Donovan, why assemble the bumper before the outside of it is painted? I know you have reasons, just trying to understand the process
The answer is really simple, and two-fold:
Firstly, by assembling as I complete individual projects, it allows me to track and monitor the progress. If something doesn’t look right or needs tweaking it’ll be readily apparent right away when you can look at it all together and assembled. The additional bonus to this is that it also greatly helps with motivation, seeing the completed projects come together to create the whole is a great motivator to keep going and tackle the next thing.
Secondly and perhaps most importantly, is that I do not have access to limitless amounts of storage. All these things that come apart when disassembled all take up vast amounts of space. I don’t live on an acreage, I don’t have a massive shop, I don’t have multiple storage sheds etc so I need to be smart about utilizing the space I do have available.
By reassembling once I’m done with a project, I know exactly where all the individual related parts, fasteners and components are, and I know that there’s nothing left to do or track down (like upgrading fasteners to stainless steel) because it’s all already been done. Because this is such a long term build and I don’t know when it’ll be ready for paint, for me this is the best way to manage the build knowing that once a project is to this stage, all that’s left is to final block sand and prep for paint.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering why I don’t just take the additional step and paint while it’s all still disassembled, it’s because it’s never a good idea to paint pieces one at a time, especially over extended periods of time. Paint batches, mixing ratios, product changes and upgrades can all affect the end result; you need to paint all the various parts together out of one large batch at once to ensure consistency without any variations in hues, coverage, number of coats etc.
Otherwise it could come out looking like a patchwork quilt of mismatched parts and panels. This is even more important when dealing with paints that have metallics and pearls in them like the colors I plan on using.
There’s always method to my madness.
😎