Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC
It would make far more sense to use colored gelcoat at time of manufacture...
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Yes, except for the gelcoat colour changeover that Escape factory normally does not do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC
... it's only the bottom half.
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The bottom is blue, and the top is silver; both parts are painted.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC
It's a lot of work to do that kind of quality paint job and it would be a real waste of labor to take the part out of the mold, all shiny and nice and have to sand down the gelcoat to prep it for paint.
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The other challenge is that Escape joins the upper and lower shells while they are still in their moulds. It wouldn't be very practical (or desirable) to join one trailer outside of the moulds, and it wouldn't be desirable to put the freshly painted shells back into the moulds for joining. Also, handling a loose upper or lower shell out of the mould would be awkward and hazardous to the part, especially if sent out to a paint shop.
If painting during production, it would make more sense to me to form the two parts in the moulds, join them as usual, demould the complete shell, and only then send it for paint (likely on a frame), then bring it back into the factory for completion. The two-colour scheme on one complete body would require masking, but since the belly joint is covered (later) by trim it wouldn't be difficult.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC
... we used to knock out 3 Kenworth cabs a day and they came out of the mold with gelcoat and they were sanded down to a matt finish prior to shipping. Never quite understood why. Maybe because of the diverse color schemes meant it was easier to custom paint rather than use custom gelcoats.
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That makes sense to me... and the paint maintains its finish better than gelcoat, particularly without regular waxing.
Pat
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