H2

Ryan, thanks! I'm off to Home Depot! I didn't know they had that stuff.

Afshin, thanks, also, for the warning. I'll be working on my pickup truck to get some experience, then the Guards Red, then the Silver '88. I'd hate to mess it up. The Silver will have a clear coat so it may act a bit different.

Harvet

IcemanG17

Harvey
Your 85 guards red is a single stage paint....vs the clearcoated silver on your 88....BUT...don't be afraid of the single stage paint.......because it is easier to correct things with it, IF you can get something that will polish the paint.....the paint is so hard it is hard to "correct" minor scratches-spiderwebbing.....

RyanPerrella

dont think that because its a clear coat its any more durable. I dont know what the real story is but ive seen some silver 928's with heavily oxidised paint to the point the clearcoat blisters and peels like old skin. Like what most 80's japanese car's paint looks like now. So be careful, I am sure the paint overall is thicker with the clear coat but if you go through the clear coat to the base coat that wont look good.

RyanPerrella

the clear coat is also perhaps thinner then the single stage paint coat is, so it maybe even more delicate.

I swear i saw a picture a couple years ago of a silver GTS with i think purple interior before on a dyno, i think it was on an old Devek website, but the paint looked horrible, they covered the repaint process and it was completely resprayed. I thought that was a problem with that Zermat siver color specifically cause it was water based. I dont think they had "Zermat" in 88, yours is probably a different shade but i dont think the clear coat cars are anymore durable, again if anything perhaps less so.

Marine Blue

Ryan MB of similar era painted Silver and Gold also have problems with crazing. I can't remember what the specific cause was but I know it is common.

For those of you who are uncertain how thick your paint it might be worth taking the car to a body shop and having them check the thickness at various points on the car. Better safe than burning through a clear and into the base coat. This is a good way to check for a respray as well.

RyanPerrella

yeah good point. I would assume most competent body shops have those devices. They are ultrasonic, or some type of radar that can measure distance between the surface and the substrate steel or aluminum panels in our cases.

IcemanG17

Most high end detailers use paint depth gauges too....couldn't hurt to pay a few $$ to get the paint measured to know what you have to work with!

1990944S2

Great post Marine. Restoring Porsche paintwork can be a daunting task for anyone. It's part of the fun of owning a 928 ...even if you're not a mechanical wizard, you can restore the car to it's original beauty with a little ingenuity.