Pros and Cons of Two Approaches

[EngineerDoug]

Hi guys,

Got a question about two different approaches to painting my '68 Coronet. The car is entirely apart, and undergoing major rust repair at this point. I've been thinking about how I will paint the car, and it occurs to me there are two ways to do it:

1) Paint the door jambs, trunk, hood underside, etc ("hidden" areas) first. Then hang the doors, fenders, etc. Do all the body work and priming. Then paint the entire car exterior. This approach allows you to hang and align all panels with less fear of marking the new (exterior) paint. It also means you do all your bodywork at one time. And less chance of color mismatch between panels.

2) Do the bodywork and paint on the doors, trunklid, hood, fenders, and shell separately and then re-assemble. This approach may give you better coverage of hard-to reach areas, and makes for shorter, more manageable spray sessions. For an amateur, it seems to be less pucker factor when you know all you have to do is paint the hood that day, rather than the entire car.

I have painted cars before, but am not a pro. The paint will be a solid color (Sublime green). I can see advantages and disadvantages to both approaches, but I'd really appreciate some opinions.

Thanks!

 

[mccoymail]

1
would suck to hang a painted door to find out that you sanded a body line in the wrong spot

 

[JimKueneman]

When your bored some night read through my restoration thread for my '68 Coronet. Lots of opinions and lessons learned on these exact topics. This was my first full up paint job.

http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/1968-coronet-500-project.114333/

 

[EngineerDoug]

Thanks Jim, will do.

 

[JimKueneman]

Thanks Jim, will do.

Oh an I am EngineerJim so maybe the thought processes will match

 

[PurpleBeeper]

As long as you don't have any metallic or mica flake in the paint AND because you say you're not a pro, I vote for #2. Most OEM cars are built like that today as far as I know. If you had a "flake" paint, there would be a lot more chance of color mis-match since spray technique can have a big effect part-to-part with those pigments. With a non-flake, solid color there's much less variation.

 

[Kern Dog]

I thought Sublime had a small amount of metallic in it.
I like the idea of painting all of the hidden areas first but even with proper masking, a fog/mist of paint still seems to get through.

 

[EngineerDoug]

Jim, the Coronet looks fantastic. Great job. I have a long way to go, as mine will need quite a bit more rust repair than yours did. I will be installing new front floor pans, trunk floor & turndowns, torsion bar crossmember, and quarter panels. I am enclosing a photo of mine on the dolly I built to hold it during surgery.

I see you followed approach #2 and painted the car in pieces. I am leaning toward that option, but am interested to hear how more folks weigh in.

 

[JimKueneman]

As long as you don't have any metallic or mica flake in the paint AND because you say you're not a pro, I vote for #2. Most OEM cars are built like that today as far as I know. If you had a "flake" paint, there would be a lot more chance of color mis-match since spray technique can have a big effect part-to-part with those pigments. With a non-flake, solid color there's much less variation.

I had a hard time matching straight orange with the doors and lids hangIt depends on how a color covers. I think lime would have the same problem.

 

[JimKueneman]

Jim, the Coronet looks fantastic. Great job. I have a long way to go, as mine will need quite a bit more rust repair than yours did. I will be installing new front floor pans, trunk floor & turndowns, torsion bar crossmember, and quarter panels. I am enclosing a photo of mine on the dolly I built to hold it during surgery.

I see you followed approach #2 and painted the car in pieces. I am leaning toward that option, but am interested to hear how more folks weigh in.View attachment 394072
View attachment 394071

Keep reading. I REPAINTED it again after I reassembled it to blend in the body parts. Then I REPAINTED the jambs and trunk because the overspray made them look like crap

 

[1967coronet]

after all bodywork, prep, and adjustments are finished. when we do a complete we always mask the exterior & shoot the trunk, jambs, firewall, back sides of hood and trunk lid, ect first. car is reassembled gaps dbl. checked and then all pre paint areas are masked after a couple days. Then exterior is shot. any lap lines like at the door pillar ect are knocked down with 2000 paper to smooth and then hand buffed with some 3000 compound.
Prob better ways out there but that's the way we do it no matter if its a solid or met color.
I need to add that the lead edge of the mask job is best done with 3M fine line plastic 1/4" tape, then your reg 3M green lays down on it leaveing a little edge of the fine line showing, { makes a clean line not ragged like a paper tape will leave }

 

[Cornpatch MO]

I will say, I regret having the engine- driveline front and rear suspension all done befor e body paint was a mistake. My reasoning was less chances for assemby screatches and dings No matter how much I ragged at the painter, He got overspray all over everything, and that does not simply wipe off. Lots of work to re-detail it comeing up...........................MO

 

[threewood]

after all bodywork, prep, and adjustments are finished. when we do a complete we always mask the exterior & shoot the trunk, jambs, firewall, back sides of hood and trunk lid, ect first. car is reassembled gaps dbl. checked and then all pre paint areas are masked after a couple days. Then exterior is shot. any lap lines like at the door pillar ect are knocked down with 2000 paper to smooth and then hand buffed with some 3000 compound.
Prob better ways out there but that's the way we do it no matter if its a solid or met color.
I need to add that the lead edge of the mask job is best done with 3M fine line plastic 1/4" tape, then your reg 3M green lays down on it leaveing a little edge of the fine line showing, { makes a clean line not ragged like a paper tape will leave }

This is how I did mine very recently. Base/clear in silver metallic. Seemed like the best choice for me as I didn't have a lot of room to spray everything disassembled. And it allows an easy spray of just the exterior.

 

[roadrunner69440]

after all bodywork, prep, and adjustments are finished. when we do a complete we always mask the exterior & shoot the trunk, jambs, firewall, back sides of hood and trunk lid, ect first. car is reassembled gaps dbl. checked and then all pre paint areas are masked after a couple days. Then exterior is shot. any lap lines like at the door pillar ect are knocked down with 2000 paper to smooth and then hand buffed with some 3000 compound.
Prob better ways out there but that's the way we do it no matter if its a solid or met color.
I need to add that the lead edge of the mask job is best done with 3M fine line plastic 1/4" tape, then your reg 3M green lays down on it leaveing a little edge of the fine line showing, { makes a clean line not ragged like a paper tape will leave }

I didn't read the whole post yet but I figured I would chime in here if it helps . I use D.A.R.T foam tape , nice soft edge

 

[Brandy]

When I painted my '65 Impala an '87 Chrysler Black Forest Green I painted the disassembled parts first on all of the backsides/jambs etc then put it all back together and masked it off and sprayed the whole car, they are big panels. Went back after and fine tuned the mask edges with very fine wet paper. I have no confidence with trying to get paint coverage in all of the usual places without having it apart if I can.

 

[EngineerDoug]

Hi guys,

I appreciate all the pointers and points of view. I am a long way off from having to make my final decision, but I think I will paint the car fully assembled. I like the idea of having all the panels hung and aligned. I also want to avoid any possibility of color mismatch between panels. And the third factor is the fact that I don't have enough room to paint the panels and the shell separately.

I understand that if I paint the jambs, etc first that I will run the risk of overspray when I paint the car in its entirety - my plan is to rely upon foam masking tape in all gaps. I will also be shooting a single stage, rather than base/clear. Fewer steps that way, and the car will be a solid color, not a metallic.

Now that I have thought this issue through, it's time to get back to rust repair...

 

[roadrunner69440]

two more thoughts for ya , I would "back tape" the foam also because it does have a tendency to lift , this helps helps with that issue and keeps overspray to a minimum . Also , unless you are dead set on single stage paint , I highly recommend base clear , it has more gloss and stays glossy longer. I hope it dont sound like I'm telling you what to do , just like to help. good luck on you hot rod !!!

 

[Cornpatch MO]

two more thoughts for ya , I would "back tape" the foam also because it does have a tendency to lift , this helps helps with that issue and keeps overspray to a minimum . Also , unless you are dead set on single stage paint , I highly recommend base clear , it has more gloss and stays glossy longer. I hope it dont sound like I'm telling you what to do , just like to help. good luck on you hot rod !!!

No attack on you, but that kind of "gloss" is what many of us do not want. It may the " way it has to be done these days" but it does not look natural . Many times you can't see the color for all the gloss hiding it. Just my 2 cents worth.........................MO

 

[roadrunner69440]

No attack on you, but that kind of "gloss" is what many of us do not want. It may the " way it has to be done these days" but it does not look natural . Many times you can't see the color for all the gloss hiding it. Just my 2 cents worth.........................MO

I understand . but the only way it HAS to be done , is the way YOU want it done !

 

[Cornpatch MO]

I understand . but the only way it HAS to be done , is the way YOU want it done !

What I was getting at is, what has to be done to place high in a car show "If you ain't got that bling, you won't win a thing ! " If I were to build a car , specifically to win at car shows, I wouldn't like it when I got it done. I never enter a car show , expecting to win a trophy..........................MO