assemble then paint or paint then assemble?

[Bird of Peace]

My roadrunner is currently in many pieces getting ready to paint. I am curious as to which way is the better way to go. Do I put the fenders, doors, etc. on first or should they all be painted first, then assembled?

[sbuc72]

well, im almost at the painting process for my challenger, and from what i hear, you prime in pieces, then do 1 coat color (in pieces) let it dry, then assemble and do the final coats.. if your planning on doing like a 4-8layer color job, then you may want to do color priming, then base coat paint, assemble, then the rest of the coats..

thats just what my paint shop is telling me, it sounds ok to me? anyone else?

.sbuc72

[freak007]

it makes sence to me to wait for the final pait until it is assembled...as there is always a chance of scratching it while assembling...

[Stoga]

I'm in agreement with sbuc72 and freak007, just be sure to paint all the door edges and jams, and any place out of the way first. Y You can't get a good coat of paint in some places with the car assembled. Then once you do that, assemble it and spray away!!
I've seen cars that were painted while completely apart, and even though painted with paint from the same can, there were little differences in the paint application, which threw the paint match off just a little bit. I think doing the whole outside at the same time, gives the best chance for a even and complete paint job.