Painting Fender Skirts

[Ralphie]

Working on a kustom 49 Merc with bubble skirts would you paint them attached to the car or off then then glue them on ??

[Bainford]

It's a matter of personal preference really, and how easy or difficult the skirts are to install without messing up the paint work. I prefer to paint them separately when possible, to give them the distinction of being separate parts. However, in many cases the skirts may need some finessing during install, so installing them before paint is the best advice.

[blizzy63]

This takes me back to when I was a kid around 1975. I was building the AMT ‘49 Merc as a ‘50s lead sled. I glued the fender skirts on and painted the body. Later, when it was time to mate the body to the chassis, I found some difficulty getting the skirts over the rear wheels. I believe I ended up pulling the skirts partially off at the bottoms in order to clear the wheels. The finished model did have skirts in the end.

It’s too many years to recall why this was occurring but …. my message is: beware.

[Ace-Garageguy]

If I build anything with skirts, I always make them removable, so painting off the car is necessary.

Remember though, that metallics and pearls may come out slightly different in appearance when painted separately, and you might get an obvious mismatch.

You can counter this in a variety of ways, but explaining them will limit my shouting-at-clouds time today.

Edited February 26, 2024 by Ace-Garageguy

[Ralphie]

Thank you all I think it may be better to paint the not attached . All your reasons make sence.

[Ferbz]

One tip that may help you get the paint to match as close as possible is to temporarily tape the skirts below the body nearby the rear wheel opening. This way, you'll be spraying the skirts AND body at the same time with the same amount of spray passes, and the same amount of paint material going on both the body and the skirts at the same time, etc.