Topic: Protecting paint during assembly

[AJ]

Looking for tips/products/suggestions for temporary paint protection during assembly.   Wondering about various clear films products including indoor carpet protection film but leery of unknown adhesives on fresh paint.   Currently using bath towels and blue tape. 

[CharlesTurner]

Gaffers/cloth tape does well protecting paint.


Carpet should be one of the last things to go in the car at the end of assembly, there is no need to lay it in the car until it's time to install the seats.

[hopey]

I haveused the blue floor protection film on my fenders and inside the engine bay when installing the engine, and any time I am leaning over the engine bay detailing. No issues with it. If your paint is cured you should be good. I have also got some of those microfiber fender covers with magnets in corner pockets, they are useful as well.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078K1VLC7

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LCEVJGM

[Bossbill]

I'm using micro fiber/ fleece type blankets.
Search for those words in Amazon or similar site.
I use binder clips to hold them to the window lip or other opening.
I cover the roof, hood and trunk areas.

On other areas that have been cured longer I use a non adhesive thin plastic film. Mostly doors since it goes into the window area easily. You can use this on fresher paint but you need to remove it immediately when done working. I just flip it to the inside on the car after a days work.

When working inside I use blue tape on the edges of door openings. I also ditch my heavy duty shoes for slip-ons.

Add pic

[mtinkham]

Depending on how fresh the paint is, I would be concerned with trapping the off-gasses (if that is the correct term to describe the paint curing process).

I painted a friends car in acrylic enamel, candy apple red. A day or so later, I covered the car with a clear thin polyethylene sheet so I could paint the engine compartment. When done, I removed the sheet and the candle apple red paint on the flat horizontal surfaces had an awful snake-skin random pattern to it. Fortunately the pattern cleared up after a few days.

[Dennis Y]

Carpet protection film would be way to sticky!

[rodster]

My question is how did they do this in the factory cranking out cars as fast as they could?

[J_Speegle]

My question is how did they do this in the factory cranking out cars as fast as they could?

Guess it just because they were professionals. Lots of things amateurs who only do things once in a while turn out as expected while because of experience, practise and good planning things normally turn out much better for the professions. Sure everyone of us can think of examples in our everyday life at our work or elsewhere where we have seen this demonstrated and where if we could do it, it would likely just be luck. 

Plus in this paint example the paint was much better with all the lead and baking it didn't hurt either.

[rodster]

I agree.  I'm amazed when I see old factory assembly line videos.

There wasn't much protection and they sometimes used brute force to get things to fit. 

[lightwtjet]

When I was fitting the doors and fenders I did not want the head of the fastener to scrape the paint so I made a washer out of the plastic in a chlorox or Tide bottle. Use a hole punch several times to make the center. Once you're finished, remove the plastic washer.

[J_Speegle]

When I was fitting the doors and fenders I did not want the head of the fastener to scrape the paint so I made a washer out of the plastic in a chlorox or Tide bottle. Use a hole punch several times to make the center. Once you're finished, remove the plastic washer.

For a project I had a number of years ago where I wanted to do all heavy work and prep the body for paint before I put it up for sale, I assembled the car using fairly thick nylon washers that I got in sets on Amazon. Way too much trouble to cut each and every one I needed for the whole car. Didn't want to leave any marks on the unibody bit wanted to assemble it so the buyer didn't have to survey a bunch of boxes to make sure what was there.

Didn't choose to keep it (R code San Jose Special paint Mach I) and didn't want to choose the color for the next guy. Yes I know I would have made more money if I had finished the car but that was not the point.