OCDHerb

By "They" I mean the Mazda factory. I'm reassembling my spark yellow SA22 car to paint. Got the doors, hood, fenders, headlight brackets all lined up but I cannot figure out if the car was painted with the front lower valence and chin spoiler on or off the car.

Input please.

Herb

7aull

iTrader: (2)

Was virtually no paint on my 80SA valences where they met the fenders when I pulled them to paint (and yes they were original), suggesting they were painted in-place. And you will note in any New Car photo, you see that the external mounting bolts for the valences are all painted too. That said, I personally would (did!) pull them and have them done separately.
My spoiler appears to have been painted separately. But it is the later plastic one. The earlier metal ones...??

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

OCDHerb

That's exactly what I needed to know. BTW. My spoiler was so beat up that I'm using a later, plastic one.

7aull

iTrader: (2)

Something to consider once your new paint is cured (45 days) - I had the local guys install the 3M invisible "bra" on the whole front end of my SA after the nose panels were all redone. 4 yrs now, not a mark in the paint up there (includes under-valence). $$ well spent IMHO...

Stu

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

I wonder if clear plastidip would be a good DIY version of the 3m coating?

I say this because I plastidip-ed a bra on my car about 4 years ago and its holding up nicely. I
touch it up occassionally when it gets torn by rocks. It also hides some uglies in the paint up
front as well.

OCDHerb

I think the clear bra is a really good idea. I'm still debating getting a LeBra for it Like I had back in the eighties.

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

I got tired of the bras coming loose at speed (well while speeding techincally) so
thats why I plastidip-ed a bra on my car. Does the trick and looks good all the time
and never flaps or has to be reattached.

demongo

iTrader: (2)

I wish I'd done this after my paint job a few years ago; beautiful white paint job now chipped and dinged....

7aull

iTrader: (2)

Herb
Here is the prob with these from my experience. As t_g_ sez, regardless of how tight you fit it it _will_ flap a bit, with paint suffering the consequences; but the BIG deal is this: if there is ANY dirt accumulation under it (and of course, this is virtually impossible to eliminate), the motion of the bra on the panel essentially acts as sand paper! And finally, if the bra gets wet, then out in the sun, the black surface sort of "superheats" and glazes the paint surface underneath. So, generally a real PITA. Creates as many problems as it solves.

As to t_g_'s plasti-dip. Can you get clear? that is the attraction of the 3M stuff. Invisible. But def more $$...
On my 3M, the ONLY damage I see is bare paint right NEXT to it where a rock DOES chip the paint w/no protection! !@#$!
Pic - can you see the edges?

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

Too much water on it in the pic to see anything.

You can get clear plastidip: Shop Plasti Dip Clear Spray Paint (Actual Net Contents: 11-oz) at Lowes.com

Heres an article about removing a 3M clear bra. Kind of an eye opener when I read it.

MidWest Dipping Car Wraps and More!: Why you should choose Plasti Dip vs. Clear Bra

rwatson5651

iTrader: (5)

I did the 3M on my white SA. and was very satisfied with the protection it provided, however I had problems removing it when the time came. The problems come when it was not applied heavily enough. On a white car, like mine, it is very difficult to see how much of the clear spray you are applying. I was convinced I had put enough on, but I was wrong and it took me better than a month to get it all off. A real pita. Probably not a problem on any other color car.

OCDHerb

Still prepping to paint my SA22. Pretty sure it was painted with the bumpers and the cowl section of the car. Please verify.

Anyone know if the hood was painted on or off?

BTW I built a rotisserie for the little beast. If anyone wishes to know how, tell me and I will describe. Anyone else dumb enough to do a rotisserie restoration on a car worth less than $10k?

Herb

7aull

iTrader: (2)

I think the "cowl" (nose panel btw headlights) was painted in-place, but not bumpers, based on factory production-line photos I have seen. My original-paint bumper mount hardware had NO paint overspray. This would be impossible I would think if they were mounted. nose panel's meet-points with fenders are UNpainted, suggesting panel is painted in place... likewise the HEADLIGHT covers seem to be painted in-place.
Photos of my SA when I pulled the original-painted panels (for repaint)....maybe gives you some idea. Note on the full-frontal photo, that all the nose panel mount points have little or no paint on the underlying chassis; there is even a "shadow" effect where you can tell the nose panel blocked the paint spray on the inner rad framework.

BLACK areas are generally where there was no paint, and had corrosion build up. I POR15'd these areas prior to reassembly. The paint you see here is all OE finish (just a LOT of polishing!!)
AND-
you might find some nasty surprises under the bumper-rubber-strips (both Fr and Rr)! These have a metal insert that is NOT rust protected (and not available as as separate piece!) -
I managed to clean up mine and cover them in POR 15 as well.

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

OCDHerb

Thanks for the reply. The "cowl" I was thinking of was the panel right in front of the windshield. The nose piece I call a "valence". (No idea of it's real name.) I'm sure that was painted in place. I think I'll paint the headlight covers off the car that way I can adjust them better without leaving tell tale paint lines.

Any indication whether the hood was painted on or off the car?

Herb

7aull

iTrader: (2)

Ah - WIPER panel
FWIW in my SA the inner panels UNDER the wiper panel ( it has insulating "tar" panels glued to it) is painted too, suggesting (?) there was no wiper panel in place at painting. Plus, the wiper assy itself was obv NOT installed for paint, so....
Hood:
NO paint under the hinges, when removed, suggests painted on the car...? Hood could be installed prior to paint, since engine/trans/fr suspension was installed as a unit, from UNDERneath the car on assy line.

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

i think we're on the right track here.

the body was painted as completely as they could, so fenders, nose panel, hood, fuel door and headlights (minus the light/adjusting bucket it sits in), were all installed before paint. the fenders and headlights got seam sealer under the paint, and then all the bolts holding everything in are painted.

the bumpers are for sure painted separate, the FB's have a little clear plastic protector that was installed before bumper but after paint.

not sure about the front valance/spoiler, seems like it was painted separate. or it could have been.

i've never thought about it, but i'd bet the wiper cowl panel was painted separate too, its body color under it. actually we know it was, because the wipers were put in after paint.

on later Mazda's (FC and later), the doors were painted separately from the car, as this lets them paint the jambs and install the interior really easily. the later Mazdas have grey bolts between the door and door hinge (the adjustment is on the hinge to the door, so they can just slap it on), because the door was not installed. the SA/FB have painted door hinge bolts, so it appears like the may have been painted assembled?