Paint on or off chassis??

[fhp1154!]

I'm sure its been ask a million times, I'm doubtful of being able to get a freshly painted body on and doors hung without damage or chipping....thoughts !!!

[wareaglescott]

I did not do it myself but mine was painted off chassis and installed with no problems...of course that was Whitby who has done who knows how many cars and they surely have a good system worked out. If I were doing it myself or for the first time I would have the same concerns as you. It can be done though.

[weendoggy]

My original build was off (17 yrs ago) and this past year I did it with the body on. I've done two others with the body on and it's not that big of a deal, IF, you take some time to prep. I did do a plastic wrap over interior and engine along with a good tape job on top of that. Remove wheels and mask off under that area. It's tad more work, but painting on, with a stripe, is much easier. If I was to do a single color, I'd probably do it off. Mask your door, hood, trunk areas when fitting those items and you'll be OK.

[edwardb]

I've done three. Two painted body off. The most recent painted body on. There are pluses and minuses for each approach. But there's a reason body off is by far the most typical and I would recommend. Yes, you will want to be careful placing the newly painted body on the chassis. But get a little help, go slow, and it's no big deal. Hanging the doors is just the start, and those are going to be loose in either case. Same for the hood, trunk, roll bar(s), windshield, bumpers, side pipes, etc. etc. There's no getting around finishing the build while working around the finished paint. My biggest advice: Nothing gets hung or fitted for the first time with the body painted. Mock up, test fit, trim, etc. before paint. Can't count the times I've seen guys fitting pipes, the windshield, etc. on a finished body. Not for the faint of heart.

[David Hodgkins]

I've done three. Two painted body off. The most recent painted body on. There are pluses and minuses for each approach. But there's a reason body off is by far the most typical and I would recommend. Yes, you will want to be careful placing the newly painted body on the chassis. But get a little help, go slow, and it's no big deal. Hanging the doors is just the start, and those are going to be loose in either case. Same for the hood, trunk, roll bar(s), windshield, bumpers, side pipes, etc. etc. There's no getting around finishing the build while working around the finished paint. My biggest advice: Nothing gets hung or fitted for the first time with the body painted. Mock up, test fit, trim, etc. before paint. Can't count the times I've seen guys fitting pipes, the windshield, etc. on a finished body. Not for the faint of heart.

^^^This^^^

I also like undercoating so what I'd do is give the whole car to the painter so they can trim and hang the trunk, doors and hood. Then disassemble and paint underside first, flip and paint the outer surface, then do reassembly to finish state.

[scottiec]

This is a tough one for me. Since I am really spaced limited. I have a townhouse with a one car garage. I may not have a choice but paint with the body on. Kind of nerve racking.

[Svtfreak]

Done it each way. Much prefer body off. The amount of masking is such a pain. The body is very easy to put on and take off. To jag the doors, hood and trunk, I masked all edges and just took my time. Was quite easy actually

[Ni¢]

I did mine off body. Just all the wet sanding and polishing would have made a mess.

[Jeff Kleiner]

One word.

Off.



Jeff

[j.miller]

Ditto
off

daBat

[FFinisher]

Ditto
off

daBat

You cant' get better advice than that, from two of the best. I will add my comment ....



OFF!

[mcwho]

I am doing mine now !

OFF !!!

[alv69]

mine is all together and am going to do it on the chassis, not looking forward to all that extra taping.

[edwardb]

I did mine off body. Just all the wet sanding and polishing would have made a mess.

To all those thinking "body on" this is probably one of the biggest drawbacks. Dust and whatever can be controlled reasonably well with masking, covering with plastic, etc. And when done, goes away pretty quickly with a shop vac and compressed air. But the residue from wet sanding goes everywhere. Through every crevice, the windshield posts, roll bar holes, light openings, splashes into the wheel well openings, etc. No amount of masking is going to keep it away. It doesn't clean up easily either. I know from the #8674 build. I brushed more bedliner where it showed.

[srobinsonx2]

Listen to The Jeff's. They won't steer you wrong.

[Tarmac]

Maybe rent a storage unit for a month or so to paint it?

[JohnK]

One word.

Off.



Jeff

Ditto
off

daBat

I'll say off too then! Of course, I don't know what the hell I'm talking about.

[Avalanche325]

This is a tough one for me. Since I am really spaced limited. I have a townhouse with a one car garage. I may not have a choice but paint with the body on. Kind of nerve racking.

Are you thinking about painting in a townhouse garage? If so, are you aware of just how much automotive paint stinks? You would be gassing your neighbors.



And another vote for OFF.

[rich grsc]

Almost a 2 yr old post. I would think by now its painted? And yes if you agree 'body off' then you DO know what you're talking about.

[Joel Hauser]

I painted mine myself with the body on. I won't say it was a mistake, because I was afraid taking it off, then putting it back on, increased the risk of damage to the fiberglass, and scratches to the paint.
However, if you are a perfectionist, do it right, with the body off. I thought I taped, papered, and covered everything carefully, but when I was done, I found overspray all over the place. And it's impossible to clean up the overspray. fortunately, the overspray is on places most people will never see, on the frame and some of the aluminum panels under the hood. That's my two cents.

[j.miller]

I painted mine myself with the body on. I won't say it was a mistake, because I was afraid taking it off, then putting it back on, increased the risk of damage to the fiberglass, and scratches to the paint.
However, if you are a perfectionist, do it right, with the body off. I thought I taped, papered, and covered everything carefully, but when I was done, I found overspray all over the place. And it's impossible to clean up the overspray. fortunately, the overspray is on places most people will never see, on the frame and some of the aluminum panels under the hood. That's my two cents.

Exactly ! Paint vapor is a BEEEEEOOOOOTCH.....and yes I know it's an old post but I'm running behind in my "post count"...da Bat

[JohnK]

Almost a 2 yr old post. I would think by now its painted?

Whoa! That's weird. I saw this thread in my "latest posts" list. No idea why it showed up there. Sorry about that.

[rich grsc]

Whoa! That's weird. I saw this thread in my "latest posts" list. No idea why it showed up there. Sorry about that.

No need to be sorry. Lots of old threads get resurrected because they have info that people are looking for. I've been caught myself responding to the original post not looking at the date.

[32J]

Wondering if anyone has a video of installing a painted body on the roadster. I've read different opinions on whether to paint the body on, or off, the frame. I'm on my first build, and I've never really worked with fiberglass, let alone painted fiberglass. When I first removed the body from the frame, I remember the body flexing quite a bit, especially at the bottom of the door jamb. How do you know the finished paint won't wrinkle or crack when the body flexes as you put it back on the frame?

Thanks,

32J

[j.miller]

I have painted and installed almost 700 body off and never had a paint problem. When you hold the body from the ends the sag is not a problem. What the body WILL NOT tolerate is being flex in the opposite direction (if the body were high centered in the middle with the ends dropping. So much cleaner painting and polishing body of. Doors are trimmed and fitted body on the chassis then pulled off for painting...da Bat

[TriPower]

What about a repaint of a cobra by a local shop? I would remove all I can then load it on trailer and get to shop for them to paint. Many chips and poor original paint job. I bought cobra used so did not go through the body mounting and I have limited support.

Lee

[j.miller]

What about a repaint of a cobra by a local shop? I would remove all I can then load it on trailer and get to shop for them to paint. Many chips and poor original paint job. I bought cobra used so did not go through the body mounting and I have limited support.

Lee

When I do a repaint....wait for it.....IT's OFF !! To do a proper repaint you need to strip it down to the bone. At that point PULL THE BODY OFF. If you leave the W/S , Lamans cap, bumpers, headlights....etc on and mask them off you should not waste the money repainting....buy Bitcoin instead !...da Bat

[klawrence]

is the decision to paint off/on different for the daytona ? Mine heading to the body shop at the end of the month and going to leave it on the chassis.

When I do a repaint....wait for it.....IT's OFF !! To do a proper repaint you need to strip it down to the bone. At that point PULL THE BODY OFF. If you leave the W/S , Lamans cap, bumpers, headlights....etc on and mask them off you should not waste the money repainting....buy Bitcoin instead !...da Bat

[ggunter]

I painted mine with the body off for the main color then reassembled with the hood and trunk to lay out the stripes, then disassembled for stripes and final clear. Installing the body and removing is really easy if your a one man band like me with these heated and bent electrical conduit that is zip tied to the door hinges. It spreds the sides over the frame rails just beautifully.Attachment 153130Attachment 153131 I can't take credit for it because I got it from someone here on the forum ( thanks to who ever you are) and it works so easy, it's less than five minutes on or off.tubing.png

[j.miller]

is the decision to paint off/on different for the daytona ? Mine heading to the body shop at the end of the month and going to leave it on the chassis.

Here's the kicker on that question. I paint them off....but I have a two piece buck that rolls together for laying out the stripes. You can do the same thing with stands if you have the time and man power ....also twig and berries big enough to trust you can line it up when you are done. I DO !...no brag, just fact (but only on this one car in this isolated instance) (lest I get an inflated ego) (god forbid) (am I gonna get penalized for overuse of) .....(nah, I'm good). I do stripe color first then mask them and shoot body color. Best of luck getting any body shop to go that route if they haven't done these before...da Bat