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I am getting close to painting the 37 120C and want feedback from anyone who has painted one before with base/clear. Due to the very tight tolerances of the metal interface along the centre hinge as well as the tight snap on centre chrome strip do you tape these areas off to avoid paint build-up? Do you use a sealer spray and paint the top hood panels pre-assembled to avoid paint getting in the hinge? I have stripped them to bare metal and they are currently primed but want to avoid paint damage at reassembly so any advice is welcome.
Thanks,
Bob J.

A lot of readers, no responders! I'm anxiously awaiting

Bob

ill get the responders started ,why u using base clear if its a solid color ? im not sure how a 37 hood hinge is ,im doing a 41 hood now and i taped the hinge so no buildup of primer and paint, i did a 33 plymouth and ran into to the problem ur trying to prevent ,its a tight fit and further u have to slide the hood and sides ,the tighter it gets, so be careful

You might have better luck asking over at the HAMB. There's lots of creative DIYers and pro painters over there that I'm sure have dealt with the very same issue you're facing.

Good luck.

By the way....there's nothing wrong shooting a solid color in BC/CC. I used it on a red '68 Mustang and was very pleased with the application and the result.

I agree, I plan to tape the hinged areas off before painting.
Thanks.
Bob J.

Well, personally I wouldn't use a base clear system for one of these cars. I wouldn't even go with a urethane or epoxy paint. The cars originally had lacquer, as far as I'm aware.

Mr. Bob J, if you're REALLY concerned about the tolerance, you could take a feeler gauge to the joint you're concerned with, gauge it out, and compare it to the expected thickness (in mils) of the system you're using. I'm certain the panel gap will be more then 10 thou, which works out to be 10 mil, and most base/clear systems lay down to about 6 mil. So, if you apply the paint to spec, you should be fine. But, if the gap is less than 10 thou (or like half again over the thickness of the system you're using), I'd suggest maybe using a different system. Paint isn't just for looks, it's for protection and preservation of the metal too!

I completely dissassembled the entire hood and painted with a 2 part epoxy and reassembled with no problems with the hinge or chrome strip.
As a hint, Make sure you have the hood operating properly in the centre hinge and then remove and paint.

There are many states now where spraying a car in lacquer is no longer an option. You are forced to spray either single stage or a water-based BC and then CC.

Not a fan of base/clearcoats on these cars either. I live in Louisiana, lacquer isn't a good idea down here due to our extremely hot weather, it blows apart like old potato chips in about five or six years. My 633 was redone in lacquer back in 2000 in Minnesota, the paint is blistering on the front fenders now and I'm gonna' have to strip them down. Planning to repaint the whole car, but, I'm a huge fan of expoxy primer and using just straight enamels on the older cars like this. You can put on a straight enamel, buff it, and it will last forever and you'll never have to worry about clearcoat cracking or fogging up with age - I've seen quite a lot of that happen as well. As far as painting the hood, last ones I painted were back in the 1980s, we removed the hoods from the cars, put them on pallets on saw horses and painted them flat, completely assembled. Let them dry really good, a week or more, before we put them back on the car - never really had a problem with paint chipping along the center hinges. Good luck!

Yes, here in Canada there is no option but to use base/clear, that is why I did not ask an opinion on its use. I wanted to know of other's experience with the product and its affect on the hinge. Today it was painted and those of you who assured me it would work fine are correct in that there is no issue at all. Plenty of clearance is there and I was worried about nothing. The paint looks amazing too.
Bob J.