mike.
I'm doing mine off since the color covers so well. If you do this, just be sure the panels are hanging like they would on the car. You've seen my thread and how I painted the doors and fenders.
I'm not real sure about your orange though. Do a spray out to see how many coats it takes to reach your desired look. If it's 3 or 4 coats, you should be golden to shoot them off.
Pay close attention to exactly how much air pressure you are using and your gun settings from the first panel and be sure to duplicate that throughout the spraying process. That large flake will be finicky to variances in those areas.
Try to shoot them all in roughly the same temperature as well.
I have a booth to shoot in so it's easier for me.
Putting panels back on isn't really a big deal as long as you are careful. Like mentioned before, use tape on corners to protect against accidental bumping.

If I use the acrylic paint that I've had for a year now, there is no metallic in it. But There is something in that color that is photochemically reactive though.
I've had that color on a previous drag car.
Overall, that color turns darker when not in direct sunlight. It's like you can almost see some red in it. I'm not talking about the difference between the car in shade vs the sun, I'm talking about the deck surfaces vs the side panels. I'll have to look into that.

I like the idea of painting the pieces seperate in the space I'm gonna have to work with. And there quite a few pieces that need painting off the car regardless. I'll have to do it over the span of days/maybe weeks, as time permits....so this job will get spread out.
The closer I get to it, the more I'm convinced that I'm gonna be the one doin it. We Painted the panels seperate on that drag car IIRC. I know I painted the engine compartment myself, and the " painter" that did the rest.....well...lets just say my engine compartment was flatter than any other panel he painted for me.
As for the other things you mentioned.....I'll have to tap you the night before I plan to start painting to go over some things....again, that's a ways off.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

If I use the acrylic paint that I've had for a year now, there is no metallic in it. But There is something in that color that is photochemically reactive though.
I've had that color on a previous drag car.
Overall, that color turns darker when not in direct sunlight. It's like you can almost see some red in it. I'm not talking about the difference between the car in shade vs the sun, I'm talking about the deck surfaces vs the side panels. I'll have to look into that.

I like the idea of painting the pieces seperate in the space I'm gonna have to work with. And there quite a few pieces that need painting off the car regardless. I'll have to do it over the span of days/maybe weeks, as time permits....so this job will get spread out.
The closer I get to it, the more I'm convinced that I'm gonna be the one doin it. We Painted the panels seperate on that drag car IIRC. I know I painted the engine compartment myself, and the " painter" that did the rest.....well...lets just say my engine compartment was flatter than any other panel he painted for me.
As for the other things you mentioned.....I'll have to tap you the night before I plan to start painting to go over some things....again, that's a ways off.