Painting hood - hinge rods in or out?

[pleask]

When I paint my hood sections, is it best to leave the hing rod in or out? If I leave it out, I fear paint will get in to where the rod goes and will be very difficult to clean out. If I leave the rod out, the sections are so much easier to paint.

Any suggestions on what to do? Could I get some 1/4" wood doweling and stuff that in place of the correct rods perhaps?
Thanks, Pat

[Gene Gillam]

Pat,

I did my bonnet in sections, hinge rod out, and didn't really have any problems inserting the hinge rod later. Any small paint chips can be touched up after it's together and they won't be visible from outside the bonnet.

Gene

[stephen stierman]

Much easier to paint the sections when they are separate rather than hooked together. I had no problem getting them all back together, just took some care not to damage new paint.