Opinion needed... "exploding car" for resto... doors/decklid off, or?

[Brad54]

So we're getting ready to "explode" Mugsy The Duster for a full resto.

The car is going to be soda blasted to bare metal (I know all about the soda blasting problems with paint, so please don't fill my PM box) and repainted.

The door gaps on this car are PERFECT... the door springs don't sag a bit. I'm curious about two things;
would you guys leave the doors/deck lid on to blast and paint, or take them off and A) take up more room in the garage with big pieces laying around, and B) risk dinging or hurting the doors both before and after paint?

Cars were painted from the factory with the sheetmetal hung, weren't they? Other than no paint under the where the hinges bolt, does anyone see a problem with painting the car with the panels hung?

I'd be on the same fence about the decklid, because those gaps are perfect too, but I think I'm going to hunt for a Feather Duster aluminum framed hood and decklid, so they'll need to come off anyway.

Thoughts?

-Brad

[cstmwgn]

Re: Opinion needed... "exploding car" for resto... doors/decklid off, or?

My personal opinion - take EVERYTHING off.

They won't take up that much extra room and you can pad them and secure them to help eliminate any damage.

The jams (on both body and doors) will be much easier to paint with them removed. When they did my wagon - they took the doors, hood and hatch off to paint the jams and hinges separately. Then they put them back on to paint the exterior. Yes it is more work, takes more time and costs more money but I guess it depends on what your expectations are for the final product and how badly you want that result.

Good luck.

[Not A Duster]

Re: Opinion needed... "exploding car" for resto... doors/decklid off, or?

Everything came off the Demon for it's paint/colour change.

I pulled everything except the doors themslves, which I left for the bodyshop to remove and re-install. They did so, doing all the bodywork and then priming the entire car. They blew colour in on the jambs and engine bay, but left the rest of the car in primer for me to install all of the mechanicals with the fenders, hood & decklid off of the car. That way there would be less chance of screwing up the new paint, and even if I did ding the damn thing, it would be on the primer coat only. Once I was done with that, I put the fenders, hood and decklid back on, sent the car back to the bodyshop for final alignment and paint.

Cost a little extra in time and bodyshop costs, but it was worth it.

http://www.bangshift.com/forum/index.php?topic=3163.0

-BL

[squirrel]

Re: Opinion needed... "exploding car" for resto... doors/decklid off, or?

do you want to restore the car original, or make it look good?

[mlcraven]

Re: Opinion needed... "exploding car" for resto... doors/decklid off, or?

Take them off.

[cobra]

Re: Opinion needed... "exploding car" for resto... doors/decklid off, or?

you can drill small pilot hole in the door hindges to line them back up later. then take them off for a better paint job

[tiresmoke!]

Re: Opinion needed... "exploding car" for resto... doors/decklid off, or?

Brad, I've seen the quality of the work involved with the cars you've shot/written about in MCR.

Gaps can be re-set....problems can be hidden under hinges.

COMPLETE tear-down....if you're gonna do it, may as well do it right the first time.

[Monk]

Re: Opinion needed... "exploding car" for resto... doors/decklid off, or?

Brad, I've seen the quality of the work involved with the cars you've shot/written about in MCR.

Gaps can be re-set....problems can be hidden under hinges.

COMPLETE tear-down....if you're gonna do it, may as well do it right the first time.

Yeah.........what he said

Local guy here does soda blasting....man that's the way to go
as far as I'm concerned