Respray Doors on or off ???

[1973JPS]

Hi Guys.... looking for your thoughts on respraying the body.
I'm about to send the body off to get a much promised respray....my question is this....Should I leave the doors off or put them back on as well as the front and rear bonnets???
I must admit I'm nervous having them sprayed off the body as refitting when painted might lead to small scratches.... on the other hand there would be better access for the sprayer if left off...
Your thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

[lotusfanatic]

Hello 1973,

You could ask the painter for his preference but personally I’d try to paint the panels separately and take care when refitting (easier said than done!)
If the panels are off the car they’ll allow better access to the edges and return faces of the bodyshell and panels as they will be obscured or suffer from overspray if fitted.

Mark

[EuropaTC]

It depends on the quality of respray, I've done both with and without doors fitted. If the paint in the door shut area is good and you're having a same colour respray then you can get away with leaving the doors in place. However if you are having a different colour or can't ensure you have an exact match for the paint, then the doors need to come off. You can only paint part of the lower sill and you can't do the area you can see around the hinge pin area.

For a good job I'd remove every panel & paint them separately, make sure the paint is fully hardened before re-fitting and then use several layers of masking tape around the aperture and on the panel to prevent scratching. If I was paying anyone else to paint the car, I'd remove the panels beforehand but fit them myself afterwards.

Brian

[dakazman]

Hi 1973Jps,
     I'm not a professional so i cant believe you can properly spray this car with the engine cover on, especially if your going with a different color.
For ease of painting the shop should remove them and reinstall . That's  what. I would expect them to do , and if it costs more then you may want to welcome the action.
dakazman

[StrawberryCheesecake]

What needs to be painted and what colour scheme?

If you’re doing stripes it needs to be on the car.

If you’re doing door shuts then off the car , at least at first. If you’re just hiding some scratches on the door skin you could to it on the car.

[Lou Drozdowski]

If you are going with the same color, you might get by with the doors on. I would remove the doors regardless.
Besides, the rear deck and front hood are an easy refit and should be off also...

As with any respray, the edges, corners and trim are the give away. If you are spending the cash to freshen it up and make it look right...don't take the short cut. Good luck! 

[lotusfanatic]

Lou, that’s one very shiny Europa!

 

[Certified Lotus]

I sent my body to the shop completely stripped with everything taken apart. Even the window trim.

[Pfreen]

My advice is to take the doors off.  However, adjust the hinges prior to removing them.  I carefully adjusted my hinges and adjusted all of the door reveals.  I told the painter not to touch the hinges, which he immediately removed from the doors.  In the process of reinstalling the hinges, the wrench slipped and hit the inside of the door, which made a nice big spider crack.  A repaint was required.

During reinstallation of all the parts, chips may occur.  It did for me, but fixing miner chips is pretty easy.

[dakazman]

I forgot to vote ...doors off.🙏

Damn Lou ! We have twins almost...

[4129R]

I have stripped all 7 of mine back to the bare fibreglass. Doors off everything off.

Touching up any minor scratches is much easier than the bits they miss because the doors are on their hinges.

Get the paint shop to give you the excess paint in a sealed tin for minor touch ups.

The spray cannot be done properly with bonnet, boot or doors attached.

[Clifton]

I painted with the doors off. I used Banks hinges and fitted the doors perfectly before paint work. If your doors need adjusting I would remove them. This is how easy it is to re install after you have adjusted them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVGllr0Efbg&t=7s