whats the proper way to spray door jams and bonnet shuts?

[ari666]

now that we have a few good painters lurking on here (you know who you are) i want some advice.

how do you guys do a "doors shut" respray and not completely fk up the door jams? do you mask the leading edge then sand back the line from the tape, do you take the seals off and piss into the door jams? what do you do? my door jams look horrible and i am getting the painting 'bug' again. wanna redo my engine bay in green and external in matte black, but the last time i did it the edges look like ****.

you only learn by asking questions, so this is me asking. and please be as detailed as you possibly can.

thanks heaps. you know its always appreciated.

edit* also, specific brand names of things you use, like masking tape, rubbing compound... stuff.

 

[showbags]

Ari, I use the round foam masking roll. It leaves a softer edge than tape and cleans up with a quick buff. I use the 3M one, but there are cheaper ones.

 

[DAKSTER]

I'm not one of the 'good' painters but I'll have a go lol

On the B pillar on a commodore, i just open both front and back door, and stuff a bunch of screwed up paper under where the doors close. Then I close the doors, this stops paint from getting through to anywhere but the odd exposed edge inside the doors. It even protects the seals. I do the same at the bottom of the doors. Any little bits which may cop some overspray just buff off later, and all the leading edges become the paint lines. The tops of the doors I just vaseline the seals to protect them and clean them and buff off any overspray when done.

On the C pillar on a commodore (well vr-vs anyway, maybe others?) the rubber seal is exposed to view with the door closed. Vaseline on the seals is all thats required, very carefully of course. Then when the job is done, wipe any overspray off the seals with a rag damped in thinners and buff the inside of the doors as per the B pillar.

 

[hi_ryder]

i havent used the foam tape in a while, i find if your a bit generous with the clear the foam will soak it up a little and youll get a stippled edge that you have to fix conventionally with sanding and polishing. the foam tape can work if you use it alot and know how it behaves, otherwise it can be a hit or miss type of thing. i usually take 3/4 inch tape and curl it over on itself leaving a folded edge. not sure if youve seen that done before but its not that hard.

theres this other stuff i use too called transitions tape from 3m, i can explain how to use it with 10 paragraphs, youll get a better idea watching this short video...

 

[ari666]

and you three are the guys i was hoping would reply all good info cheers.

 

[DAKSTER]

theres this other stuff i use too called transitions tape from 3m, i can explain how to use it with 10 paragraphs, youll get a better idea watching this short video...

I like the look of that.

I have always had trouble with external paint lines, I usually just try to leave them in concealed places or pinstripe them before clearing.. it just takes me so long to get it right otherwise. I have never tried any of the modern tricky stuff, not even the foam tape - too scared to learn something new I guess.

Would the same product be useful for a two tone paint line?

My suggestions were just for inside door jambs, though I do the same with bonnets and boots of course.

 

[hi_ryder]

I like the look of that.

I have always had trouble with external paint lines, I usually just try to leave them in concealed places or pinstripe them before clearing.. it just takes me so long to get it right otherwise. I have never tried any of the modern tricky stuff, not even the foam tape - too scared to learn something new I guess.

Would the same product be useful for a two tone paint line?

My suggestions were just for inside door jambs, though I do the same with bonnets and boots of course.

2 tone line inside a door jamb? like the inside edge of a vp calais door? or you talking external lines, like a custom top and bottom color break...

3m also has another version of the foam called dart tape plus, its in a flat arrangement, suposedly cuts down on the stippled edge better than the original version.

 

[DAKSTER]

2 tone line inside a door jamb? like the inside edge of a vp calais door? or you talking external lines, like a custom top and bottom color break...

3m also has another version of the foam called dart tape plus, its in a flat arrangement, suposedly cuts down on the stippled edge better than the original version.

No I meant external top and bottom colour breaks. Spraying one colour over another is ok but you have a lip to deal with, and sanding back the lip will never get you a straight line.

Spraying one colour first onto undercoat, reversing the mask and spraying the other colour never seems to produce a nice crisp line either, without having a paint line you can still feel under the clear. As soon as I hit them with sandpaper, the lines are no longer straight.

The main reason I have never really done much two tone..

 

[hi_ryder]

when i do color breaks i usually have a guy come out and pull a conventional vinyl stripe over the break. if its a painted stripe ill try and burry the edges in the clear. i pretty much only sand on raw color if i know its going to be rebased. have you used any of the fine line vinyl tapes? 3m does the blue one that works pretty good for crisp lines.

when i sprayed my calais i did the bottom color first with no masking or taping. then mask off the bottom color real good. i can see if your painting 2 colors and masking them individually your not going to get that crisp line.

heres some harley tins i did. the gray color went down first. then i used a 12mm fine line tape fre handed a teardrop pin strip. then put a white pearl down, then covered the white and sprayed the black, unmasked it all added the decal and cleared it all. the lines were crisp and edges weren't that aggressive because i did it in layers instead of individually and remasking over and over. and if you doing a job where a customer is going to be fussy with edges in the clear like that you might want to have a chat about flow coating for an extra price.. i flow coat to kill any edges in the clear... you can even put on and extra coat of clear enough to rub flat and buff after the jobs cured..

 

[DAKSTER]

when i do color breaks i usually have a guy come out and pull a conventional vinyl stripe over the break. if its a painted stripe ill try and burry the edges in the clear.

Love your work mate

Yeah a conventional vinyl stripe is usually how I finish up breaking the joint. I apply the stripe before the clear goes on, but of course they have to be light coats or the paint pools on the upper edges of the stripe. I lay a half dozen light coats of clear over the stripes first, then do the whole panel, so there is more paint over the stripes than the rest of the panel... bury it in the clear as you say.

Its not ideal but its the neatest way I have managed to do it so far, and never had any problem with the vinyl since its held down by the clear.