The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop paint, apart or assembled

On past projects, I have always painted the individual pieces, and then assembled them. That just seemed to make sense to me at the time. But, I see pictures of others painting trucks that are fully assembled. My 53 is all apart at this time. Please advise me as to the pros and cons of each way.

Mike, just about any body shop would paint a vehicle assembled...time is money and all that, of course. But if you take apart a pristine vehicle from a part of the country sans rust, you'll see all the pieces were painted at the factory separately when it was built. In fact, last summer I was involved in one of those disassembly projects and it was interesting (but not unexpected) to see the front fenders had been painted on the inside first. You could tell from the overspray lines. You could also see inside the doors the overspray from where the access panels had not been installed yet. I'd continue to paint the pieces individually. The only pro I see to painting all together is a savings of time.

My rear fenders were painted while bolted to the bed, judging by the runs underneath the fender joints on the bed.

One con of painting separately is you have to be real careful assembling or you'll be doing touch-ups.

But my plan is to paint disassembled.

When I went to a two year Auto Body Tech school, in High School, the industry practice (and how I was taught) was to paint the insides and flanges of everything first then assemble, align and finally paint. This way everything underneath gets painted and it reduces the chances of scratching the paint during reassembly. My shop teacher even went as far as painting under some of the more intricate body trim moldings then masking it off so you reduced the chances of scratches while reinstallation. Now understand, that we were being taught how to perform work in a standard production shop and not a custom shop.

If I had a custom rod shop, with several employees that did this type of work all the time, I would paint everything off the truck then assemble.

My plan (when I get to the point of painting my truck), being a “One Man Band”, with occasional help from my wife, is to follow what I was taught. To me that is my best chance to getting a decent paint job.

Always better looking job with parts off,pros : no paint edges, no time wasted cutting in, more manageable project best looking job in long run. Cons: very difficult spraying AD truck especially rear fenders to bedsides and getting slick job no runs, difficult keeping wet edge as well. Parts off will require extensive time pre fitting to ensure smooth fit up of painted parts. Parts off will require sufficient amount of paint up front to ensure completion without running out(I wouldn't count on paint jobber to mix same color twice), Metallic color Will require consistent air pressure and gun distance on parts off as well. Hope this helps ,Pat66

As far as overspray in the door jams, you can do a reverse masking of the door jams to keep out the overspray and soften the hard tape edge. Basically you take 3/4” masking tape and starting from a corner, place the tape on the edge on the jam, about 3/8” back from the body edge and only press on 1/4” from the edge of the tape. The other edge of the tape will stick out past the body edge at first but as you continue masking, the curvature of the jam will naturally roll the other edge parallel to the side of the truck, so the sticky side is facing you. On inside corners where the tape bunches, cut the bunches and overlap them so they match the other tape, then after the other three sides are masked, close the door. It acts like a weatherstripping sealing against the inside of the door and the jam side paint is softened. You can do the same for the hood.

Sorry if I misled, Phil. What we saw were doors that when we removed windows, etc (leaving a door shell) we could see overspray inside the door cavities themselves...everywhere there was a missing access panel. The jams had been masked and painted (interior one color/exterior another with line covered by weatherstrip), but it was obvious the doors had been painted hanging on a paint line. Aside from the overspray, there seemed to be no paint on the back side of the door skins, though.

My 53 was painted in parts last fall and I have spent the winter cut and buffing and am now assembling. Not hard for me, I'm retired with a heated garage (and lift) so I've taken my time. Much easier for my painter, I took him parts and he painted them between jobs he was doing. Also helped with the cost.

I believe with metallics, the preference is to paint it assembled. Especially with silvers. This helps cut down on uneven shading and blotchiness. All your pressures, distances and applied coats happen at the same time.

Taken apart is the only way to go if you want it to look right. I have done both it is more time consuming but well worth it.

There are numerous ways to do this. The best is to let someone else do it and then you just drive and enjoy it! But you lose the chance t practice words that you usually use, avoid cuts and bruises and consuming too many cold ones out frustration!
I did mechanical first, springs, brakes, shocks etc.
On my ‘47 AD 3100 I didn’t want to do a frame off. I did the interior cab first-rust, floor sections etc. Then Interior pant.

Took off doors went through the mechanicals, then rust on door bottoms. Painted interior of doors. Took off back fenders reworked the fenders then paint. Next I did the removed box. Painted it. Clear coated the wood bed. Next did the front front fenders- removed of course. Took off the hood. Sanded, repaired the exterior cab and masked the interface the door jambs. I needed to replace the front and rear glass so I removed the glass. Prepped the window channels and taped them shut with paper. Didn’t remove the engine but needed to change the yellow firewall to original Cole- Mariner Blue. Learned a trick here to wrap aluminum foil over wires, cables etc. I carefully sprayed the cowl and it turned out great. The last part I sprayed was the hood. By the time I got to the hood the truck was assembled to that point.
Points made earlier are spot on. Tape carefully, pre-fit your parts before painting. Use masking tape on all edges when assembling panels to protect from scratches.

I found I could focus on single panels to do my best work. I have some photos if they would help you. Just pm me. Good luck.

I have restored a few camaros back to bare metal and my 50 chev ute.

I find best results are gained from removing all panels, repair the rust, put everything into an epoxy primer, top coat in desired colour all the jambs and sills and inner areas. Assemble the vehicle and then do a full exterior respray

Steve

Mike,
I’m far from being a body and paint guru! However, I have personally seen Pat66 works of art! His trucks are magnificent! Listen to any advise he gives!
You can’t go wrong!!
Jim

The guy who painted my truck did it in pieces, he was very busy (worked at job and painted, did repair work etc. in the evenings), and it worked out good. He would paint a fender, when I picked it up I would take another fender, bedside, etc. In the course of the fall and part of the winter, it was done. The last thing was the cab, I drove the truck with just the cab on it to his place (about a mile away on country road) and he finished it. I stored the parts in an old dry barn and it was my winter project, wet sanding and buffing. Now the truck is almost completely assembled, you couldn't tell it was done that way. Worked out for me. If you have the time, as I am retired, it can be a better and cheaper way.

I thought about getting my truck painted that method but was concerned about the 100% uniform color. So you say the color is uniform...in any light or angle?

More times than not, that uniformity is important for metallics and pearls. Straight color coats are a little more forgiving.

I pretty much had to go with the "apart" method.

nike burns We always edged those,assemble,then your able to paint aby assembly scuffs and end up looking good !

[quote=Phak1My plan (when I get to the point of painting my truck), being a “One Man Band”, with occasional help from my wife, is to follow what I was taught. To me that is my best chance to getting a decent paint job.[/quote]

I'm right there with you. I'm just starting the body work and priming and sealing but the truck is disassembled so it stands to reason that it will get painted in pieces.

I am almost done painting. Today I painted the front bumper and the white areas of the fenders adjacent to the grill. I also painted the letters. I had no choice but to go with the one piece at a time route. I have had very little assembly issues so far. I have to install the door and vent windows yet. Those are a bit of a challenge, but the paint in the doors is now 4 weeks old. Hopefully I can get them in without too much of an issue.

Steve

Looking good. I can see your smile from here. Drive it with pride.

Lookin’ great! Love your color choices.

Line every area that you may scratch with painters tape. That should help minimize scratches and chips.

MikeBurns The best lead body man I ever saw would edge paint the body parts assemble and get adjusted,then finish paint the whole job.

Asking the painting order is about like asking what is the best oil---everyone has an opinion. We usually "cut in", assemble, adjust and then overall spray. Over spray lines are eliminated by back taping. On individual painted pieces we use lots of studs so panel can be put in place precisely, a couple of bolts started, and then the studs removed. A GOOD paint job cannot be photographed in anything but north light or on an overcast day. Here is a 35 Olds we done that won Best Paint award at the Dallas Autorama. Photo crappy due to all the light reflection.

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/yWKG12Ng/35-Olds.jpg[/img]

What a great idea! I’ll have to store that one in the memory banks. Now, if only I could remember! LOL

The most difficult area to prep and paint correctly while assembled is the bedside above the fender. Nor much wiggle room there.

The back of the cab with the bed installed may be an issue too. Close enough that you can’t get your gun in there but far enough away where you’ll see any overspray.

Seems to me, painting the bed (minus the fenders) off the truck would be the best way. That way you can paint the back of the cab and above the fenders without issue.