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Paint Fenders on or off?

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B

Blonde Healey Girl

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Hey all, been busy pulling the doors, fenders, lids off of our 60 BT-7. Only the shrouds and rockers left on the car. Not wanting to do too much more in terms of frame off resto etc. So far it's a somewhat rust free car. My question is should we paint the fenders off and reassemble,risking chipping the finish, while aligning doors, etc. Or paint with everything installed but loose fitting so you can shoot paint between the fender and the shroud? It was fun pulling the fenders. All the screws backed out without the persuasion of PB Blaster, Vice Grips, Easy Outs, Drill, Chisels, Die grinders, Acetylene Torch,Plasma Cutter or Arc Gouger /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif No Bondo used by PO!!!!They were tightened by Englishmen before I was born..
 
I would paint the inside of the fenders off the car and then the outside loose fitted on the car. Did mine that way and worked out pretty good. Are you doing the paint yourself?
 
Just had mine painted and they painted everything off the car. They shot the inside of the fenders and doors as well. It was a base/clear job. They even did most of the polishing of the doors and fenders off the car and then reassembled. Don't know if it was easier to do that way, but that is what they chose.
 
Hi BHG, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif It is best to paint the fenders inside and out off the car.along with the doors,bonnet and boot cover. To avoid scratching the paint when hanging the doors, masking tape applied to the door edges and back edge of the front fender will allow you to avoid paint damage until they are fit correctly. A floor jack with adequate protection , Old Towels, can be used to assist in fitting the doors.---Fwiw---Keoke
 
We opted to paint the shrouds, doors, fenders off the car, inside and out and then re-assemble carefully. One tip - get the doors aligned perfectly and drill a small hole (1/8") through the hinge plates into the chassis. When you remove the door, keep the door side hinges attached. Upon reassembly, use an 1/8" rod to align the holes and tighen up the screws. Voila, perfectly aligned door. A small dab of seam sealer and paint and the hole is covered.

Cheers,
John
 
VERY smart idea, John!!! I will use that on the next LBC.
Cheers, David. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
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