Painting help

[Tom's36coupe]

Well my paint guy tells me yesterday to paint my car he really needs to pull the body of the frame! I knew that the fenders, hood, windows etc had to come off but the body too? He told me its like taking a shower with your clothes on if you don't pull it. I guess the problem area is the firewall, don't really want to pull the motor either! The car has a 25 year old lacquer paint job and it has to be taking down to the bare metal. What have you guys done for painting your cars?

 

[19Fordy]

If your looking to have a concourse restoration, lift the body. If not, loosen the fenders, remove the welting, wrap the engine really tight with aluminum foil, tape up the windows and rubber really neatly and paint it. Lifting the body is a lot of work and you will have to remove your seats, steering column, etc.

 

[Tom's36coupe]

Would love a concourse paint job but its out of my price range. Going back on Monday to have a talk with them. Thanks

 

[19Fordy]

Tom, Just another thought. Cars are painted everyday without lifting the body off the frame. It's called a "frame -up" restoration. I primed and painted the car in my avatar in 1988 with the body on the car. You can paint the firewall pretty easily if you remove the carb, linkage and ALL other items that are bolted to the firewall and the engine. Just make sure your painter and you have a clear understading what is to be done. If you remove the body you will find yourself doing a full resto. including painting the frame.

 

[flatheadfan]

Tom-

I have done a couple of body-off restorations and if at all possible DO NOT take the body off unless you have other issues such as frame problems. I am sure others will agree that trying to remount a body to get it back to factory-like fits and door closing is a huge exercise involving patience and a lot of luck. In my opinion, attempting to get a "perfect" paint job would not be a good reason for me to remove a body.

Tom

 

[Tom's36coupe]

Thanks to all for the tips, did not think about taking the carbs off, I can do that in my sleep! I think this guy is just trying to get more money. The car has always been very straight, seems like a real pain to put things back they way there were.

 

[richbud37811]

i just did my 36 sedan with out taking it off the fram i did have a bit of trouple with rust issues on lower front quaters were front fender bolts on ,outher then that left on frame work fine for me.

 

[Jake H.]

I would find a more realistic painter. You may be right in assuming he could be trying to soak you for more money.

I started a body-off resto on a '40 Tudor years ago. It began as a bodywork-and-paint redo and morphed into a body-off.

Notice I said started. I soon ran out of time, money, and space (I was a young and naive 22-year-old).

That car got sold as an unfinished project for pennies on the dollar. Thank god it got finished by someone else, though.

 

[laryh]

I got my car back from the paint shop in July. One advantage to a body off is if the firewall is to be painted. My coupe was painted with the shell on. The doors were also on after fitting. The other pieces were painted separately. To save money I painted the firewall and inner fenders and covered the engine with tarps. In my case it was not worth the time and expense to remove the body.

 

[B-O-B]

Find another painter. When you go back to have/complain about something you are not satisfied with the reply will be: I told you we needed to take the body off.

 

[FlatheadTed]

You can paint your car in Lacquer again.(cheapest opshion ) If you want to use 2K , then stripping it fully is realy needed .to strip it its easer to remove body .But can be done on the frame still.

 

[V12Bill]

I would not repaint with lacquer. With todays paints , the worst paint is better than lacquer.

 

[31chevy]

I agree with V12Bill.
Gary.

 

[Frank Miller]

If it does not need to come off then don't do it. If the fenders and hood are off you can do a respectable job painting the firewall. If this guy wants analogies tell him leaving the body on is like using a condom. It might not feel as good but it will save you a lot of money and aggravation in the long run.

 

[Tom's36coupe]

Frank, That's a great one! The body is staying on for sure!

 

[Capn John]

Take a look at Master Series paint for the frame. http://www.masterseriescoatings.com/index/

 

[scott62]

Ok,I have read all the comments. They are helpful. I totally disassembled my cabriolet for other reasons and did a frame up restoration. I am at the point of painting now. What are your opinios and recommendations regading the following: Do I paint each panel separately and then, re-assemble the car or reassemble the car and then paint? Bot have advantages and disadvantages. If I paint each part and reassemble, I could scratch the paint or get didfferent shades on different pieces. If I reassemble first, there may be small areas that do not get painted where the panels overlap. Thoughts? Scott

 

[19Fordy]

Scott, What you could do is first paint the "hard to get at" parts of the panels and the car like the mounting flanges on the fenders, inside the hood, inside the fenders, inside the fender wells on the body, bottom of the running boards (if any), inside the trunk lid and edges where trunk weather striping goes, firewall, around the window openings (no glass in car), door edges, etc. and then assemble the parts on the car so they all fit really nice. Then loosen the fenders (with no welting) and paint the entire car one final time. By doing this, you don't have to worry about not getting any paint into "hard to get at" areas. If you paint panels at different times and then the body another time you might end up with what appears to be "off colors" or different shades of the same color.
I painted my 40 with Martin Senour 8800 black acrylic enamel with hardner which is an off the shelf paint color. I didn't have to worry about the paint being mixed differently each time. But. if I was using a "formula paint" I would have painted the car one time all at once so as to make sure the color didn't vary.