Painting Door Hinges

[Trudge]

I have removed and beed blasted my door hinges to get rid of old paint and rust. Now I am ready to paint them but I don't know how to prepare them for paint. I plan to paint the entire car including jambs with BC/CC ( Original Color = 411 Sunburst Yellow 77SE).

http://zhome.com/History/ZColorGallary

http://zhome.com/History/ZColorGallary/411yellow.jpg

Should I prime the hinges and if so what type primer should I use. Should I BC/CC the hinges as well?

[Fun_in_my_z]

With them being off the car. Prime and puld if you where paint the whole car

[kenz240z]

Hello Trudge,

When I painted my Z, I removed the hood, cowl panel, inspection lids, fenders, doors, rear hatch and all glass. I left the door hinges mounted to the body. I cleaned the hinges real well will brake cleaner to remove all traces of grease, dirt, etc... I used a ScotchBrite pad to scuff them as best I could to prepare for primer. I also used a BC/CC paint system, PPG's Omni AU, and the appropriate primer sealer.

If you've removed the hood, doors, hinges and fenders, I'd recommend you reassemble everything to verify that it all fits back together ok without anything binding, and all gaps look ok. If you install the hinges on the body to paint them, this will allow you to adjust the doors before painting the car so that you won't have problems and can avoid chipping the paint off any of the edges by having a mis-adjusted door hit the fender or door frame once everything has been painted & reassembled.

[EScanlon]

With them being off the car. Prime and puld if you where paint the whole car

What he said!......

hmmmmm I mean...

What DID he say?...

Wait a second, was that in that new Text Messaging mode of writing?....

:dead:

Heck, that's what happens as you start to get older, the language changes so darn much that it becomes foreign. :surprised I speak a couple other languages, and it STILL didn't make sense. Can someone help me out here?

:surprised

E

[montoya_fan01]

Redneck Ebonics

[EScanlon]

Redneck Ebonics

Ok, now you owe me for a new keyboard! ROFLMAO

I pulled it up, took a drink off my soda and WHAMMO!!!! spewed all over the place.

Cat's pissed off, probably left a mess on the way out, knocked over some papers which I'm sure will prove to be important in the next day or so. My wife's convinced I'm having a heart attack and is yelling "Are you OK?" (By the way if I wasn't how could I tell her so? She STILL hasn't come down to check.)

So, you owe me for a new keyboard.......

E

[Fun_in_my_z]

What he said!......

hmmmmm I mean...

What DID he say?...

Wait a second, was that in that new Text Messaging mode of writing?....

:dead:

Heck, that's what happens as you start to get older, the language changes so darn much that it becomes foreign. :surprised I speak a couple other languages, and it STILL didn't make sense. Can someone help me out here?

:surprised

E

Im going to be the bigger man and walk away from that one

[1 Bravo 6]

Oh, Bill,

(I'm whispering so nobody else can hear), Bill, .... proof read before you hit that little green button that says "Submit Reply". :classic: :classic:

Rick.

:devious: :devious:

[Trudge]

Hey Fun_In_My_Z ! What the heck were you trying to say? :nervous:

It sounds like the general consensus is to prep the hinges with Zero Rust and then attach them to the A-Pillar then topcoat the A-Pillar and Hinges with BC/CC.

What about using ZeroRust on the A-Pillar where the hinges attach. I wonder if this would prevent rust between the hinges and A-Pillar.

[EScanlon]

To answer your question in a more direct and brief manner:

Since the hinges are already off the car, just clean them up to remove whatever dust / grease is still on them. (Make especially sure that no grit is left in the hinge pin area as that would really mess them up.)

Once you've cleaned them, apply some form of metal prep etching solution. Whether you use self-etching primer or you apply a Phosphoric Acid Wash, the intent is to give the surface metal some protection from rust. Prime all surfaces of the hinges. It might be easier to hang them from the ceiling with coat hanger wire or something similar. Once the primer has set, scuff the top skin coat of primer enough that it will accept the paint. This procedure is the same whether you BC/CC or just Color Coat.

Whether you BC/CC or not is really a personal decision / preference. It just depends on how much viewing your door openings will receive and whether you will be BC/CC'ing the inner door frame and door opening. If you are going to BC/CC the opening and door then definitely CC the hinges.

Given the "best" options, I would probably recommend that you color coat everything off the car (since it's already disassembled) then assemble carefully (to prevent chips / dings), and effect as much adjustment as necessary.

Once you're done with the adjustments, effect whatever scratch/chip repairs are required to the Color Coat. Then Wet Sand the complete exterior to perfect smooth and scuff the internal areas that you will be clear coating. (Wet-sanding here is great if it's a show car / trailer queen, otherwise you're wasting your time and effort) THEN clear coat the car. Even here I would do it in two stages. First the interior areas, masking off the exterior. Then the exterior, allowing the CC to blend to the edge of the CC coming from the interior. Use the EDGES of the painted areas to hide the transition seam.

The problem with this procedure is that depending on the paint you use, you either have a "window" of time in which to do the assembly/ adjustment, and still have the clear coat adhere properly, or you don't. If you DON'T, then you have no choice but to assemble and then block-sand before clear coating, or clear coating and then assembly. In the second procedure, it's REALLY difficult to effect touchups and repairs to chips / dings / scratches.

It all depends on how much time / effort / experience you have.

Personally, having painted BC/CC with both methods, I'd rather wet sand between the BC and the CC, with assembly in between. Why? Simply because the problem of repairing scratches and chips once you've clear coated are really REALLY M A J O R PITA.

FWIW

Enrique

[Trudge]

Wow!

EScanlon thanks a bunch. That explanation is what I was looking for. I'm a novice at body work but I'm getting better. I know what to do with bare sheet metal and fixing rust issues but I was unsure what to do with bare door hinges. That is a different kind of metal.

This won't be a show car but it won't be a daily driver either. She'll go to local car shows, drive-ins, and ZCar events. She has been my daily driver for the past 8 years and has served me well, so its time for her to retire.

She's getting all new paint, front and rear glass, rubber seals, updated interior, and modern suspension. She'll be as fun to drive as my 2001 Corvette Coupe.

[Trudge]

Wow!

EScanlon thanks a bunch. That explanation is what I was looking for. I'm a novice at body work but I'm getting better. I know what to do with bare sheet metal and fixing rust issues but I was unsure what to do with bare door hinges. That is a different kind of metal.

This won't be a show car but it won't be a daily driver either. She'll go to local car shows, drive-ins, and ZCar events. She has been my daily driver for the past 8 years and has served me well, so its time for her to retire.

She's getting all new paint, front and rear glass, rubber seals, updated interior, and modern suspension. She'll be as fun to drive as my 2001 Corvette Coupe.