[davidgto]

I am new to painting. I pulled the front clip from my 65 GTO. What are the thoughts on prepping the hood and painting, then the front fenders, and then the body??? I know matching the color and proper mixing comes into play. I have just limited room to work and doing it in pieces would work better for me if the different panels would match in color.

[Joel Koontz]

What color do you plan to paint it?

If it is a solid color with no metallic, painting in pieces would probably work out well.

If you are a novice painter, painting in pieces with metalic paint would probably not have good results.

[ed boersma]

I had my car painted professionally, in pieces, by someone whose work I trust. Black, BC/CC. Same can of paint, same paint booth, etc, over a period of several months. Assembly took several more months.

Paint on sections did not match after wet sand and polish!!! In the end, we had to repaint first the hood, then the fenders, and finally the doors before everything finally matched!

Only thing I can conclude is that humidity played a part, maybe the difference between winter and spring?

I do know he tried mightily to talk me out of black before he started!

Good luck!

[davidgto]

The car will be red with no metallic.

[pfilean]

Paint in pieces if possible. The edges of all pieces get amuch better coverage and it looks much better. Door jambs come out better.

[wytnyt]

trim then do an overall
too many factors come into play when painting in sections
temp,humidity,and even the time of day and the painters mood among many other variables come into play

[68GTOSCA]

I usually do the body work and prime and seal in individual portions. It allows the you show some progress. I then paint and clear the edges, door jams, etc. I then paint the body. Unless you have a paint booth, the environmental conditions in my gargage are not consistent - therefore the potential for differing shades becomes a issue.

[60man]

I'm no painter but I have had cars done both ways. I just help in prep work and taking it apart & then back together..The traditional cut in pieces then reassemble- and paint whole car. Got to very careful to fend off overspray at all openings,doors,trunk,hood,etc....or it will look like crap in jambs. Last car we did we did in pieces. A light green metalic (Seafoam Green-I think). It turned out well. He(painter) mixed a couple of quarts more of paint to be sure he didn't runout....had a good chance to match...turned out well too..It was my Corvair convertible so it didn't have a roof to contend with.
Good luck..

[69Customs]

I painted mine in pieces. Changing color so Jams and all had to be painted. Made it easier for me. Painted doors one time, Hood and trunk lid, front fenders, Makes it easier as there is no taping cause you remove all chrome, trim, etc. Also you can lay doors and fenders down to get more paint on without runs. Had no color matching problems but after assy you get the standard (Or a little better fit if you align the panels) factory fit. Makes it easier to wet sand and buff. Also was able to paint inside of doors, trunk lid, panels, etc. with por 15 and just dumped it in then spread with a brush( after cleaning inside the best I could) tipping and turning the trunk lid and panels till the paint poured out of the drip holes.
I used single stage.
But I also had a fresh air pump system. You don't want to even breathe the fumes!

I figured that I could paint in pieces, put it together, and if I didn't like it, sand it down and paint it assembled.You would be surprised at the number of pro's that paint cars and find out they don't like the look or coverage so they paint them again a second time.

Good luck and let us know what you do.

[Stuart]

I had a non-Pontiac car painted last year. It was all apart (doors, trunk, hood, fenders) to start with. First they did the door jambs, back sides and edges of panels in the color coat. It was then assembled and sprayed overall with the color coat, then blown apart again for the clear coat. Finally, everything was color sanded and buffed, put back together, and then given a final buff after it was assembled.

It was a lot of work but it guaranteed the paint would look the same across panels and it looks fantastic. This car is a black metallic, which made it more important to do it this way - the paint needs to go on at the same angle, if for example the doors had been off the car and laying on stands, the metallic may not have matched exactly.

I also have an old pickup truck that's a medium blue non-metallic; the various parts were painted separately at different times, and in the right light you can see a difference even though all the paint came out of the same can.

[Steve Barcak]

I like to paint a car they way the factory did it when possible.

That means the doors and deck lid are bolted to the main body. Fenders, hood and other loose parts, depending on car, some have valances, mirrors, bumper, etc.
It provides the most accurate and correct paint job IF yoou like the way the factory did it as I do. This is the best way to do it, esp if there is a color change.

This is the only way to do it to look factory as you will paint the trunk top and bottom, the hinges, etc covering the bolts with paint, etc, just like the factory did. Same for the doors.
by removing the latches, you can carefully open and close them between your sealer, base and clear coats. I also like to put a floor jack under the rear end.
I start with the car jacked up all the way in the back. This makes it easy to squirt the underside of the rocker area and wheel wells, then I lower the jack- With the doors open, squirt the roof and underside of the trunk and under side of doors, jambs and the roof panel.
Then, close the doors and lower the deck lid and squirt the main body areas.
While you are mixing up your next batch of color, clear, whatevrer, raise the car again, open the doors, etc and repeat. It works quite well for me.

Always buy more paint than you plan to use, at least a quart. It is good to have extra around.

[davidgto]

Very informative. Thanks Steve.

[RAM YAK II]

My son and I pulled up next to a new(er) Camero Last Sunday and were amazed at the different shades of green we saw on each panel. Maybe it was a repaired car but it looked nasty.

Doug...

[6869GTO]

Recently got my car back from paint.Painted in pieces,red,bc/cc.Non metallic. Car tub,quarters and all jambs painted day one along w/front bumper.(68 GTO) Day 2 all other parts painted,doors ,fenders ,hood,trunk lid,valance. Definately can see a color differance now that car is back together .Tops of doors darker than top of quarter panel at quarter window. Front bumper darker than hood.All from same paint can. Going back for a reshoot in spring to fix color and problems with clear as well that had nothing to do with painting in pieces.Stuarts method as well as Steves sound almost foolproof for overall color match between panels.

[david400]

If you have limited space and ventilation paint them peace buy peace , done it a few times never had a problem.

[Forrest]

Originally Posted by Steve Barcak

I like to paint a car they way the factory did it when possible.

That means the doors and deck lid are bolted to the main body. Fenders, hood and other loose parts, depending on car, some have valances, mirrors, bumper, etc.
It provides the most accurate and correct paint job IF yoou like the way the factory did it as I do. This is the best way to do it, esp if there is a color change.

This is the only way to do it to look factory as you will paint the trunk top and bottom, the hinges, etc covering the bolts with paint, etc, just like the factory did. Same for the doors.
by removing the latches, you can carefully open and close them between your sealer, base and clear coats. I also like to put a floor jack under the rear end.
I start with the car jacked up all the way in the back. This makes it easy to squirt the underside of the rocker area and wheel wells, then I lower the jack- With the doors open, squirt the roof and underside of the trunk and under side of doors, jambs and the roof panel.
Then, close the doors and lower the deck lid and squirt the main body areas.
While you are mixing up your next batch of color, clear, whatevrer, raise the car again, open the doors, etc and repeat. It works quite well for me.

Always buy more paint than you plan to use, at least a quart. It is good to have extra around.

I could not have said it better....this is the way I do it also Only difference is I mix ALL the base and reducer up first (end up with about 2.5-3 gallons)..it works well and I always have the base ready to go

[x-bird2]

Shouldn't be a problem at all for non-metallic. If you're spraying a metallic, then paint it whole.

[iceman411]

I agree with steve's way of doing the job. As far as the pieces go, try to paint them the same day and have them situated in car position. This will eliminate the pigment/metallic settling onto the surface for a more uniform finish and lesser of surprises with assembly. Mike

[shawn e.]

I had to paint in pieces because of my limited space. On the 4th page of pics you can see some of my "shade-tree" and "Okie ingenuity"
http://s223.photobucket.com/albums/d...#37;20tempest/

Shawn

[6t7goat]

Painted mine in pieces because of limited space to work in. Car is black and color match was great. Had a gallon of black base mixed and then split it into 4 quart containers after a good mixing. quart cans are easier for me to work with and I waste less. I made notes of air pressure settings so I every panel was sprayed the same. same # of base coats sprayed at the same pressures and did the same with clear.