Painting jambs

[bs35j]

what are the pro's and cons of painting jambs rather than painting the pieces seperate and puttin them all together fully painted and cleared?

[65Comet]

I'm a rookie and that question has been on my mind lately as well. I just recently mounted my deck lid and that is about as simple as they get and the thought of doing my alignments with a freshly painted item scares me a little.

I'm sure I'll scratch the paint with something as heavy and awkward as a full door.

g

[Chris L]

The only issue outside of scratching them that i can think of is color match.Especially metalics,silvers,pewters,etc..if you paint seperate panels at different times,air pressure changes,different reducers etc can all affect how the metalic lays on a panel,therefor looking like a different shade.

[Steve g]

I just finished doing that procedure on a Cherokee I was fixing up. Jambs were terribly chipped up on a white truck, looked awful. I took the doors off and painted the jambs along with the entire side of the vehicle. Sure looks nice with no mask lines and missed spots and very easy to do. I didn't have to worry about color match as it was a solid white, but I did paint the doors at the same time. They were laying on a couple of saw horses beside the Jeep. I think I would do the same thing if it were a metalic color, just paint them standing up instead of lying flat, but at the same time as I was doing the rest.
If this were a restoration I was doing I would fit the doors and make sure everything lined up, then remove them for paint.
But, just another novice opinion.
Steve g

[Len]

1. If you spray with the panels off off you can scratch, chip or not match the rest of the car.

2. If you spray the jams first it's tricky to get the break between the outer and inner paint to look perfect.

3. If you spray the jams last it's usually more complicated and takes more time to mask but the results can be better controled if the masking is done correctly.

4. I've even masked the door hole then removed the striker so that the door could be pulled open during the spraying process and the jambs shot at the same time as the exterior. This worked but generated too many oppurtunities to screw things up so I went back to method #2 for easy jobs and method #3 for high end work.

The picture below shows a Lincoln with suiside doors masked for spraying the jambs after the exterior was sprayed. The doors are then opened and the jambs are sprayed the tape at the edge of the doors overhangs about 1/8" and the spray is NOT directed up under the tape. After the exterior is painted the paint will extend into the jamb far enough that you don't need paint right up to the tape and this allow the overhanging tape to feather the jamb paint. A little polish on a rag makes it almost a perfect transition between exterior and jamb.

[68-chevyman]

You got to be kiding.

[Len]

You got to be kiding.

The amount of effort is usually equal to the result. If you want a higher level of finish you need to put out the time and materials it takes to create it.

[68-chevyman]

Are you the guy that runs the site.

[Len]

Yes, I'm the guy.

[68-chevyman]

Your faster to reply than most. Don't wory I'm not hear to cause trouble.

[bs35j]

so when you paint the jambs with the base and clear them , once you get it all assembled do you have to sand through the clear on the edges or just scuff it up before you lay down the paint on the outside??

[AndrewH]

My first paint job was using premixed omni black. I took everything apart and painted one peice at a time.Using black (out of the same can) is one of the few ways you can paint piece by pice and have them match.

If you can master a way of painting jambs, then exterior, you can do your jambs,hood/trunk edges,etc while seperate, then assemble and do the exterior of the panels as a whole.

[68-chevyman]

Part painting is the way I paint everything, tri coats or met. or whatever. I never had a problem with color match. Painting parts with no problems is a product of painting all the parts at the same time in the same place the same way. However if you do not have the proper envirment, tools, training, I would not try it. Then agian I might

[Len]

so when you paint the jambs with the base and clear them , once you get it all assembled do you have to sand through the clear on the edges or just scuff it up before you lay down the paint on the outside??

Just scuff it to make sure the painted edge has some tooth to it and that you don't leave any rough edges.