What panels to leave on the car

[Sidney'61]

Hi, me again.
Which panels would you lot say are best to take off the car and which are best to leave on when respraying?
I've seen cars resprayed with all of the panels still fitted but have also been told it's easier to paint them each laying flat on the floor. Which do you think is best?

Thanks

[MGFmad]

When I did my Traveller I sprayed the rear timber section panels off the car together with the front valance, bonnet, rear wings, grille surround and panel behind. The rest were sprayed on the car such as doors and front wings. I just opened the doors to do the door shut areas. I wanted the doors and front wings fitted first to avoid any damage to the paint that could happen by fitting after painting.

[devilpaint]

how far are you going? if its just a quick re-spray you could leave the wings & doors on.

if you have the car stripped anyway i would paint the shell & panels seperately. also i wouldnt paint flat on the floor-too much muck & dust down there. paint them on a table or workbench at least a couple of foot off the floor.wet the floor to help keep dust to a minimum
if its a plain solid colour, then as long as you put the same amount on the panels as you do the shell, & you paint it all more or less at the same time, then you should get a good colour match.

what paint are you using? & do you have the proper breathing mask?

[Luxobarge]

Agree - I've painted a number of cars, and leaving panels on the car is OK for a quick spruce up, but the best results by far are to remove as many panels as possible, and do a thorough job of masking and screening the remaining body parts - even if only to protect from spray dust.

Especially as all the panels come off a Minor so easily!

[PSL184]

Andy, you at least need to paint the mounting flanges of the wings off the car, otherwise you'll never get any paint on them. The front panel needs to be off and stripped down to paint all the pieces separately and the areas beneath the headlights need painting with the front panel off as some of this area is masked when the panel is fitted. Also, boot lid needs to be off to paint the small part of the body that is hidden by the hinges....

[Sidney'61]

Thanks all, I've removed the panels off the front; wings, bonnet etc.. So I think I'll stick to my original idea then of painting each panel off the car except leaving the doors on.
I can't cope with refitting doors again, especially if I'm trying desperately not to get them scratched.

[Sidney'61]

Rich, my inner wings I sorted out last year and are now coated in underseal, as are the wing mounting flanges. I think I'll leave them this way and not paint them body colour.

[bmcecosse]

Even more fun trying to refit the bonnet - without scratching new paint. Many hands help!

[Sidney'61]

hmm, yes, forgot about that one.
We'll see what happens - it's my first project, just for fun. I can learn from my mistakes!

[PSL184]

I can learn from my mistakes!

The ONLY way to learn....

[MGFmad]

Even more fun trying to refit the bonnet - without scratching new paint. Many hands help!

Oh yes, I had a blanket between the bonnet and car until it was attached to the hinges again.

[Sidney'61]

Which way is it easiest to fit the bonnet? attach the hinges to the car or the bonnet first?

[PSL184]

I did it car first bonnet second but thinking about it it probably makes no difference as you have to adjust both ends anyway....?

[DAVIDMCCULLOUGH]

Easiest way is to attach to the bonnet but not to tight, then even with a blanket its a two man job requiring a bit of patience. Do remember to put a big peice of cloth down the gap below the hinges in the dashboard to stop either the spanner or nuts and washers falling into the end of the sill....... Also a good idea to remove the adjustment bit at the front behind the badge and make sure its all freed up before the paint job, makes life easier!