Painting Inside Car Jambs

Jambs

After we finished sanding and prepping the outside of the car, we removed the doors, hood, and trunk lid to allow us to properly prep and paint the jambs.  We left these parts on the car because it makes it easier to work on the parts while bolted in place without the part wobbling around on a parts stand.  With the parts removed, we can sand the parts much easier.

Sanding Jambs

Before sanding the jambs we cleaned the areas with wax and grease remover to remove contaminates.   To sand the jambs we used 500 grit dry sandpaper and sanded the surface by hand because there are a lot of hard to get areas and different angles.  This may be difficult to use a block or DA sander.  After sanding the jambs were sanded by hand we used a red scuff pad ensure everything will have adequate adhesion.

Masking Jambs

With any painting process there is always a lot of masking.  We mask to protect the inside of the car from getting overspray.  We also mask the outside of the panels so overspray will not get on them.  The parts have already sanded, so if overspray lands on the outside of the panel, the paint will  have adhesion.  However, this will require the panel to be final sanded again.  So we chose to mask the panels to eliminate unnecessary sanding.

To mask the jambs we used a back taping method.  We back masked to the inside of the flanges of that jambs.  We basically outlined everything.  Remember to clean the back side of these flanges or the tape may not stick well.  Once we had the jamb openings outlined, we provided additional support by webbing strips of tape to provide more strength for the paper to hold.  If you are on a budget you may get by without doing this, but there will be a greater chance of the paper popping off during the spraying process.  The masking paper has to be able to withstand the air pressure from the spray gun.

Wiring Harness Trick

Here is a quick trick for you when masking wire harnesses, fuel lines, etc.  When masking these type of items, use aluminum foil.  Simply shape and form it around the item.  After the painting has completed, the aluminum foil is very easy to remove.  If you ever wrapped something like this with tape, then you know it takes a lot of time to remove the tape.

Cleaning Jambs

After the masking is completed the  jambs will need to be cleaned again to remove any contaminates or fingerprints.   Even the oils from your hands can contaminate the surface.  Once you clean the surface after masking, do not touch the paint surface with your bare hand.  One way prevent this is to use gloves to protect the paint surface.

Applying Primer Sealer

Primer sealer is applied to achieve hiding faster and to provide additional adhesion.  On this project we are using Eastwood’s epoxy primer as a sealer.  Epoxy makes a good sealer.  If there are any exposed metal from sanding, then the epoxy can be applied directly over the metal, which provide excellent corrosion protection.

We applied one medium wet coat of epoxy to all the jamb opening areas and allowed the epoxy to flash (dry) for 30 minutes before spraying the paint.

Applying Base Coat

After waiting 30 minutes flash time, we mixed and started spraying paint onto the jamb openings.  We are using Eastwood’s Boulevard Black Basecoat.  http://www.eastwood.com/low-voc-boulevard-black-basecoat-gallon.html

This paint mixes 4:1 (4 parts paint to 1 part activator.)   Be certain to select the correct activator for the temperature you will be spraying.  They have three activators to choose from; fast for colder weather, medium, and slow for warmer weather.  We sprayed two medium wet coats of the base coat using the 1.4 Eastwood spray gun.  Remember to wait the recommended time between coats before applying the second coat.  The recommendations for this paint is 10 minutes.

Spraying Clear Coat

We allowed the base coat to flash for about 1 hour before applying the clear coat.  We used Eastwood’s European Urethane clear coat.  They recommend to spray two medium coats with 10 minutes flash between the coats using the 1.4 Eastwood spray gun.

Now the inside jambs are sealed, painted, and clear coated.  We sprayed 1 coat of epoxy sealer, 2 coats of base coat, and 2 coats of clear coat.