Dean_Fuller

I have a 1972 base car that was War Bonnet Yellow from the factory. A color I have been looking for. I bought the car in primer. My question is "order of repaint". The door jambs, inside doors will need to be painted so that means the doors need to be off the car. That brings up a few questions.

1) Do you "jamb" the car. Tape off so there is no overspray on the outside of fenders, ect... Color coat and clear headlight bezels, wiper door egg crates and louvers at that time. Wait for paint and clear to dry and then remount doors only to shoot the outside of body?


2) Once doors are remounted do you re tape (" back tape " ) so there is no over spray to the jamb areas? Or do you worry about that at all? What "overspray" could be removed when I "color" sand.


3) What kind of "window" do I have between jambing and body shooting?


Thanks, Dean

P.S. I have painted before but not a lot. Changed color on my sons 1980 Porsche 928 from black to Synergy Green Metallic. I "jambed" all the parts while car was apart...then reassembled and shot all the outside surfaces at the same time. There was several days between jambing and final color. Seamed to have worked but for some reason am more worried about painting fiberglass then aluminum. I made my own paint booth under a cover...filtered the air and Pulled air thru with a large fan. I wet the floor to minimize dust...but is that going to work with fiberglass??? Will the extra humidity cause a adhesion / gas out problem?

DUB

Here is how I do it....

NO. Due to my paint booth has been modified so I can hang doors and other parts. When I paint one like yours with all the trim and parts...it takes me a solid day in just getting the car set-up, masked and all of the logistics of how I have to do it are ready to go so I can paint it the next day.

Being a YELLOW...do not be fooled.....it can BITE YOU and the color may not match on parts that you paint separately and then apply to the body because they were painted on a different day. NOT writing that it will happen...but it can.

The only part I paint and clear FIRST is the underside of the convertible deck lid so I can carefully mask it off....and I also carefully paint the convertible deck hinges also. These hinges will be compressed and masked over so no paint can get on them when I go to paint the rain gutter area for the convertible deck lid area.

I hang the doors and I will paint the inside of the doors and the hinge posts fully. I will also apply some paint on the door sill area towards the 'B' pillar. I also trim out the hood rain gutter area. I also trim out the underside of the hood where it needs paint...and it also has been previously gelcoated black and prepped and painted black and allowed to dry well so when I remove the tape and paper when it has been cleared...the underside of the hood needs no more painting to it. When these have been painted and I know they are to true color because I have already tested to see how many coats it takes to get complete hiding on my color evaluation card....I then set the hood back on...temporarily re-install the doors and set the convertible deck lid in place. Then I paint the car.

NOW...all of the other parts when I KNOW I am getting close to achieving FULL COLOR due to the number of coats applied....I set the wiper grille , fuel door in where they normally go so I can apply the last coat of color so I can see they match. The upper trims for the wiper door and fenders are set-up on the windshield and I have them so I can see they are right by where they need to go and see they match. The wiper door is also set up on the windshield and I also painted the underside well and so the top side is all I am concerned with.

IF you have T-top...the T-tops are set-up where they go with a support brace I made that allows them to be slid a bit forward and apart from each other so I can get around all edges and also get the rain gutter area at the back of the T-tops.

Headlight bezels, rear deck grilles and eggcrates are all set up on a fixture and when i am getting the final coat to them...the rear grilles go in where they belong.....BECAUSE I GAVE my basecoat enough time to flash off well. The egg crates are fully painted after being masked off and I carefully hold it where it need sot go so I can see that it matches by actually installing it and holding it with a tool so I can paint it...then remove it. The headlight bezels are checked and painted well.

With all the color on the car and being even. This is when I remove the doors and hang them....the hood comes off and gets set up on a stand....the convertible deck is also lifted off because I DID NOT bolt it back on...and set on a stand and then everything is CLEARED....and what I am most concerned about is...just like your 'booth'. The air comes in one side and exits the other side....so when I am clearing...I start at the exhaust area and then work towards the air entering side. This is so when I get done clearing everything the FIRST COAT....where I started is flashing EVEN THOUGH it does not have the benefit of having air being pulled directly onto it. Depending on how many coats I plan on applying...the FINAL COAT of clear....I START at the air entering side....and work towards the exhaust side....AND....I am mainly concerned that the hood, door and other jambs are PERFECT ans slick...and I do not care if I get a bit of texture on the fenders and quarters because I am going to sand and buff them. This way...you have NO tape lines except for the underside of the hood which I un tape immediately when I apply that final coat of clear.

I would check you color because I have found it goes faster if you paint for car white first and get it an even color of white. Yellow is a tricky color and often time transparent...so if the car has parts that are different colors/shades of primers and sealers,etc...the yellow may not be the same if you shoot all of the parts the same number of coats....just a word to the wise.



If you wet down the floor and it is plastic...it can pool up and if you are not careful...when pulling the hose around...you can sling water onto the body. I jack up and support all of the Corvettes so I can get to the area that are down low...so a wet floor is not an issue with me.

I would suggest that you also test can see if you can use exhaust filters to slow down you air flow and also not fumigate the area when you go to painting/clearing. I know that I can get one good use out of the new style EPA compliant exhaust filters when I paint one....BUT I have 12 20"x20" filters. If you choose to exhaust filter your 'booth'...you might want to have some in with you while painting and swap them out if they get clogged.

DUB

Dean_Fuller

Wow Dub...LOTS of GREAT info there. Thank you so much for taking the time to fully answer my concerns. Even though the color is call War Bonnet Yellow...its really a gold metallic. I understand the different primer colors. I have made that mistake once myself. Had to put way too much color on to get coverage.

I will be painting the body off frame. The dolly gets the body up a bit which is good. I was concerned that a wet floor would effect the water content of the fiberglass. I think my last nice Corvette had an issue where there looked to be a lot of solvent pop but it was so uniformed.....Small bumps under the paint....maybe water in the fiberglass trying to evaporate after paint had sealed it in??? Humidity is high here in the summer...how can I minimize the water in the fiberglass...let the car sit in direct sun before painting?

Thanks again Dub.

DUB

No problem...glad to offer help.

BUT....knowing that this is a metallic color ...which is why I wrote out my explanation the way I did. AS YOU KNOW.....any part that attaches to the body that is not held in the area where it goes or is temporarily set in place or attached is a RECIPE for DISASTER when trying to make sure the metallics are even.

ALSO...I know you did not ask...but I do not like painting a body off the frame....just my way of doing it.....and this is because I get ALL of the gaps and body panels perfect. And attempting to do intense body work on a dolly is something that I just can not see effective....BECAUSE I have seen Corvettes that people did off the frame and the body is just not right. AND gaps and panels being flush are something that I just can not live with being really good.

By no means an I attempting to 'force feed' you my process. I just have dealt with enough people who did it the other way and come by my shop like I have the magic touch to fix something that should have been corrected with the body on the frame when the body work was being performed.

DUB

Dean_Fuller

Thanks again Dub...I will rethink the "off frame" plan.

DUB

Please do not change what you have figured out because of what I wrote. Obviously it's your 'call' on that.

BUT...I will 'say' this....A gold metallic...WOW...that is a FUN color...and I can tell you this. Because I have painted numerous Corvettes of your year model design with all of the trim pieces....the logistics of the set-up can take you some time....so if anything I can 'say' is take your time and be patient. It took me a few days to get everything figured out on my first Corvette. This was so when I was painting it...I KNEW that where I had things hanging and parts set-up would work within the space of my booth. This way...I could focus on painting and not worrying about 'this and that'.

Yes...it is still a procedure and takes time....because I allow my basecoat to flash off a lot longer than that 'they' say....but it is still well within the 'window' so the clear and be applied. For me...I like allowing the basecoat to flash off more than 'normal' so these solvents are getting out and I am not having to worry about them being under the clear. Every little bit helps...in my opinion. And I am not in a RACE to get it painted because I am not a production shop. And if I begin painting at 8:00am.....I will be cleaning up my guns at 5:00pm that same day.

I know people have their own way of doing 'things'. I am just passing along some of the things I do to possibly help you if you need any help at all. I know how it is to spend so much time on getting the body perfect....I then feel that taking the time for the actual painting process is just as important and should not be overlooked and performed in haste. Seems that many people get the paint done as fast as they can because they are tired of working on it and SEE the END in sight. They spent MONTHS on the body....and then get the color on it and overlook all of the FINE details...and all of the previous hard work have been degraded due to the fine details not be taken care of.

I know the photo's you posted were from a previous paint job. BUT....IF you plan on hanging parts and what-have-you....I would seriously re-consider where your exhaust fan is placed. Putting it in the middle and not towards the corner so you are pulling in air evenly through the 'booth'....so parts that may be hanging on each side will get the benefit of even air flow so they flash correctly....which will also include where you place your intake filters also.

Best of luck to you and your paint job....not writing that you NEED it...but every little bit (luck) helps.

DUB

Dean_Fuller

Thanks again Dub...You make an excellent point moving the fan to center point. I did not think of that and it makes perfect sense. !

I am interested in knowing the paint you use...color and clear. What flash times do you use because again...your reasoning sounds well founded. I wouldn't mind trying a higher quality paint and clear on this go around. My thoughts on when I painted my sons car was I wanted PLENTY of clear to sand and get flat. I shot 4 coats and it worked out well for me but that could have been luck too. Does it make sense to shoot lots of clear so you have the depth to sand later?

DUB

I use NEXA paint ...and it is usually sold where PPG is sold. I do not know where you live due to no basic 'public profile' has been filled out....so who knows.

Applying a lot of clear has its benefits on one side and also has some drawbacks.

Just because you are applying a lot of coats of clear actually means NOTHING unless you know by checking actually how much clear is being applied in those coats you apply by using a mil gauge.

I was in a training /certification class and the class was all applying clear to test panels after they were basecoated...and when I applied the clear....when I came out of the paint booth ....the instructor said: "You are a slow hand'...meaning that I have a slow travel speed. He also said I was putting on too much clear in one coat.....BUT...the funny thing was...when the test panels were baked and checked...I had the correct mil thickness of clear on the panel....and that was 2 coats of clear GO FIGURE. And many of the other class members were under the required amount...and the look on the instructors face when I looked at him was priceless......so this is why I am saying it all depends if 3 or 4 coats is OK or not.

DUB