Paint Question for the Pros - Painting Fenders, Doors Separate

[Detroit Iron]

I have seen in some cases where fenders, hoods and doors are painted separate from the rest of the car. My understand for this method is most likely to get paint in areas that can't be reached when these parts are left on the car.

When this method is done; are the fenders and doors left on the car during the block sanding process and then removed for paint? Or are they sanded off the car? And after the fenders and doors are painted, are they done? Or, does the car get a final coat of paint once the fenders and doors are reinstalled?

I'm getting ready to paint my first complete car and I was thinking it would be easier to paint the items off the car. I already removed the doors to get the paint on all the hard to reach areas.

 

[70chall440]

I am not a professional, but I think there are a number of ways do do this; I prime the car with fenders, doors, hood, trunk lid off initially, then assemble it for blocking and application of any other primer. Once it is straight, I blow it a part and then paint everything disassembled or in some cases blow it a part and paint all of the areas that would not see paint when assembled (jams, inside the trunk, trunk gutters, etc. then assemble it and paint the outside.

There seems to be varying opinions about paint matching if painted apart verses painted assembled or partially assembled. The one thing I would say is you need to think about over spray and where it will land. You don't want to shoot the jams with paint and then primer the outside of an assembled car bc you will get over spray into the jams and similar places (ask me how I know that).

 

[R413]

Good body guys assemble the car and make sure it all fits. Including some or all of the trim and moldings. This all adds $$ to the car.

then the various painting methods go from there.

some folks never assemble the panels on the car ever, then they have to scramble and “make it work”

 

[70chall440]

I definitely recommend fitting everything well before paint. You need to spend the time and effort to make sure everything lines up and the gaps are where you want them. Too many people (I am guilty of this) seem to think that things will look/fit better once painted and that isn't the case at all..

 

[65affair]

You need to do all of the body work while the car is together to match lines and flatness. take the car apart to do the body work in the jam areas and under work.
This has multiple answers for paint and people have different ideas here, but here is my 2 cents, you need to know if you are shooting any kind of metallic , metallic paint should be painted while the car is together to match the lay of the metallic between panels. if you are shooting paint with metallic, disassemble the car and edge everything first (if you are painting base/clear only paint the base at this time). reassemble and paint the car (only base at this time). if you are using a base /clear system, disassemble the car after the complete car has been base coated, and clear the individual parts ( this will prevent tape marks) and reassemble the car, wet sand, buff and polish. if you are shooting single stage paint, a solid color you can get away with panel painting, but be careful to mix the paint the same every time. a different mix will cause a different color cast.

 

[Lionized]

Whatever you do, if you paint any panel off the vehicle ensure it is laid out in the booth the same way it will sit on the vehicle.

 

[Detroit Iron]

Excellent information!

 

[zyzzyx]

1.Mix all of the BC in one container.
2.Once the gun is set and you are happy with the results, DON'T TOUCH IT!
3.Paint the car bare first, clear, and run it through a bake cycle if you can.
4.Set the parts up on stands in the booth in the same direction that they will be on the car.
5.Spray the parts in the same direction as the body such as the doors, hood, Deck lid.
6.Bake cycle.
7.Put the doors on, taping the edges of the doors and the body so a little "bump" won't chip the paint!
8.Assemble the hood and deck lid only AFTER wet sanding and buffing. You can reach everything better on a horse.
9.Buff the rest of the car, masking off the window areas so compound doesn't get in your window mechanisms.
The only colors that scare me are shades of brown metallics. They are a P.I.T.A! All other colors should be fine.

 

[snakeoil24]

1. Do you have enough room to pait the car first of all.
2. Can you get the place your going to work in clean enough?
3. All priming and body work done with car together if you have the room.
4. Do you have enough compressor capacity to prime? Paint?
5. Borrow the best primer and paint gun you can!
6. How will you clean garage after primer, body work and multiple repriming after blocking multiple times and i mean multiple times.
7. Do you have layout tables? folding are fine.
8. Dry garage?
9. Cleaning moisture free air? Oil free air??
10. Your going to need a portable flouesent light and a spray pumper with body wash to look for repairs the wet way. Do you have good lighting??

 

[Runner 68]

I'm pushing to shoot my Bird this summer. The car was totally blown apart, media blasted, epoxy primer, reassembled, body work, blown apart, reassembled, adjusted, right now I'm at the stage of shooting the hidden "mating" surfaces with single stage, reassemble, then start jambing up from there. All in all I think I have assembled an torn it apart at least 4 times. Lost count.
The paint will be a tri-coat pearl so I will be shooting it assembled. A **** ton of extra work and masking but what the hell.

 

[snakeoil24]

With pearls you need to paint entire car together

 

[pro-streeter]

I recommend fitting everything including bumpers and trim in some instances depending on bodywork and panel replacement performed.
When the car is assembled and in it’s final stages of primer I block the whole car out assembled. In the case of my 69 road runner I have mounted the doors and aligned them perfectly they will remain on the car however the front fenders Hood trunk lid will be removed and painted separately. I am not a professional but I have done enough to know what works for me. I have found that metallics are better painted assembled then separate. Solid colors like in my current case with an Omaha Orange 69 road runner we will be painting partially assembled and partially disassembled. As mentioned in my case the doors will remain on the body. I can certainly access all the needed areas without risking paint damage from assembly and alignment.
That said fenders hood and trunk lid will all be assembled afterwards at the risk of possible paint damage.
You really need to be patient and have a team of people to assist you Who have paint and body experience When assembling already painted components.
In my experience as a additional caution metallics versus solid colors require different techniques
My 2 cents
Best of luck

 

[Builderguy]

If you are spraying BC/CC non-metallic you should be fine to paint the car while blown apart. People forget that a first time painter usually is a lot slower and that makes it very hard to keep a wet edge when spraying the car whole. Just remember to mask it very well (like the pic below, not my booth). Buy all your paint at one time and mix cans if you have more than one. A gallon of paint with 1:1 will give you two gallons of paint to spray. Adjust your gun and then leave it alone or remember the settings you used if you can't spray all the pieces parts in one day. Keep your spray mechanics the same (overlap, speed, etc) and remember to run off the panel edge so you don't get buildup on the edge. Paint from roof to rocker so you don't drag your hose on your fresh paint. I don't have a lot of room where I spray so I do the doors, hood, trunk. and other small pieces in one batch and then do the main body later. I break the rules and spray the hood and trunk vertical instead of flat (less dust gets in the paint that way) and I have not had any color match problems. I use two coats base and two coats clear. I spray the doors on edge as if they were on the car. If for some reason you really mess something up, STOP, let it dry, sand it out, and start again. Would highly recommend that your spray on a seal coat so that everything after that has even color to land on. This will also let you practice your new found skill since mistakes in a seal coat are super east to fix. There are ton of other things involved but the main thing I have found is dust, dust, dust. Wipe it down, then wipe it down again, then tack and tack again. Good luck and have some fun.

 

[Islandkent]

Painting exterior last. Assembled. Panels all mounted and adjusted for final spray. Base coat clear. I plan on leaving them on. Just touch up a few bolts here and there. Of course sandblasted, epoxied, high build, blocked, epoxied, blocked, mounted, blocked and repeat! Interior done now. Trunk finished up this past week end. Interior of the body panels done earlier last week. My friend is going to spray the white on the interior of the doors this week. Doing the under side and engine bay in one shot. When? Soon I hope. He got a couple of jobs to do this week so I imagine I'm on hold again. After all that, he said he is going to finish up when the weather get a bit more stable. Yes, lots and lots of taping. God love him. He has a special kind of foam backed masking tape he swears by to keep overspray at a minimum. To seal all the seams. Take home for final assembly.
Easy peasy ???

 

[Detroit Iron]

If you are spraying BC/CC non-metallic you should be fine to paint the car while blown apart. People forget that a first time painter usually is a lot slower and that makes it very hard to keep a wet edge when spraying the car whole. Just remember to mask it very well (like the pic below, not my booth). Buy all your paint at one time and mix cans if you have more than one. A gallon of paint with 1:1 will give you two gallons of paint to spray. Adjust your gun and then leave it alone or remember the settings you used if you can't spray all the pieces parts in one day. Keep your spray mechanics the same (overlap, speed, etc) and remember to run off the panel edge so you don't get buildup on the edge. Paint from roof to rocker so you don't drag your hose on your fresh paint. I don't have a lot of room where I spray so I do the doors, hood, trunk. and other small pieces in one batch and then do the main body later. I break the rules and spray the hood and trunk vertical instead of flat (less dust gets in the paint that way) and I have not had any color match problems. I use two coats base and two coats clear. I spray the doors on edge as if they were on the car. If for some reason you really mess something up, STOP, let it dry, sand it out, and start again. Would highly recommend that your spray on a seal coat so that everything after that has even color to land on. This will also let you practice your new found skill since mistakes in a seal coat are super east to fix. There are ton of other things involved but the main thing I have found is dust, dust, dust. Wipe it down, then wipe it down again, then tack and tack again. Good luck and have some fun.
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Thank you for the info. Everything I read is an education. My conditions are less than ideal, and I'm sure all of you guys would cringe if you saw them, but this is my first car. It's not a Hemi convertable, so not a big deal. It's going to look pretty nice for a driver.

 

[Runner 68]

With pearls you need to paint entire car together

Well, you don't "need" to but it's advisable. I've seen pros do it successfully in pieces but I ain't no pro.
That's why I'm choosing to shoot it assembled.

 

[snakeoil24]

Well, you don't "need" to but it's advisable. I've seen pros do it successfully in pieces but I ain't no pro.
That's why I'm choosing to shoot it assembled.

True but pros are pros

 

[1967coronet]

Most of your metallic colors are not a problem to spray reds , blues, greys, greens ect . Having your gun adjusted correct is the key.
You can stripe any metallic if your guns Fd up.
Most new painters and even old ones { hand waving } can and will at times have trouble with silver and gold metallics.
Many newer paints have the name pearl in them but are not a tri coat.
The ones you do not want to panel paint are the tri coat ones. the colors that come in 2 cans one for base the other for pearl.
Your pearls will have different shades depending on the code and brand.
If your shooting a real pearl paint or a gold or silver metallic or a candy do not panel paint.

 

[Ceedawg]

Good info and I’m all ears. I’ll be doing single stage A1 Silver on mine and I plan to cut in around the doors first then install all the parts so the attachment bolts won’t be chipped adjusting later. My perfect paint job hopefully will look imperfect like the factory did.