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Was there one dedicated paint line for each color back in the C1/C2/C3 days, or was there just one paint line and they switched colors between batches of cars? Esp small run cars like corvettes?
Do they have multiple lines now, one dedicated to one color , so there is not color cross contamination?
At Chevrolet Flint where the full size cars and trucks were made we had a paint room with barrels with agitators each dedicated to one color of paint. The liquid paint was pumped through pipes to the paint booth. Flexible lines hung on racks each with a different color paint. The single spray gun had a quick disconnect. To change colors the gun was attached to the new color to be sprayed and the trigger pulled towards the floor grates to clear the proceeding color. It was an airless system.
The paint room for Chevrolet painted the firewall forward parts and the Fisher Body paint room painted the firewall to the rear of the car. If the paint room formulas were not exact the front and the rear of the car could be off a shade.
I am sure the Corvette was painted from one paint room so no mismatch would occur as the car was small compared to the full size vehicles.
I wonder as to the proper sequence for actual and correct to the factory
This is for the NCRS types to ponder!
I think you to be completely accurate would need to know the paint color of the cars in front of yours, because I bet there were enough particles in the air for some transfer onto the primer of your car that followed, just prior to your color going on! I guess if they painted a couple of the same color in a row, a few wouldn't have an underlying speckle of a different color! Too complicated for me! This authenticity stuff can get complicated. Place guy hammering thing here!
And PS because JohnZ likes my posts in general (lives for some them!) that the air evacuation system or a fan system will get brought up!Place that smile thing here!
Last edited by TCracingCA; 05-28-2015 at 07:59 PM.
Years ago I bought a maroon 66 BB cp and a few months later I bought a 66 mossport green 327 350 HP cp. after having them a few years I put classic tags on them and noticed the vin#s where all the same but the last digit one was 3 one was 4. They where on the assembly line right behind each other, and years later where behind each other again. What are the chances. So they made different colors and different engines at the same time.
ONLY '65s or '66s with the EXTREMELY RARE PROTOTYPE '67 big-block "stinger" hood. Note that all of these cars were sold (or given) to top GM executives!
Was there one dedicated paint line for each color back in the C1/C2/C3 days, or was there just one paint line and they switched colors between batches of cars? Esp small run cars like corvettes?
Do they have multiple lines now, one dedicated to one color , so there is not color cross contamination?
Thanks,
Doug
I worked at the Fremont Plant (not St. Louis) from ’65 to ’82. Fremont and all the plants I ever visited had only one body paint booth per production line. What I mean by that, for example, the Fremont plant built cars and trucks (two lines) with one paint department (line/booth) each.
Back in the 60’s, cars were painted different colors at random. If I remember correctly, it was sometime in the 70’s that we started batching colors – cars were scheduled by color so that groups (around 3-5) would be the same color. It was a significant savings for obvious reasons.
As Blue Ridge 67 mentioned, in later years different components (bumpers, fascias, etc.) were painted separate from bodies with all being fed paint from large mixing containers for color uniformity.
Yes, Tesla’s “Gigafactory” is well underway at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center not too far from me. I just hope they can survive if the incentives go away.
Was there one dedicated paint line for each color back in the C1/C2/C3 days, or was there just one paint line and they switched colors between batches of cars? Esp small run cars like corvettes?
Do they have multiple lines now, one dedicated to one color , so there is not color cross contamination?
Thanks,
Doug
There was one line through the St. Louis-Corvette Paint Shop, and colors were changed from car to car; each booth had manifolds with quick-change connectors - hang up the hose with the last color shot, take one shot with thinner to clear the gun, connect the next color hose, and paint the next color.
Modern Paint Shops are the same - one line, with robotic spraying and color-changing, and high emphasis on batch painting to minimize thinner use and basecoat waste. High downdraft air velocity in the booths eliminates any concern about color contamination.
The Top Flight NCRS manual is going to have the previous painted car color speckling put into the possibilities, underneath the factory correct painting?
Yes, Tesla’s “Gigafactory” is well underway at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center not too far from me. I just hope they can survive if the incentives go away.
Modern Paint Shops are the same - one line, with robotic spraying and color-changing, and high emphasis on batch painting to minimize thinner use and basecoat waste. High downdraft air velocity in the booths eliminates any concern about color contamination.
Even with emission controls, how can a company possibly spend almost $500 million upgrading a single line paint line?
Good grief.
So you have say 10 big tanks with color, with agitators and some emission control fume collectors , one collector per tank, some pumps, some piping, a color spay booth and clear spray and curing booth.
With some fans filters and VOC collectors. And probably some computers and air quality monitoring equipment. Maybe computer QC equipment.
05-28-2015, 06:54 PM
John Z: assembly line body painting questions
