Straight Goods on Repainting a 911

[buellrunner]

Hey all,

Looking for some advice. My 90 964 Targa has lots of stone chips...I use her as my daily driver....Im considering repainting. She's currently black. Original paint.

Id like to keep her black. What are my options? A full paint job? Whats a re-spray? How do I find/screen a good paint shop? Does Porsche offer this service? Does repainting hurt the value of my Porsche?

all the best,

Jack

[elbeee964]

Jack-
No picture to gauge your chip count.
A dozen? A hundred? (or is it ten bajillion of Denver/CO's mid-winter's CDT gravel blast? Love the state -- hate their gravel trucks.)

If it's under, say, 50, -- and your black isn't a clear coat -- I'd highly recommend picking up a new talent: repairing stone chips. It's not super hard. And for single coat/primary colors like your black it's amazing how easy it is to effect a perfect repair.
(Of course if you went through that trouble and got your spot count down satisfactory levels, I'd further recommend putting on a protective 3M plastic wrap to decrease further damage. But that's just me... and exactly what I did.)

...How do I find/screen a good paint shop?

Asking at your local PCA meetings, or at the best Porsche garage in your neck of the woods reveals wonders, locally. I wouldn't consider any without a Strong co-member's recommendation.

...Does Porsche offer this service?

Oh, yeah... You could say they offer a good paint shop service. But it's not an economic option.

Does repainting hurt the value of my Porsche?

Yes -- but so do rock chips. Your call of which you can live with.

[buellrunner]

Hmmm.....Id say the front of the car has 50-100 tiny chips on the front and a few on the flares of the rears....

I tried touching up one of them...it came out ok....but you can still see the edges of the chip....the new paint doesnt blend anything like the original....There must be a method to the madness. I tried the toothpick...building up the paint....added the clear coat.....its 75% better...

[aeroman]

I'd like to learn how. On other cars when I use the touch up paint it always looks like ass.

[elbeee964]

Originally Posted by buellrunner

Hmmm.....Id say the front of the car has 50-100 tiny chips on the front and a few on the flares of the rears....

I tried touching up one of them...it came out ok....but you can still see the edges of the chip....the new paint doesnt blend anything like the original....There must be a method to the madness. I tried the toothpick...building up the paint....added the clear coat.....its 75% better...

You got parts and pieces of a correct chip job mentioned in your efforts, but you're missing a few key ingredients.
But number 1: is your car a clear coat? ie, when waxing your car do the polishing rags go big time black. If they turn black -- you can do perfect chip repairs.
They're described over in the Concourse and Finishes(?) section of Rennlist.
The steps are roughly this:

1. Dewax the chip area.
2. Dot-fill with Porsche-brand chip paint. (some use a toothpick -- I use a single paint brush hair taped to the end of a pencil. Works great.)
3. Fill to above-surface height. (Fill about a dozen during one session!)
4. Allow 1-3 days cure.
5. Wet sand down to surrounding surface w/ Meguires 2000 grit sanding stone.
6. After flat to surroundings, rub to shine w/ Meguires Swirl Remover X.
   (You won't be able to see your chip repair at this point.)
7. If you want a 'liquid' finish, finish up w/ a (Porter Cable) random orbit polisher w/ some of those pricey polishes and foam pads.

Step six will produce results satisfying to most everyone.
Step seven is the $lippery slope to perfection. Good luck if that bug bites... (I love that car...)

[altarchsa]

I'm no used car or auto paint expert, but....

I would suggest you learn all you can about the kind of paint that is on your car and the kind of paint you want and get the painter to commit to materials and processes. Years ago I took my pristine '75S Targa, except for the slightly damaged hood and fender, to the shop recommended by the Porsche dealer for repairs. I removed the parts to have them painted off the car to assure a perfect job. I assumed they would do it right. When I picked it up, they had used a laquer system that didn't match the Glasurit enamel at all. Wound up grinding it all off 6 months later and doing it right, myself.

An overspray, as I understand it, is just a prep of the existing paint with minor repairs, like your stone chips, and a same color painting over it. I've heard various opinions whether it devalues the car. Apparently it depends on the ultimate use after painting. You would not want an overspray on a concours show car, obvously. But fresh, bright paint on a daily driver might make it worth more. One key is to get the "edges" right. A really good job will do all the jambs, etc. so that there are no exposed edges of the new paint. However, a usual overspray would probably have taped edges on the first offset in the door jamb. Used car buyers (my stepson) are trained to see these. Some are obvious and some are very difficult to detect.

I just suggest you take the time to tie everything down in detail with the shop and look at a number of examples of their work. Maybe take someone along with you who has had some experience with a repaint if you're not confident in your own judgement yet.

[tbennett017]

My black car is in the same condition.. .lots of chips and the shark fins are blasted with road abrasive.. also the PO took the car to a detailer who overheated the paint and burned it off in 2 places (middle of the roof, and a high spot on the flank)You can hardly see it.. but it bugs me.
I am considering a paint someday.. but its a long way off, as I will be too worried about it as a daily driver if I do...

[mojorizing]

Here's a link to a good website for how-to's on car paint maintenance...

http://www.carcareonline.com/howto.aspx

[mitch9000]

I'd recommend getting the car professionally cut/buffed/sealed.........the touch up is actually easy if you prepare AND TAKE YOUR TIME.........maybe even a professional brush touch. I'd also suggest that painting the hood could be a good option (top only - keeping the option code sticker under-hood intact) IF the touch up doesn't work well enough for you. Good luck!