Painting Half Doors

[El Jefe]

Jeep doesn't make half doors in Gecko, so I bought a used set in Sting Gray. I will be disassembling them, getting them re-keyed & painted, then putting them back together.

I know to adjust the door hinges to get them to fit the Jeep. I see the factory painted the hinges & hinge bolts all the same color - it looks like it was painted after assembly though. Does anyone know?

If I adjust them while they're still gray & have them painted all at once, I'm concerned about not getting paint under the hinges. If I wait to adjust them after they're painted, then I think the the torx bolts will need re-painting to get that factory appearance...right?

Who has done this (same for hard doors) and what did you end up doing?

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[Kreepin1]

Sooo, on my half doors the bolts that attach the hinge to the door are black - not body color. I believe that Jeep paints the door and the hinge separately so that they can be adjusted without disturbing the paint.

You have two choices; paint them separately like the factory did or get them adjusted perfectly and then paint everything at the same time like the factory does with full doors. The advantage of the former is you can adjust them again if need be. The advantage of the later is that the bolts will be painted and you won't risk damaging the paint while adjusting the doors.

 

[El Jefe]

Sooo, on my half doors the bolts that attach the hinge to the door are black - not body color. I believe that Jeep paints the door and the hinge separately so that they can be adjusted without disturbing the paint.

You have two choices; paint them separately like the factory did or get them adjusted perfectly and then paint everything at the same time like the factory does with full doors. The advantage of the former is you can adjust them again if need be. The advantage of the later is that the bolts will be painted and you won't risk damaging the paint while adjusting the doors.

I"ve heard that - about the black half door hinge bolts. These came painted though.

Trying to avoid 2 trips to the paint shop. I suppose I could paint them separately, have the bolt heads painted at the same time, then carefully re-assemble, and touch up any bolt I booger up on reassembly.

 

[Reactor111]

I bought a set of half doors from a 392. The bolts were black. All of the half doors I have seen had black bolts. Just install before painting, adjust and then paint.

 

[cfree]

I know to adjust the door hinges to get them to fit the Jeep.

What kind of adjustments are needed?

Also, how did you disassemble them? Is there a video or something?

I’ll be picking up a set of doors soon and I’ll need to paint them.

 

[El Jefe]

What kind of adjustments are needed?

Also, how did you disassemble them? Is there a video or something?

I’ll be picking up a set of doors soon and I’ll need to paint them.

To adjust the doors, you loosen the 6 hinge bolts until the door latches without interference.

There is a write up somewhere on this forum that gives disassembly tips.

 

[cfree]

Gotcha, thank you.

For re-painting, I assume they have to strip the old paint and clear coat, right?

Here’s the disassembly thread:
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/dismantling-factory-half-doors-for-paint.77741/

 

[BrierPatch]

I"ve heard that - about the black half door hinge bolts. These came painted though.

Sounds like yours may already have been re-painted if the bolts and hinges match the door.

 

[Kreepin1]

To adjust the doors, you loosen the 6 hinge bolts until the door latches without interference.

There is a write up somewhere on this forum that gives disassembly tips.

Careful there. Mopar has a great video on Youtube. I added a tip or two on my build thread but saw no need to do a full writeup since the video was so good.

You loosen the four bolts that hold the hinge to the door, NOT the hinge to the body. Unlike full doors, half doors are painted under the hinge. The idea is to adjust them so it closes without adjusting the striker or body hinge bolts. This way you can swap back and fourth between doors.

After the lower is working right you install the upper and test the seal by pulling a dollar bill through the seal. There is a lock nut adjusting/screw process that is a little counter intuitive.

 

[NJJeep Guy]

I adjusted my doors to fit first, but the paint shop removed the hinges anyways to ensure paint coverage around the hinges. So check with your paint shop first for how they want to paint the doors

Also do not loosen your body side hinges. You risk changing the good factory fit of your full doors.

 

[El Jefe]

I adjusted my doors to fit first, but the paint shop removed the hinges anyways to ensure paint coverage around the hinges. So check with your paint shop first for how they want to paint the doors

Also do not loosen your body side hinges. You risk changing the good factory fit of your full doors.

That tip on the paint shop removing the hinges to paint is a great one. Thanks.

 

[ZeroTrev]

My bolt was black, but when I had the shop paint them they painted the bolt. Before and after pics.

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