Re: Which parts get what color?

Posted by Ross On 2019/12/11 7:20:46

One has to keep the assembly line process in mind. The bodies were welded up and doors hung, washed, dried and painted pretty thoroughly with red oxide primer. Prewar doors seemed to come from Budd already in primer as one can often read that name somewhere on the inner surface once the upholstery is away. Later cars, and possibly yours, passed over jets of black enamel to get a little something on the bottom. Finish paint was done by people standing outside the car with spray guns, so was around the door jambs and then all external surfaces and the bottom of the trunk lid. So there will be overspray around the edges of the interior surfaces, some up behind the rocker panels, and a bit down where the firewall meets the floor pans. No one was masking for neat lines in those areas.

Fenders were usually dipped in black enamel and baked. They would travel down the line on a jig and get topcoat sprayed on the topside and around the edges. Can guarantee you that parts were not lovingly turned over by hand to allow them to be sprayed on the bottom.

Cheap black enamel is not by nature glossy so semi-gloss would be good.