jambing tips?

[BadDog]

I'm in the process of stripping paint, but I'll hopefully be priming the main body within a few weeks. I plan on priming the body, then stripping and priming each panel and reassembling to paint the whole car at once. That means I'll have to BC/CC the door jambs, hatch jambs, windshield area, cowl, underside of the hood, underside of the hatch lid, and the under-hood edge of the front fenders, then mask off those areas once assembled before BC/CCing the whole exterior of the car. Can anyone offer me any tips on masking my Z with this process in mind?

-Ken

[Fun_in_my_z]

If the windows are still in the car, the best thing ive ever used is masking tape and news paper:classic:. Just make sure you have it completely masked off.:tapemouth

[TomoHawk]

NO, NOT NEWSPAPER!!

Newspaper soaks up the paint, and it can stain through the paper.

Either use masking paper, or the shiny magazine-type paper (biggest sheets you can find).

[2ManyZs]

Or you can use those cheap plastic drop cloths from the hardware store like I'm using. One 9x12 sheet goes quite a long way and it's under 2 bucks....Just don't skimp on the tape, buy the best or you'll run the risk of pulling up the paint or leaving a gummy residue.

The trick is to place the masking tape (2 inch or wider) inside the jambs, bend it, and then close the door or hatch so that it will stick to the door skin lip for example, and cut down the amount of overspray that can get into the jamb. Once you have the BC/CC sprayed on the jambs, you don't want any of the BC to get in there to mess up what you've already finished. The CC won't matter, other than possibly causing orange peel.

Don't feel bad Ken, I'm getting mine ready to do the same thing soon. Just been too hot out there to do much hand sanding lately except for late in the evening.:cross-eye

[Z Kid]

When painting a car, there are a few things with the masking tape, that make you consider not masking ever again. DO not let it get wet, if it does, peel it straight off and replace with fresh masking tape, and DO not let it get baked on, buy masking tape that says its good to stay on for a week, and dont leave it on for anything more than 10days, especially in hot weather, or the sticky crap left is almost impossible to remove without removing any underlying paint. Other than that its all good. I think 2many is right with the drop sheets, but if the tightarse within calls out, newspaper should be ok, after all its never going to get soaking wet, only hopefully a fairly light overspray.

Good Luck

CHris

[Driftin Jon]

I did exactly what you're planning on doing. Disassemble all body parts, including all glass. Strip to bare metal, prime all parts inside and out while disassembled. Prime first with a self etching primer, then within 24 hours, prime with high build primer. Block sand and reprime with high build as many times as necessary to get a good flat wave free panel.

I then painted door jambs, inside of fenders, inside of doors, hood, hatch, etc., both base coat and clear coat, then reassemble. I then sanded any overspray that had gotten onto the outer panels while I had the car disassembled. Now base coat and clear coat the entire outside of the car.

Prime first with a self etching epoxy primer, then within 24 hours, prime with high build primer.

It works best if you can park the car for a long time to get the work done. Tough if the car has to be back in service every Monday morning!@

Good luck.

Driftin John

[BadDog]

Thanks to you all; billramsey2002 and TomoHawk thanks for the warning but I already intended to use real masking paper and good tape Z Kid, I've seen the dangers of leaving masking tape on any surface too long (there's still some stuck to my lower front valence lights from the maaco-type top that the O.O. did or had done :sick: oh well

2ManyZs and Driftin Jon, that's more along the lines of what I was looking for... tips/tricks for masking the Z specifically. All the glass is out of the car, and I'm stripping the body now, then will strip panels and undercoating off the inside of fender and wheel well area. I don't think I'm going to BC/CC the inside fenders, wheel well area and backside of the headlight buskets: I think I'm going to Picklex any bare metal in those and hit them with a couple coats of Zero Rust: maybe 2 coats black, then gray, or vice-versa (black on top might look better in wheel wells?)

I'm not using etch, its not compatible with Picklex20 (which I'm protecting the bare steel with since I don't have time to completely strip and then prime a given piece) and I've already got my primer: PPG NCP-270/1 which is a directo-to-metal, high-build corrosion-resistant filler-primer/sealer (that's a mouthful! )

Driftin Jon, how did you handle areas like the fender lip that winds up under-hood? BC/CC that small area while you were doing the inside of the fender? And how did you handle BC/CC in the door edges, hatch edges, and sides of the hood? Did you mask off the "outside" part of those panels (if so, where, how far from edge, etc.) or did you just sand off whetevr overspray you got on the top of the hood, door panel, etc.?

FYI I started disassembly back in January in my newly-built garage and I have my 323iT to take me to work and back, so Monday Morning's not a worry I *would* like to be able to drive my Z sometime this year though *sigh*

-Ken

[blitzkraig]

The best thing you can do is take off as many parts as you can. Take off the hood, doors, hatch, cowl, everything. Jamb the back sides of those parts you took off and then paint the outside of the parts, car, and the jambs on the car all at once. This way you don't get any masking lines in your jambs.

[kenz240z]

Hi Ken,

Before I repainted my '73 240Z I removed the hood, inspection lids, cowl, fenders, doors, rear hatch, front valance panel, head lamp extensions and front turn signal panels. All hardware was also removed - door handles, locks, latches, strikers, turn signals etc... Once all the major body work was done I then primed the body shell and each piece with a primer/sealer. This was followed by a high-build primer, dry sanding with a long board, then wet sanding. After repeating that process a couple of times as needed I sprayed each part with the base coat, followed with a bit of wet sanding. Finally I sprayed each part with a clear coat, again followed with a bit of wet sanding and then 3M polishing compound. The primers, base coat and clear coat were all from PPG's Omni AU line. My 240Z is now very orange!

It was a bit more work, but the door jambs, hatch jamb, under side of the hood, etc... look great! There are no edges, hard or soft, due to masking.

I did all the paint work in my garage. I hung plastic sheeting all the way around, used a couple of fans with air filters, one to blow air into my make-shift paint both, one to exhaust out. I have a Craftsman 5 hp compressor with a 40 gallon tank, and a $50 HVLP paint gun from Harbor Freight (actually, I have 2 - one for primers, one for BC/CC).

Even with re-assemblying the car before painting, you may be able to spray the base coat and clear coat without masking the jambs, etc...you could start with the hood, doors and hatch open and spray the jamb areas first. Once the paint has flashed then "close" them and spray the outside. Overspray should be minimal, especially if you use an HVLP gun. A little wet sanding, which you would probably be doing anyway, should also help. The same process could then be followed with the clear coat. However, my thoughts are that it would be harder to spray the hard to reach areas, like the bottoms of the doors, the front door jamb/door hinge area, and around the rear hatch hinges, to name a few.

A long winded reply, but I hope you find it helpful!

Kenny P.

[BadDog]

Thanks kenz240z, thats a lot of good info, I don't mind the long post. BTW you and I have the same last initial as well as first name :-)

-"other" Ken P. :-)

[kenz240z]

Two Ken P's, both with '73 240Z's...I wonder how many more of us there are??? Might be time for a poll or survey!

Let me know if you have any other questions about painting your Z. When I bought my 240Z it was a bit on the rough side. The PO hadn't driven it for 7 years, just kept it in the yard planning to fix it up, but never did. It was dirty, rusty and had a few dents & dings. My sweetheart thought I was a nut when I brought it home and showed it to her, even if it was only $300. Now, a few bucks later, she still thinks I'm nuts, but she loves the Z!

Kenny P.

[BadDog]

kenz240z,

I'm about to finally color and clear my car this week. Everything's jambed. Any tips on making my way around the car? I'm concerned about a couple of areas: all the transitions around the rood, C-pillars and rear quarters, and the headlight buckets to name a few.

-Ken P.