mrzoop

Refurbishing / Restoring the Porsche Door sill/scuff plate.
Porsche Speak > lining door sill driver's side > { 997 551 019 04 }

In reference to the dreaded door sill or scuff plate that we all try not to drag our big feet over when entering and exiting any of the 997 and later 987 series Porsche vehicles. Every one of these cars seems to suffer the same fate. Worn or scuffed up entrance sills. I'm specifically referring to the ones that capture the Frunk and Boot release switches, part number { 997 551 019 04 }. The current price for this in the states with shipping is in the $200 range. I suppose it should be considered a wear item but it can just end up looking so ratty I wanted to try to make mine look better before shelling out the bucks till I really needed to. Here's what I found out... as crazy as it sounds, these plastic items appear to be 'painted' with a flat black lacquer. Actually it’s probably a combination of plasticised rubber with a lacquer base which becomes a spray-able slurry. How do I know? Don't ask, but let’s just say that after ‘researching’ solvents to try to clean mine up, it turns out to be lacquer based. A big light bulb goes off in my head and about 45 minutes later I've got a brand spanking new door sill/threshold plate. It was so easy just about anyone can do this. So if yours’ is driving you crazy every time you get in and out, here's an inexpensive and quick solution...

#3 is the culprit with encapsulated frunk and engine cover switches.
#1 is a small button/cover to be removed for access to the internal (#2) 5mm Cap Screw.
The 5mmcap screw does not need to be removed! Its purpose is to clamp/hold the plastic body of the sill plate and switch mechanism to the chassis. Loosening these 2 cap screws is all that is necessary for removal of the unit.
Upon loosening the 2 screws, firmly and gradually pull the entire sill upwards. It will be held in place by a number of small plastic friction clips. These clips should easily release without breaking.
Upon removal of the assembly, you will then need to unfasten the connecting wire for the Frunk/Boot release from below.

At this point I would suggest removal of the complete switch panel from the assembly. This should be done from below on an appropriate bench by prying the fixing clips from the underside using a medium flat blade screwdriver. This can be a bit finicky so be patient.


With the sill plate removed and disassembled, it's now time to wash with a cleaner of your choice to remove any silicone or oil before painting. After cleaning or other prep work, I recommend surgical gloves to protect the surface for painting.

Here in the states we have Ace Hardware stores readily available and this is the paint that I recommend as it is an exact match to the look of the original material.

Ace Flat Black Lacquer (this is wonderful stuff and dries in minutes).
Keep in mind that the word LACQUER is the key here.


Throw down a sheet from the spare bedroom, prop this puppy up on a spare hunk of wood and spray a few long wide passes from the shaky can. Don't over-do-it here, just a few light passes are all that's necessary. The thin paint will flow perfectly into the texture of the plastic and in a few minutes you should have a brand new unit that's ready for re-installation. If you really feel overprotective you may want to top-coat this with a flat clear lacquer. I let mine dry for an hour or so and here are images of the results along with others for your reference.












I have heard that torx head cap screws might also be used here.

Charlie C

Thanks for the great instructions and photos. Definitely a keeper!

Zeus993

You rock buddy. Thanks for this. Now for the next piece of advice... Anything to do with scuffing on the SS plate (optioned on my car)?

Dave's911

Good information, thanks for sharing. Mine is starting to look bad, so this will be helpful.

sharmat

Great Post!
The Ace Flat Black lacquer you mentioned; Would you say it is the same color match to what's on the rest of the interior such as the rear center console and dash trim bits?
Maybe it could also be used to touch-up black interior bits?

okbarnett

I guess I cant use this on my car, it doesnt have the frunk switch.

PHDX2

Great information. Definitely an area to watch!

Has anyone ever tried placing paint protection film on this area? It was suggested in a thread some time ago, but we never heard back.

fjpdds

Excellent!
Thanks.

RudyP

This is very helpful, thanks. My sill plates could use this. Two questions though:
1) how durable can we expect this finish to be? Is this something that will need to be redone every year or so?
2) can this paint perhaps be used on the center console as well? Mine has been worm by the drivers seatbelt part and looms pretty bad.

Thanks!

NC 997

Great post.. Kudos.

swajames

Great info and a great write-up!

Fahrer

Wonderful process description! Thanks!

Charlie C

I saved the whole write up as a pdf file for future reference using Bullzip PDF. It's free at: http://www.bullzip.com/products/pdf/info.php#download

(No affiliation)

sullivas

Great DIY -thanks!

Kuhan

Great write-up! Can you post a pic of the completed install? I would like to see how good the colour match is with the botton part.