Allowing the paint to fully harden may be the cause of the delay between the Paint Shop and Assembly. But there are other possible reasons any particular X5 may stay in the "stacker" for awhile after it has already been through the Body Shop (4 hours) and Paint Shop (13 hours). For example, all of the bits and pieces for that X5's specific options have to be ready to go before an X5 starts it's 19 hour run down the assembly line. Besides the only thing 'custom' about an X5's painted metal shell on the 'stacker' is its color.

"The body–formed, painted, and protected–waits in the stacker, arranged in order. Sequenced parts such as instrument panel, front end, and power train are at the ready in other areas of the plant. What follows is a careful and intricate performance involving the flow of parts and precisely-timed processes...."

BTW the websites pictures/description of the Paint Shop at the SC factory only cover the metal parts. Conspicuously absent are any pictures/description of painting the composite front fenders.

"Like the drive train, a BMW’s front end is intricate and its assembly is choreographed down to the last detail. By the time it arrives at the main assembly line, it is a single unit, consisting of fender, headlamps, bumper cover, front grill, and radiator supports. The individual pieces arrive from suppliers and are assembled mechanically before the doors are added. Associates mount the now unified front end assembly to the vehicle, ...."

Stay tuned for Week 4

Funf Dreisig