[Jcfoote60]

I'm getting ready to paint my 69 Blazer and was thinking of painting the tailgate off the truck for ease of getting to all sides and jams of the panel at once. I also want to paint it in the same orientation as it would be in the closed position on the truck. So my thought was to hang the tailgate from secured points on the ceiling of my shop and use some kind of strong wire or mesh cable with hooks fastened on the end to fit into mounting holes. once the tail gate is securely suspended I could then easily walk around the penel, getting all sides and jambs easily. Has anyone done this? I can't help but think if done right this makes sense and for those parts that need painted on all sides it would be much better than trying to paint one side, let dry and then have to flip it over to paint the rest.

Any tips or things I need to consider would be welcome! Thanks

Jim

[MARTINSR]

This is VERY common and in fact many shops will paint cars all apart just as you describe. The most important thing being that the part is hung AS IT IS on the car as you have stated.

Brian

[timothale]

I've seen special brackets they used in the auto factories that held the tailgate away from the body for painting. they painted the whole truck at the same time and had acess to get a good even coat. Hanging it would give a better coverage . You have to make sure to get the same amount on the gate as the rest of the body.

[302 Z28]

That is how I painted the doors on my 34. I hung them from chains that were attached to the ceiling of the paint booth. I then had hooks on the ends of the chains to hold the doors. The only problem I encountered was when I was spraying the doors the air pressure tended to blow the doors away from me. I actually had to hold the bottom of the doors from the backside while spraying.

Vince

[Oldguy48]

I've used the same general idea painting smaller parts. Used link chain with "S-hooks" for adjustability, and for lightweight items, an appropriate length of 12 AWG solid electrical wire with hooks formed in the ends.

[cboy]

Even when you paint the parts detached, there is still the challenge of painting the bottom edges and surfaces. You can get some disastrous results when you don't keep the gun at a 90 degree angle to the panel...which often happens when you try to shoot the bottom edges of things.

To remedy this, I hung my major parts and then arranged a pulley system for each so that I could shoot in both the vertical, natural, position, and then rotate the part to the horizontal position to get all the bottom edges and surfaces.

Where are a couple pictures showing one door in each position.





Note also that when you hang parts with chains or wires, you can't have anything that will end up touching the wet painted areas or be in the way while shooting. I used this little trick of attaching bolts to my hanger points and then attaching the wire hangers to the ends of the bolts so that they stood away from the panels I was painting.



I would also echo Vince's concern about the parts moving, particularly any lighter weight parts. Most of these big flat parts become huge sails when you pull the trigger on your gun.

[deadbodyman]

I use tie wire,hung from a piece of 3/4" electrical conduit...on smaller parts I tape them down to a table by rolling 1 1/2" masking tape(making a double sided tape) and as the guys said the hanging parts move so wear a latex glove to hold them still and not paint your hand...

[Jcfoote60]

thanks for your replies and advice, I'm coming into the home stretch on my first paint job and it's pretty hectic trying to get prepared right now. My next project is a 71 chevelle, it's in my 3rd bay of my garage and every time I walk past it's calling my name to get started! So.....need to stay focused, need to stay focused....

[shine]

i built dollys with interchangeable parts. you can see the doors on one in the background. i can slide those out and slide in ones with 2x12's for a body dolly or use the double 2x6 one to mount fenders to which also makes a good storage place for parts. they come apart to store out of the way when not in use.

[deadbodyman]

Those are nice Shine,great little welding project too.Do the doors bolt up to them at the hinges? Looks like some thought went into them.... BTW,how long did it YOU to get your HF cabinet blaster working properly?You got the same steel building I do too...

[cboy]

Shine,

Are the mounts for the doors on a rotisserie type bracket? I'm sure it is not a problem for you, but as a novice I'd have difficulty shooting the bottom edges of the doors in that position without really mucking up the paint. Now if I could build one to spin each part 90 degrees.......

[shine]

no they're fixed. i use my lph100 to cut in all edges and such first each coat. NEVER include them in the job or you WILL forget and miss something. i do wheel openings and stuff first every coat.

[deadbodyman]

Thanks cboy ,I was going to ask the same question but Unless its about "Ospho" I never get a response out of TEX...sounds like a great idea though,save a lot of masking paper

[deadbodyman]

JC,those folding stands in my previous pic are all made from 3/4" electrical conduit,some basic hardware from lowes those stirefoam kids water doodles from the dollar store and rubber ends from old crutches ...these are something that I use every day for everything and they only take an hour to make....very handy but expensive if bought seperatly at the supply store.40-50.00 bucks each...easily hold 100 lbs....

[71corvette]

Originally Posted by Oldguy48

I've used the same general idea painting smaller parts. Used link chain with "S-hooks" for adjustability, and for lightweight items, an appropriate length of 12 AWG solid electrical wire with hooks formed in the ends.

I have used the electrical wire for years, works great for smaller parts