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I am nowhere near the painting stage, but I'm thinking ahead. Here's the issue. When I repainted my vintage tractor, I took all the parts off and painted everything separately, including the nuts and bolts. During the reinstall, I would occasionally run into a bolt where the paint (with a gloss hardener) would chip off from the wrenching.

Of course, one can always touch up, but I've always wondered if there was a better way. What do people do? Paint one coat, assemble, and then shoot a final coat? Paint, assemble, and touch up? Inquiring minds want to know. Thanks.

The answers to your questions are:
Depends
Yes
Yes

To translate it depends on where the part is and the original finish. Some parts were fully (or nearly fully) assembled such as the engine/clutch housing. It was assembled including the water pump, mounts for the generator and then painted. Other parts were mounted later. The majority of nuts and bolts were coated not painted. So they didn't get damaged when installed. Some like black oxide coatings are generally not available so paint is substituted. It would be necessary to be able to touch it up after assembly.

I am sure that others have more accurate data on '41 Chevys.