Painting with opening doors?

[Jon Haigwood]

This will be my first build with opening doors. I will be using the Orange Crate body. Do you paint with the doors on and cut thru the paint to open the door or do you paint with the doors off and then trim down the paint to install the door ?

[Mark]

Solid color: paint everything separately.

Metallic, candy, pearl: paint jambs, back sides, undersides, and insides, then paint everything together.  It might be possible to space the doors away from the body so nothing touches, yet everything gets the same blast of paint.

[Jon Haigwood]

1 minute ago, Mark said:

Solid color: paint everything separately.

Metallic, candy, pearl: paint jambs, back sides, undersides, and insides, then paint everything together.  It might be possible to space the doors away from the body so nothing touches, yet everything gets the same blast of paint.

It will be with candy paint 

 

[Mark]

I would never paint anything in such a way that I'd have to cut through freshly applied paint to separate the parts.  That would be like painting a door in your house shut.

[Oldcarfan27]

1:1 painters do cars just like Mark said. Paint all around the jambs, ancillary parts and general color all around. Then attach the pieces CLOSE TO, BUT NOT ON the main assembly for final coats. This is to match the metallic flakes/candy tint all over the car, so you don't have a patchwork of mismatched doors and trim.

[MrObsessive]

If it were me painting this (I'll be doing this shortly), I'd do just as was suggested. Paint the inside of your trunk, door jambs (body and the doors) inside of the hood, and parts of inside of the body where it can be seen from the outside such as the inner fenders if needed.

Let it thoroughly dry, and then tape the outside parts close, but not necessarily all the way in the opening.

Especially for candies, this is tricky as you want the same hue throughout, as well as you want your paint to be in the same "direction". Direction meaning with candy paint, you have to paint in a diagonal fashion in all directions to ward off "zebra stripes".

Hope this helps!

[Mark]

1:1 car painters I have talked to, really concentrate on matching the spray pattern on adjoining panels.  They have told me that paint colors can be matched better than ever, especially those with clearcoat.  The reason for mismatch between adjoining panels on repaired cars is due to the difference in spray pattern between the replaced panels and the (often) robotically sprayed original areas, so they say.  So spraying everything at the same time, in the same way, will definitely help.

[Dave G.]

Ya I do all the jams and door edges first, let dry then tape the doors from the inside obviously ,mostly shut. So I can paint the entire side as if one panel.  I've glued up the hinges and all already, the doors are mounted just taped shut. Works for me. Same for hoods, trunks, rumble seats etc. With solid colors I may even brush paint the door jams etc.

You won't win painting separate panels from differing angles with a metallic base coat and candy over coat. This is why I mount the parts, then the whole body is taped to something I can hand hold it with so that every side, top, roof area of the body is shot down upon. The spray pattern shoots down only and I turn the body to accommodate that. Also the spray pattern is wide and fairly strong on pressure, thin enough to sort of fog the paint on. Ya it wastes some paint with over spray but it accomplishes my need. 5 progressively wetter but even coats fwiw. Just sayin that's my way, it doesn't have to be anyone elses.